General

Random thought... quintessential internet in here.

KCPenguins wrote:

I miss the NHL 96 days, I'll tell ya what.

EA needs to farm out a 2d remake with updated rosters. Easy $20.

KCPenguins wrote:

Would buy that so, so fast. Classic EA, leaving free money on the table.

theJaw wrote:

You are 100% wrong about everything on this issue. You're a moron and should rethink your life choices.


That's not my statement to you, but that's the attitude you project when you say you understand but the other side is being irrational, and that your way of thinking is obviously right.

When you start your argument with an attack on people's strongly held beliefs, they stop listening. Period. Doesn't matter who is right at that point.

John's point is that the way you are trying to argue the issue is exactly what the pro-choice argument has been for decades and it just doesn't work on religious pro lifers. So a new strategy is needed if they want to make any headway.

Much like the hard right are currently strategizing after their losses on Tuesday on how to make their message more palatable.

benstylus wrote:

I'm not under some goofy impression that my opinion is going to change anybody's minds if they feel abortion is the same as murdering a baby. That was never my point. I'm not TRYING to make anybody believe me. I’m not a politician or activist over here. I completely understand the point John was making that me bluntly stating my opinion isn't going to "work" on pro-lifers -- I literally never disputed that fact.

My point is that attempting a new "strategy" doesn't work -- because it historically never has -- and I'm over pretending that there's some magical new approach that will suddenly change the religious right's opinions on this matter. That's a fairytale. Again, the belief that women should be allowed to make their own decisions will remove 0 human rights from anybody, whereas the stance that "every fetus is a life given by God and should be protected as such" will effect people's lives and livelihoods. It is not the "same" just because both stances are unwavering despite your suggestion that it is.

I'm sorry I have a hard opinion on this as formed by my life experiences -- but that's all it is: an opinion. I know not everybody is going to agree with me and I was never trying to make that the case. I've just seen how this garbage affects people on a human level past a political campaign and am entirely over trying to reason over something that takes personal autonomy away. Super sorry if that's tough for people, but I mean no ill will.

So how 'bout them squirrels...

My bad for bringing up the topic at hand, I take fault for going there. I'm a real Mcbutt-hole.

Also, it's insane to me that my 6 year old started wrestling this week. At practice and I'm just amazed because they never did that crap for us growing up (at least I don't think so, we were poor and didn't know any better).

MrBean wrote:


Wrestling and boxing were great for me during the ol' school years. Keep that 6 year old at it, hopefully they grow to love it. So satisfying getting some wins under your belt back at that age.

KCPenguins wrote:

... I was wondering if they had already done this, but nope - EA released "NHL 94 Rewind" for PS4 and Xbone back in 2020, which was the old Genesis game with updated rosters.

I do wonder why they never did the same with 96. Rights issues? Too difficult to hack? Who knows. I don't think there's even any fan-made roster update hacks for 96 out there.

Foxhack wrote:

I don’t know why I always preferred 96 tbh. I’m not even sure if there were any mechanic changes between those old NHL games. But 96 will always be a top 10 game for me.

Which makes it weirder that no one has been able to make a roster hack. People seem to LOVE that game. Guess not enough Genesis nerds like it though. :p

'94 was the first one I owned. The only thing I wished they kept was smashing the glass with an errant slapshot. Otherwise '96 was my jam, as apparent by '97 and '98 being identical on SNES. (And 2002 on GBA)

benstylus wrote:

Oh crap! Lol if that ain’t the truth I don’t know what the fudge is.

KCPenguins wrote:

Ohh yah I forgot about the smashing glass.

I actually just found a rom hack that makes NHL 96 wider -- so you see more of the rink at once without as much panning. I don't know if that'd have a huge effect on how much I enjoy the game but I think I may give it a try, just to see.

Size, or quality, for a TV?

Think I'm finally gonna upgrade my 2018 82" TV. It's had some ghosting/fading issues for a bit now. I thjnk I'm on the verge of pulling the trigger.

Can go 98", 85", 83". In order of less to higher quality.

98 has to be insanely awesome purely for the size ... But the picture on the others will be superior. Torn.

Does size matter? Ha

@MrBean Go right in the middle with that 85”. 98” is fudgein huge.

