 |
|
| FriendFeed is the easiest way to share online. Learn more » |
Victor Ganata › Comments
Race, Intelligence, and Genetics For Curious Dummies - Ta-Nehisi Coates interviewing geneticist Neil Risch http://www.theatlantic.com/nationa...
Iván Abrego, Stephen Mack #TeamMomo, Steven Perez and 4 other people liked this
A more technical explanation for why people who think you can measure genetic differences in general intelligence between races are full of shit.
- Victor Ganata
I don't know why this is still an issue. I did undergrad psychology over 20 years ago and there was pretty clear research, evidence and writings confirming that we can't agree what intelligence is, and that testing for it is pretty much a crap shoot.
- WoH: Professor MOTHRA
Pseudoscience is easily the most lucrative industry in the U.S.
- Victor Ganata
My friend is talking me into getting a MBP then installing Windows on it. I'm not totally hating the idea. Hrmm...
Stephen Mack #TeamMomo, Jennifer Dittrich and John (bird whisperer) liked this
If you do, you might want to wait a few months, a refresh is eminent.
- Gimminy
Confirmed or rumors? Because I don't need the latest and greatest if what's out now can do the job. But I can wait a few months.
- Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart
from Android
All but confirmed, rumors are component supplies for current releases are dwindling, and they tend to do their revamps on the laptops May-July. Expectations are the update will be announced during WWDC in the middle of next month. http://www.macrumors.com/2013... Also see: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
- Gimminy
Most likely it will just get you a slight processor upgrade.
- Gimminy
How about a MBA? Refresh due in another few weeks possibly.
- ronin
I have an old MBP with the Core Duo 2 and it's a pretty solid Windows 7 machine :D I imagine the i5 or even i3 would run Win 7 or 8 pretty well. Pricey, though.
- Victor Ganata
close enough to being confirmed that I'd wait............. although I'd say skip the Air and get a Carbon Touch :)
- Jeff (Team マクダジ )
Yeah, the Air might be a better option. Much more portable.
- Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart
from Android
The only thing the MBA lacks that makes it inferior, to me, is no ethernet port. But, there's a thunderbolt>ethernet dongle.
- Arlan K.
No ethernet port? Interesting... Now I have a reason to root my phone to enable hotspotting.
- Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart
from Android
Why install Winderz on it? For full-time or just browser testing?
- Mary B: #TeamMonique
Two words: Parallels Desktop.
- Akiva
I'm a PC. I've been using Windows since Win95. Akiva, hrmm... I'm not totally hating that idea either.
- Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart
from Android
Also, Z, how much Creative Suite do you do? Not sure I wanna push pixels on an Air cuz Photoshop files versus Air's rather minimal internal storage. Course, my plan in June -after WWDC - is to still keep creative work on externals. I haz five drives on the shelf - one is Time Machine backup now, but imma start backing up to another and then take one to the safe-deposit box every week. #beensayingthatformonths
- Mary B: #TeamMonique
There's no reason not to really as long as you have at least 8 gigs of RAM. Best of both worlds.
- Akiva
Agree with Parallels. It only upgrades half as often as most WordPress plugins. And it's not glacial. The mention of it is giving me PTSD, but I think that's more that I was running this wretchedly overpriced cad package called 20/20 in it. 20/20 is awful.
- Mary B: #TeamMonique
I have ascertained that a 13" Retina Pro will address 16 gigs of RAM. (Minimum for me, with the Final Cut Pro habit.)
- Mary B: #TeamMonique
You do know you can get MBA's with 512GB of SSD, right?
- Jonathan Disher
I'm looking for a more portable laptop because my current one is a beast with a 17" monitor, a trackpad, and a touchpad. It's not exactly backpack friendly.
- Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart
from Android
'Los Feliz': How you say it tells about you and L.A. - latimes.com - http://www.latimes.com/news...
John (bird whisperer), Jennifer Dittrich and Victor Ganata liked this
"These days, though, Spanish pronunciations are making a comeback. A younger generation — perhaps more sensitive to the region's history — favors truer Spanish pronunciations. L.A.'s growing Latino population helps propel the new pronunciations too: Univision Radio's "Piolin por La Mañana" often outpaces its English-language competitors, and a Latino runs City Hall. "It's part of the re-Latinization of Los Angeles," said historian William Estrada. "Intersections of culture come about in cuisine and in spoken word — in the changing movement to the correct, authentic pronunciation." Bill Wyatt hangs "Los Feliz" T-shirts at his shop, Y-Que Trading Post, in Los Feliz. More photos But some stick to the anglicized versions, using air quotes to say that even if they're not "right," they still feel as if it's the way to go."
- Anika
from Bookmarklet
Oh, wow. I don't think I've ever heard anyone pronounce it Los FEE-lus.
