Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@NEStalgia - Meth is too middle last decade. It’s CBD vape cartridges. I have to move this inventory fast before the vape market dies.

I didn’t realize you were actually confused, but I guarantee you know these references. It’s probably video game references in the chit chat thread throwing you off. The wall chicken is the health restoring chicken you find hidden in secret, destructible walls in the Castlevania games, and the garbage can turkey and apples are from the Streets of Rage series. I can’t really remember how they became relevant in this thread for the last few days, something about a vampire beat em up on Netflix, or maybe something about six pack abs, not sure.

@bimmy-lee I don't even know what CBD vape cartridges are, and there's 3 places here that sell them. I see a sign in the window that says "no prescription required" and a pot leaf with a heart. In my day we called that "drug dealing." I'm not sure how that works. I'm not sure I want to know what the "CBD vape" thing is.

Ahhh, wall chicken...I get it now! I never called it that, but you learn something new every day!

So is the vaping a metal gear reference then?

@Heavyarms55 Glad you had a great day! Cherish them; IMO they make the rest more bearable.

@NEStalgia That's actually a pretty decent summary of the propaganda machine here in the US. I try to get most of my news in a nonpartisan manner, but that's really hard to do sometimes. Sometimes it amounts to "they said, no, THEY said" and you don't know how to process some things....

I have no problem with factual reporting as long as it's as unbiased. But when it's crowded by loaded rhetoric and half-truths (some Americans don't seem to realize both courts do this) when all the facts aren't known or presented...I find that dangerous. Characters can be ruined when they needn't be. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?

@NintendoByNature I wish I could more accurately answer that question as it's been awhile, but I THINK there are always indicators. The game is still fairly open but is somewhat short unless you're going for 100% item completion. I've also only played the game in normal mode, so higher difficulties may have that turned off.

Not sure if you've played the original Metroid, but let's just say this game makes it worth revisiting Zebes over the NES original.

@NEStalgia, to stay topical, what do you make of this article that purports that, whether they're being forced to or not, companies like Activision & EA are knowingly creating franchises like Call of Duty to act as propaganda for the American government, and that within the next few years will feature Iran (or an Iranian stand in) to build public support for a war.

http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2020/01/the-propaganda-we-...

@Tyranexx But, indeed, it's all unbiased, as long as you're listening to the right side! All the legitimate news outlets have factual, unbiased reporting only the facts supported by the data. It's only the OTHER side's news outlets that are biased!! sigh

It's amazing that the regulars here in NL seem to be more open in thinking to understand the biases all around from all "sides" etc than most of the mainstream public. It makes me think it times - no wonder the same media has a coordinated agenda against video games. It seems gamers, more often than the rest of the population, have a clearer mind and a better view into reality.... Maybe the anti-gaming agenda is a 21st century digital book burning of sorts.

@RR529 My first reaction was to think that wasn't the case, and yet, when I think about it more, there's a lot of reason not to doubt that claim, at least back when COD had a single player story. Maybe not as much these days when it's all multiplayer. But when I think back to COD Black Ops II where it had characters that were slightly more than references to sitting cabinet holders, it's a little awkward. And there was, in the 90's or early 00's Americas Army a (mediocre) online multiplayer game actually developed by the US Army, we know for certain the Army, at least, does have an interest and has had actual budget/activity in the video games-as-propaganda arena. And as the article mentions government funded entertainment as propaganda goes back at least to WWII in film and television.

It seems believable overall, though the article takes an extremist, staunchly biased view against US policy as well, so it's one of those things you have to view through the lens of "this is article is also a propaganda piece by an opposition writer." Still, we've been given plenty of reason to believe there's truth in the claim. Not least of which is the credits reel for COD and the like that usually have active-duty armed forces members in the credits. Granted, they are ostensibly there the same reason Nintendo would have people on set for a Mario film - trademark and brand identity management and to make sure their image isn't getting tarnished in any way.

OTOH, Activision is an interesting case. With Tencent's stake in them, they are also in the burgeoning (along with hollywood) market of selling China's propaganda, as well.... Figuring out who's shilling for whom could be an industry all unto itself!

I left my iPad at my brother's home and I probably won't have for like a whole week.