All Samsung TVs (get awesome discounts).

98" = QLED ($3800) - Q80C
85" = NEO QLED ($2100) - QN90C
83" = OLED ($2600) - S90C

The OLED is supposedly an all around better picture, but is prone to burn in, and bad in rooms with lots of light (my family room is insanely bad with direct sunlight).

If all goes well, we'll move at some point, so I had to omit the OLED based on current room.

Also, we just dropped $3k on a washer/dryer, so saving money is prob smart.

I think at this point I'm torn between the 83" and 85". I may wait to see if the 98" gets a bigger price cut for Black Friday though. This whole "black friday month" crap is confusing and annoying.

I just had to explain what GameTZ is to an ICE agent.

That was fun! (bleh)

MrBean wrote:

We have squirrels all over in Michigan -- and even in our neighborhood -- but never in our yard. It's a little weird.

A few days ago, we came home and one was on our front porch. He saw us and shot across the yard and left.

Squirrels don't like my yard apparently.

Alright, I'm curious.

Foxhack wrote:

You should buy an official GTZ shirt and wear it when you cross! Makes explaining a whole lot easier!

Foxhack wrote:

Lol what, how’d the TZ get brought up?

Well... I guess everyone already forgot, but I mentioned a few years back that I don't actually live in Calexico; I live in Mexicali, the city across the border, at my old family home. (Hence the old "I live in South SoCal" and online regional issue comments I make once in a while. And I don't pay rent since the house is technically mine.) I asked Bill, he said it was fine.

But anyway. My entire collection and the things I sell are there, so when I cross the border, the ICE agents typically ask me what I'm bringing in from Mexico. I tell them exactly what's in the packages or envelopes, and I usually bring them all open so they can check them.

But the one time I figure it's safe enough to take a sealed envelope with CDs? That's the day I get an agent who asks me all sorts of questions. He asked me what was in the envelope (3DO CDs.). What is a 3DO (a gaming system from the 1990s, and he actually looked it up online?) What games I had in there (I tell him.) Who am I sending them to (@Porksta.) Why am I sending them (A trade - yes I didn't say I sold them for reasons I'll explain later.) What am I getting in exchange (DVDs that have games in them.) Where did I do the trade. GameTZ.

And that made him curious. What was the site, aren't I scared I'll get ripped off (No, I've dealt with the guy before, I've been here for over a decade) He finally decided to let me pass after holding me up for like five minutes.

And that might happen every time I cross. The lines to cross by foot are insanely slow, and usually by the time I get to an agent, they're too tired or bored to care much about what I'm bringing in with me. But since today was a holiday and there's no schoolkids holding up the line, the agent (who looked half my age) was probably bored enough to figure out why this old dude is crossing the border on a holiday at 5:20 AM.

As for why I told him it was a trade instead of a sale? Allegedly, if you're crossing the border for business reasons, you have to pay $20. But that's bullcrap. There's no such law for US citizens. It might apply to Mexican citizens who do business in the US for all I know but they can't really force me to pay. Since I don't want to deal with that crap I just say I'm sending things to friends in trades or gifts. It works most of the time.

Uh, that was a bit too long. Sorry.

Damn, that's a very obnoxious process. Fudge ICE in general... but trying to stifle GAMETZ!? I simply won't accept it.

If you live in the north, look north after it gets dark. Aurora is predicted.

I didn't see the aurora last night. But, just now I saw a line of Starlink satellites go by. I found a site that tracks when you can see them and sure enough there they were. It was a lot of moving white dots that passed through part of the night sky. They just fade out after a bit. There were a lot of them, I lost count. It was over after about 4 minutes.

bill wrote:

This happened above my place a few days before Halloween. Got a call from my buddy who lives downstairs telling me to go outside. We were pretty confused for a bit haha

The border patrol agents gonna be trying to trade dvds on here soon lol

lightslime wrote:

Great, I'm not gonna get BTRd, I'm just gonna get deported to Gitmo

Bulma is older than Chichi.

DarkFact wrote:

Is it surprising that Bulma is older than Chichi?

We meet Chichi for the first time by that king episode I think, right? When did we meet Bulma?