- Victor Ganata
That's how I pronounce it. I grew up here and we have friends who live there. While my Spanish pronunciation is very good when I'm speaking Spanish, I still pronounce a lot of placenames the gringo way just because it's what they were called locally by the non-Spanish speaking population.
- Spidra Webster
I don't usually hear people pronounce it the Spanish way, either, though (unless they're actually speaking Spanish.) It's more like Spanish stress patterns with American English vowels (which is what I imagine Los-Fey-LEASE sounds like.)
- Victor Ganata
Same thing with a lot of these other names, though. Like San Paydro instead of San Peedro (and almost never San Pehdro.) I always hear El Segundo the way ATCQ says it. I think the only time I really hear anyone say Los Anjelus is in sports broadcasts, otherwise it's almost always just L.A. (but usually they say the exact neighborhood in L.A.)
- Victor Ganata
As I said on Twitter, I generally say it correctly unless the person/people I'm talking to are white or transplants from back east. Then I'll use 'los FEE-lus', which feels really weird to say, but that's how they say it. But as I also mentioned, people who say it that way, don't even use 'los'. Most of the time they say 'las'. Someone in the article mentioned Los Angeles. I don't even say that word, I say, 'LA'.
- Anika
This also reminds me of Alhambra. That's an Arabic word. Spanish has a ton of Arabic loan words. I remember saying it the Arabic way and some lady tried to tell me the Spanish way. Again, I only use al-HAM-bra for Anglo audiences. Otherwise, it's al-hahm-brah. If that makes sense.
- Anika
I kind of wonder now if the prevalence of nicknames and TLAs is simply to avoid these pronunciation quandries. Like it's always "The Valley" and "The SGV", rarely "The San Fernando Valley" (Fer-năn-doe) or "The San Gabriel Valley" (Gay-bree-el).
- Victor Ganata
The incorrect pronunciations that really drive me up a wall are "Lay KWIN-tah" for La Quinta, "jah-ROO-pah" for Jurupa, and "joo-CAY-pah" for Jucaipa.
- Anika
It makes me wonder how Tongvan place names are actually supposed to be pronounced, like Topanga. Azusa, Cucamonga, Cahuenga, Tujunga.
- Victor Ganata
Most are pronounced close enough, from what the lady at the museum told us, just a little more aspiration in places we used the hard sound. She said 'Cahuenga' was closer to 'cah-ween-gah'.
- Anika
There are a lot of Spanish placenames for which I think it would be really weird to insert the Spanish pronunciation into an English sentence, like Santa Monica, Santa Ana, San Marino.
- Victor Ganata
The other issues with those sorts of places is that Santa is often used when San/to should be used instead. Like, in Diamond Bar there's street called Ano Nuevo. That means 'new asshole'. People mark up the signs to put the ~ over the 'n' to make it Año Nuevo. It's still a stupid name for a street, but at least it makes sense.
- Anika
LOL, New Asshole Street.
- Victor Ganata
I really can't imagine anyone ever using the Spanish pronunciation of La Cañada, but at least no one ever pronounces it La Canada.
- Victor Ganata
Now that I think about it, is it mostly El Se-ree-noh or El Se-reh-no?
- Victor Ganata
Most of us say 'el seh-reh-noh'. Nothing is really emphasized and the 'reh' is more aspirated. Anglos here say, "El say-RAY-no". It sounds really country when they do.
- Anika
Up in the Pacific Northwest, a lot of place names are either English or borrowed from First Nations languages. Coquitlam, Kamloops, Snohomish... all from what I very vaguely knew (but had to look up to be sure) were Salish languages. But anyways, that plus taking French in school are my excuses for not knowing Spanish pronunciations.
- Andrew C (✓)
... that said, we in the PNW almost definitely pronounce all those Salish-derived words wrongly.
- Andrew C (✓)
Andrew, it is a bit complicated - in most cases the words themselves (like Seattle) have been Anglicanized, so they're not spelled or pronounced the same way they would be if you were speaking them in their original languages.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Dang. It took me 24 hours to finally think of the word "portentuousness". It might not be exactly what I was thinking of, but I think it's the closest I can get to "the delusion of believing something meaningful and significant is about to happen."
Eivind, Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart, Jessie and 3 other people liked this
Seems prescient.
- Micah
from FFHound(roid)!
How perspicacious
- WoH: Professor MOTHRA
Is that like "portentousness"?
- Jessie
"Delusions of reference" might be closer (but still not quite there)
- Victor Ganata
from iPhone
"pretenscient"?
- Andrew C (✓)
"living"
- Pete #TeamMonique
Oh! "Stop thinking with your glands!" Not "Stop thinking with your glans!"
Lisa | #TeamMonique, Hookuh Tinypants, Jennifer Dittrich and 2 other people liked this
...