This is the worst thing that could possibly ever happen 😫

Also the flight back home was at five am which was not nice... But at least they gave us free potato chips and beverages, which is a rarity.

I just noticed Best Buy is now referring to their employees as "Blue Shirts". Can't tell if this is now equating them to "Brown Shirts" as in Nazis, or "Red Shirts" as in Star Trek ensigns that are guaranteed to die within 1 hour.

It does not make Best Buy employees seem very approachable, either way....

@NEStalgia So, you disagree with me about the people wanting a war point, when you actually agreed with me earlier, AND I repeated your own point back to you? (the point about the public not wanting to be in the war themselves, which kind of WAS the whole point, from my side anyway)

And the meddling is also just that: meddling. You may have a different understanding of it, or see it as "balancing of powers" but the ironic thing of that kind of thinking is that even the balancing of powers thing is meddling, because regardless of what the underlying reason is, neither side really has any business being there of their own accord. It's just because of all the previous meddling, already done in bygone decades, that there's stakes and lines in the sand to be defended, some even imaginary, as long as it deters the "enemy"...

And no, looking at cases like Iraq isn't too soon at all. The truth is out there: there were no "weapons of mass destruction", so we had no business being there, period. Once again, a "secure the resources and/or lines in the sand" kinda war, all under the guise of a more "plausible" sounding excuse that might soothe the less informed masses.

EDIT:
Mind you, I'm not saying that I don't understand these things going on, or why they are happening, but that doesn't take anything away from the original cause of them now being "necessary", to maintain whatever stalemate or balance needed.

@NotTelevision There are indeed worse problems to have, but having hundreds of tractors camping out on your front lawn, isn't actually a picture that you'd want, as a nation's government, especially if they're loudly protesting for most of the day...

The thing wasn't that the government is doing too much about greenhouse gasses, though: it's that they're putting too much of an uneven amount of stress on certain sectors, farmers being one of them, so measures are far stricter for them, with far more severe consequences, hence the protests.

@Tyranexx Well, there you go. Any improvement is still good, no matter if it's baby steps or giant leaps. There's no time frame in which you need to get to a certain point, unless it's what you yourself want to achieve.

@Zuljaras Well, no offense, but I couldn't disagree more. Some of them may actually have a point or two, most just see an angry parade with torches and pitchforks, and decide to join it, because it's the cool group thing to do...
Seriously, no normal article gets THAT many comments, AND has them all making sense or being valid, so there's definitely a LOT of sheep in there.

@Vinny Yay! Endless Ocean. I will DEFINITELY agree with you on those games. Would be nice to see some HD re-imaginings of those games. Or perhaps a third game in the series.

@Eel You seem to be quite prone to losing/leaving behind quite a few things of late. Becoming a bit absent-minded, my friend?

Becoming absent-minded? It's just my default setting.

@Eel If I were you, I'd put bluetooth stickers on EVERYTHING, then...

@Eel Yuck. I would take a red eye if I absolutely had to, but it would be a last resort. I am NOT a morning person, nor do I sleep well on any type of transportation.

@NEStalgia I like to think the overall majority of users online are reasonably moderate people when it comes to a lot of views and that those who slide way in one direction or another on the political spectrum are just a very vocal minority. I think too this site with its slightly different implementation of how upvotes and downvotes work doesn't lend as much to groupthink as other, larger site like Reddit and YouTube. I'm not totally against voting tools, but like with nearly everything else under the sun it's definitely subject to abuse.

Another danger is that people like mentally sorting others not in their "group" on an issue so to speak into more extreme groups that they don't (in most cases) belong to. Humans seem to like being tribal.

There's also a lack of constructive debate and discussion in most places online. In most cases it devolves into insults and deliberate trolling, only stoking the ire of another. Nothing constructive there. A waste of time and brainpower. What's funny is that some people use their actual names on platforms like Facebook and still have no problem with hurling inflammatory comments.

@ThanosReXXX Slow and steady wins the race! I'm not about to jump into any celebration as the de facto speaker/host, but I'm gradually improving.

@Tyranexx Indeed you are. And your "house of horrors" work certainly also isn't anything to scoff at. I've never heard of any really shy or introverted person doing such a rather public thing. Doesn't matter if you're wearing a disguise or not, you're still putting yourself out there.