So Goku got albittaaaaa even older than Chichi before the marriage if we’re taking that one censored scene into account.

I typically think of DBZ when I think of the show, and Chichi is obviously presented as a much more mature woman than Bulma, it's weird when I see them point at each other and call the other one an Auntie-type after they got dissed by a younger woman, because the initial response is "haha yeah chichi's definitely got the Auntie-energy" but technically Bulma's got several years on her

DarkFact wrote:

Bulma is only four years older than Chichi and Goku.

She was supposedly 16 years old at the start of Dragon Ball. Goku and Chichi would've been 12. Which makes no sense since they look like pre-teens. I dunno.

Edit: Chichi's got that more mature thing going on because of how she was raised, and her own feelings about being a housewife. Yes, she's a badass and everything, one of the more powerful non-Ki using humans in the series thanks to her dad and her training, but IIRC she mostly likes to do housewife stuff and take care of her kids. So.

I just did a trade yesterday. First one in months. I better be on the top traders list.

I need to figure out where to get a bunch of replacement DVD cases that don't crumble to dust.

Bleh.

Foxhack wrote:

How many are you looking for? Omgcon has a ton of extras from prior year program guides

Foxhack wrote:

I like these. Use them to lend out my games to friends and family (got tired of idiots damaging the original box's).

CheckOutStore (20) Premium Slimline Single 1-Disc DVD Cases 7mm (Black) https://a.co/d/c8evUFr

Ben and Bean - they need to be full sized cases since these have art. Thanks though! I still need to finish my inventory so I can see how many cases I need to get.

I just got a bunch more things so I'm gonna spend today working on that.

Foxhack wrote:

Are you strictly talking DVD or do you need Blu-Ray too? I had a bunch of Blu Rays that came in cases where they stacked the discs (mostly TV shows). This causes scratches so I bought a bunch of 4 and 6 disc Blu Ray cases from Ebay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256090880873

I ended up buying 3 orders of the 4 disc cases (multi-buy discount) and 1 order of the 6 disc cases. The guy was really cool and ended up sending me over 10 extra cases. He packed them well and they all arrived in good shape.

Not sure if this helps you or not but thought I'd share. It was so much cheaper than anything I had seen from online stores.

Foxhack wrote:

The ones from OMGcon would be full sized. We did a bunch of game-themed cases to put our program guides in. Have done Xbox style, ps2 style, bluray style.. if you need a lot, the board is looking to make room in the storage unit

Here's an example of the ps3 style one we did

https://www.paytonrigsby.com/omgcon

Ooh neat. I'll send you a PM later tonight, once I figure things out. Thanks. :)

I was listening to a video game soundtrack compilation. Music from Pokemon Colosseum was in there (the music from Pyrite Town). Brought me back almost 20 years. Played that game for much of the summer with a friend. Reminiscing about this is painful. But why? We had a great time. Why does nostalgia hurt so much?

nonamesleft wrote:

Because you can never have that moment again.

benstylus wrote:

I just wish our generation had more of our memories recorded. I had such an amazing experience in my adolescent years and prior, but 98% of it is only in my head. Those details get more and more jumbled over the years. Kids nowa days, their entire life is recoded.

There's a beauty of not having it all digital though either. Those are your memories, and how you chose (or not) to remember/cherish/anguish, all up to you and your brain.

That and, well some of the crap we did, I'm glad it's not recorded! Haha

Still, I can't help but live in the past more than I should. I miss the 90's!

benstylus wrote:
Sigh. You're right. Good times.

My definition of nostalgia: it hurts so good.

MrBean wrote:
I live WAY too much in the past than I should. Can't help it. Miss it so much. Just recalled a cold snowy day where my cousin and I were drinking milkshakes outside. We were freezing, and hiding behind garbage cans because we didn't want his brother to feel bad that he didn't have a milkshake.

You're right that there's a certain beauty to not trying to capture every moment on camera. Live in the moment. I think that trying to capture a moment to save for later takes away from the experience of the moment.

nonamesleft wrote:

It's like people at a concert or a race holding their phones out to record the excitement...

... instead of enjoying the excitement through their own eyes.

Don’t mind me with my 1000+ videos from concerts lol:

https://youtu.be/4TZ6s23zIfI?feature=shared


benstylus wrote:

Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:


There's nothing wrong with videoing, but there is something about not videoing too.

There's also something different about having a special spot to video from that is different than most others.

If you've got side-stage access, then you can get some unique footage. I get that.

But when there is a crowd of thousands waving their arms and hundreds of them holding up video cameras to get average footage and average sound that looks like 100 other people's average video and average sound that'll be on YouTube the next day anyhow, then it might make more sense to just enjoy the moment and watch...

My wife and I just got back from two weeks on Kauai. We have a timeshare in Princeville, so this was at least the 12th time we've been there. Except for special pictures like one or both of us doing something or seeing something unique to the current trip (like we were at Poipu when several turtles came ashore), I stopped using a camera years ago. On the other hand, almost every time I looked at my wife, she had her phone in front of her face taking a picture or video. At one point she even commented on how many times we have photographed or taken video of a particular spot and because of the weather we probably have better shots from a previous trip. When I got home and took her phone to transfer the files to the computer for editing, there were over 700 files. Several years ago, after a vacation, I would put the pictures into a digital photo frame for us to enjoy, but it really wasn't worth the effort.

Be honest with yourself, admit you'll never watch it, and delete your video of the Disney fireworks display.

Tony wrote:

haha, we all have 'em, and will never watch them ...

What I do appreciate more than anything though, is having pics/videos of the kids growing up. We have them displayed on smart devices / TVs and it's so awesome revisiting kid pics on a regular basis just to see how much they've grown in such a short time.

Whenever I go to shows, I usually take at least a couple 15-30 second videos of songs that I particularly enjoy, just to have that moment saved to revisit later. I don't really care if the quality is great or anything like that, as long as I can watch the video and get "transported" back to that moment so to speak. They never show up on YouTube or anything -- at most one will be posted to my Instagram story so my friends can see and that's it.

It is sort of annoying when folks are clearly only at the show as a way to gloat about an experience on social media though -- recoding every song, holding their phone in front of their face more than actually enjoying the performance they paid to see. But alas, that's the age we live in.

I actually regret not recording more stuff back in the day. I think back to all the Warped Tours I went to and wish I had videos of some of those sets now. Although I’ve recorded a ton of bands in the last three years, I still enjoy the shows at the same time, and it’s great going back and watching them again. The sound and video quality are often pretty good too. Phone cameras have come a long way. I do have a fair number of views on my YouTube channel, but I didn’t post there for clout. I was using it as a way of saving my concert videos in one place and making them accessible for me, and other people happened to appreciate it too, so that was cool. I’ve actually had some of the bands themselves reach out and thank me for recording their sets.

theJaw wrote:

MrBean wrote:
Yeah, family pics/videos are fun to see and reminisce.

I'm still going through old photo albums, scanning pictures that have meaning to me. I definitely agree with Tony that many of the old photos are worthless. Vacation pictures of sights and such... I just flip past them. People in pictures are more often worth saving for sure. Sometimes I save places I used to live as well and I have some connection to that. Also, because I barely remember it otherwise.

I'm also noticing the complete lack of pictures I have for certain people and times in my life too though. There can be too many pictures but also too few.

My grandmother traveled extensively and had 7-8 slide carousels full of her trips to Europe, The Holy Land, etc. When she died, I borrowed a friend's slide scanner and went through each of them. I only scanned and kept the pictures of her, Dad, and other family.

We make yearly scrapbooks through snapfish.. we have hundreds of photos that we narrow down to about 100 or so and put it in a book.. makes it easier to not have all those heavy ass photo albums...

Woke up this morning, signed onto work, fiance took the dog out into the yard to let her poop and pee. I hear "oh my god, get away from it" so I grab the leash thinking the dog is trying to get a squirrel or rabbit. I go out there and... nope, big old 8 point buck (at least I think 8... it was big) dead as hell in the fenced in yard. Animal control is called to cart the poor boy outta here but they send one dude in an SUV, so I offered to give the guy some help because he was struggling. A double struggle later, we get him in what is essentially this dude's trunk. Felt terrible for the goofily departed.