@ThanosReXXX You are right that many of them are just spamming without any arguments, but I am speaking for fans that are just disappointed. DLCs should be for expanding the story, game etc. Those DLCs are to FIX mistakes because they did not have enough time to finish the game properly. And I am not talking about the stupid Pokedex. I can play a Pokémon game only with its own generation of Pokemons.

Look at Breath of the Wild. The DLCs are only extras. The main game is PERFECT and complete! They do not need to make a new physical "GOTY" edition of it.

Still I am willing to give them money IF they put the extra work on the cartridge. I will even give them 90$ for each!

@NEStalgia Yeah it’s hard to say what to do. Sometimes it feels like people are arguing whether to put the round or flat noodles in the spaghetti sauce while their house is on fire. At least in the realm of politics. I just hope there is some genuine news being ingested by the average person because there is a lot that needs to be done.

But I’m certainly not cynical or bitter about it anymore because I’ve already passed through that phase.

Ultimately the word “propaganda” is a dirty one for many, but it’s not necessarily a bad one. There has in history been useful social programming that has been beneficial to what I see as a good cause.

That can’t be a substitute for a good education and honestly I think University should be mandatory for almost everyone in the US. Not saying education is the “cure all” (history proves that didn’t work), but hey it’s my idealistic dart I’m throwing at the wall. If you have some idealistic darts and you are throwing them at a wall, then you’ll hit the poultry eventually.

We just need someone in power to do that with semi good intentions.

@NotTelevision I work in a field full of people with Master’s degrees in counseling, yet many are terrible at understanding the human condition, or having a strong self-worth reflect in their clinical work.
But, ya know, your mileage may vary and all that.

Started my three day weekend off with some spicy lasagna and a Mountain Dew. Brewing some coffee for later. Then I work for three days before indulging in an even more decadent four day weekend.

We’re probably watching Brightburn tonight, and I’m pretty excited. It’s sort of an untapped genre, superhero horror, and I’ve heard it’s good. For anyone interested, Midsommar is on Prime now.

@HobbitGamer - Nice little stretch of time you’re kicking off here then, hope it’s nice. Good work on the starter by the way. Is that caffeinated coffee or decaf? I don’t do well with caffeine, especially coffee, after about 5:00 pm. I get real amped up and can’t sleep.

@HobbitGamer For sure. I’m aware of the various idealistic pitfall of thinking education solves all problems. It clearly isn’t the case.

However the current treatment of higher education in the US as either a “means to an end” or a luxury, is wrongheaded as well. The University seems like the only space for the average person to become exposed to various types of intellectual discourses, outside that media echo chamber (which is often misinterpreted as intellectual). And no TED Talks don’t count.

For the sake of brevity, I’ll just say it’s better to get more people to pass through University, regardless of whether or not they’ll use or even need the skills for employment. That’s a propaganda campaign worth starting right there.

Mountain Dew. I’ll need to get some of that later. “It’s been a while since I set eyes on ye, Dewey old friend”.

Full of pizza? Check.
Internet rounds almost finished? Check.
Warm shower coming up? Check.
Storming Ganon's Tower later in A Link to the Past and showing a certain pig-man and Agahnim the door? Most definitely.

@ThanosReXXX It helps that we're confined to certain rooms (usually) and do have some forms of crowd control. People are generally kept moving and don't crowd my space for long. In fact, people hate it when you invade their space, particularly when some of them are already on edge. We're trained to make those moments brief.

TBH I think the haunted house activity is a contributor to some of my improvement. I'm generally comfortable around a lot of the other cast members; it's a rather crude environment in terms of language sometimes (like a very close family or group of friends, one would say), but some of the more temporary volunteers have been tossed for various reasons. One person during the 2018 season was tossed early because the guy was WAY too comfortable with invading other peoples' personal space. Such as sitting on laps without invitation at random, etc.

@Eel More Gen 5 'Mon in PoGo have dropped! Already netted a couple. Just wish the weather wasn't so wet here so that I can actually get out and grab a few more at my leisure. It's pouring right now. T_T

@bimmy-lee niceee might watch it tonight or tomorrow. Just checked out the trailer. Looks.......hereditary (ish)

@Tyranexx ooh nice I haven't checked that, but I did hatch a Golett today, is that one of the new ones?