Animal control guy thinks he got hit by a car and somehow leaped the fence... I'm pretty sure the sky trumpets I was hearing last week dropped him there. Aliens.

shadyfozzie wrote:
Relative of mine did that for many years, maybe they still do.

It's amazing to see people who are adults now as kids back then.

So THAT'S what my brother and them saw some time awhile back.... Starlink satellites... Dunno if he and them ever figured it out, but I sure did point him in that direction cause I think he was giving me some conspiracy theory stuff...

If all goes well I'll have a new internet setup tomorrow afternoon. Way faster than before, for like $2 more a month. Whee.

HybridCRoW wrote:

It was pretty wild to see for the 10 minutes that preceded that fateful Google search. When my pal called me it was "dude you need to come out here, there are UFOs..."

First usb-c, now rcs, finally... Way to be slightly less dicks Apple.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/britneynguyen/2023/11...

Awhile back I got a bunch of pairs of the same exact sock. After they're washed I throw them all in a drawer. No need to sort them or look for pairs. Problem solved.

My brother was always talking about getting these hot dogs from the deli at Walmart for lunch during the week... $1.50 each... they're Nathan's Famous hot dogs... I saw some in the hot food section of the Walmart deli today and thought "Well he said they're damn good, so let's see how they are."

I grabbed 2 of them. They're actually good. didn't even bother to add ketchup, mustard, and such to them.

At Sam's you get a trough of pop to go with it for the same price.

Speaking of Walmart deli, at my local Walmart you can get a white meat chicken dinner for $4.97. It comes with a wing, a breast and a side. Good value. Alternatively you can buy a breast for $1.98, a wing for $1.48, and a side for $.98. Why do places do this? It happens far more often than it should. Is it a test to see how stupid or lazy the general population is?

I streamed a game on Twitch for the first time last night!

Unfortunately I didn't realize you had to opt-in for VOD recording so it's lost. :(

KCPenguins wrote:

No. They are paying for convenience.

lordly_llama wrote:

So you vote team lazy.

How do you equate lazy w/ convenience??

HybridCRoW wrote:

You still need to tell them what side you want, right?

How much more convenient is it to say "chicken meal with a side of mashed potatoes" than "chicken breast, wing, and a side of mashed potatoes"

Unless your time is worth 50 cents a syllable or more, then it's lazy or stupid instead of convenience.

MrBean wrote:

I wouldn't give TOO much credit to Apple here. They were pretty much forced to do USB-C by the EU Commission.

As far as RCS, there are two current theories (and both are probably somewhat true):

1. Google has been doing some advertising talking about how outdated Apple is because iMessage has to fall back to old SMS instead of RCS. Apple users don't like to hear that their stuff is outdated. For a while, Apple users would just go "Well, Android users without iMessage should just switch to Apple devices", but that is eventually growing old. People are starting to catch on that when an Apple users sends a video or image to an Android user, it looks like crap because of APPLE'S side, not the Android side. So I think this "Apple is outdated" advertising is working some. Supporting RCS allows Apple users to still keep using iMessage all they want and feel superior as long as they are talking to other Apple devices -- without being subject to the "you are outdated" talk when they do send to non-Apple users.

2. After just being forced to use USB-C, they may be trying to stay ahead of future regulations so that they don't seem forced into anything again. Granted, it is unlikely the EU would force RCS, but it still gets them ahead of potential future regulations that might somewhere else (like the USA).

So, again, I wouldn't give too much credit or thanks to Apple here. They still want to be as proprietary as possible (i.e. "dicks").

nonamesleft wrote:

That's pretty much what I have done, but I have two distinct sets of socks: one is for work, the other is for everything else. They're easy to tell apart.

citizen_zane wrote:
What's the difference between the work socks and non work socks?

To each their own, but I'm not going to risk my job when traffic made me late for lunch. What about dinner? I can't get a frozen pizza, or any type of take out after working a fourteen hour shift? Shane on me for being "lazy"

nonamesleft wrote:

While my regular socks are white, these are my work socks:

image

They are heavy duty merino wool socks. They are durable and breathable and are great with my steel-toe boots at work. I'm on my feet for 12 hours a night, so having good socks is very important for me.

Darn Tough? I wear Darn Tough socks, love 'em.