- WoH: Professor MOTHRA
I thought that was pretty racy for a TV show in the '60s.
- Victor Ganata
from iPhone
Blue-eyed Humans Have A Single, Common Ancestor - http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...
Kelli H., Soup in a TARDIS, Kirsten and 12 other people liked this
"New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today."
- Jessie
from Bookmarklet
"Originally, we all had brown eyes”, said Professor Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. “But a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a “switch”, which literally “turned off” the ability to produce brown eyes”. The OCA2 gene codes for the so-called P protein, which is involved in the production of melanin, the...
more...
- Jessie
It's from 2008 but I just saw someone post it on FB and thought it was cool.
- Jessie
That one person must have had a hard time in a brown eyed world.
- Andrew C (✓)
from Android
There'd have to be at least two, since blue eyes are a recessive trait, no? :D
- Victor Ganata
from iPhone
Death Wish: 163MPH On A Rocket Powered Bicycle | Geekologie - http://geekologie.com/2013...
Iván Abrego, Victor Ganata, Andrew C (✓) and 4 other people liked this
"This is a short video of French bicyclist François Gissy setting a new world record by hitting 263km/h (~163mph) on a hydrogen peroxide powered rocket bike. That seems dangerous. I've probably hit 25mph on my bike before and I felt like my face was going to melt off. Then I hit a curb trying to dodge a dead opossum and melted both my knees and the palm of one hand off. People at work would get all offended when I wouldn't shake hands and I'd have to show it to them and they'd be all, "Whoa -- you've got a Two-Face hand!" Then I'd flip a coin to see if I was going to sneak up on them at their desk later and squeeze the back of their neck with it."
- ronin
from Bookmarklet
But how does he slow down? Looks like there's nothing besides regular bike brakes, but that can't be.
- Andrew C (✓)
A nozzle pointed in the other direction? :D
- Victor Ganata
The videos make it seem like stopping quickly is not a realistic option :D
- Victor Ganata
Heck, I'm kinda surprised the tires didn't melt off.
- Andrew C (✓)
from Android
Hard Evidence for the Multiverse Found, but String Theory Limits the Space Brain Threat - Not Even Wrong http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit...
Mark H, adf, Hieronymous Boosh and Jennifer Dittrich liked this
I am confused. No dark flow, but still the possibility of a multiverse? But no chance of Boltzmann brains?
- Victor Ganata
It occurs to me that Futurama may actually be the only thing on TV to have ever featured something that might be a Boltmann brain.
- Victor Ganata
The big problem is that multiverse is such a vague term now :D
- Victor Ganata
Yes, THAT'S THE PROBLEM! O_O
- Eric - seven eleven
There's the multiverse from the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, where every point of decision spawns a new universe. There's the multiverse from String Theory, with the existence of multiple branes with a possible infinitude of dimensions. There's the multiverse from Eternal Inflation, which are—in some sense—contiguous with our visible universe, but which are separated by vast regions of inflating spacetime. There are probably a lot more definitions I've missed.
- Victor Ganata
Maybe they're talking about the Cold Spot? That's actually something that could be caused by adjacent branes (not brains :D) but no one knows what the hell it is. It might actually be evidence that spacetime *isn't* homogenous on large scales, which means a basic assumption of our understanding of the universe/multiverse is completely wrong.
- Victor Ganata
I don't think anyone knows what the Axis of Evil is caused by, either.
- Victor Ganata
This thread reads like a Space:1999 plot.
- Hieronymous Boosh
(When I was a kid, I wanted one of those orange jackets they wore on that show. http://catacombs.space1999.net/main... I'm going to claim youth as my excuse.)
- Betsy #TeamMonique
In practical terms, is the only real difference between regular murder and a terrorist attack the fact that, in a terrorist attack, the government can violate everyone's civil rights carte blanche and we'll like it?
Stephen Mack #TeamMomo, Andrew C (✓), Jennifer Dittrich and John (bird whisperer) liked this
This suggests to me that we should have a really high bar for calling something a "terrorist attack". Unless you're a fan of totalitarianism. Which apparently some so-called libertarians actually are.
- Victor Ganata
I feel like the definition is so fluid and so misapplied right now, that even if we had a high bar, it wouldn't matter. We've included and excluded groups of people arbitrarily, with little regard to how actual crimes were perpetrated and what the 'goal' of the people involved was.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Doctors save Ohio boy by 'printing' an airway tube - AP http://m.apnews.com/ap...
Iván Abrego, Stephen Mack #TeamMomo, Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart and 2 other people liked this
OK, this is pretty cool. I doubt you're going to be printing ET tubes for stat use, but they could work a lot better than standard-size tubes for non-urgent procedures.
- Victor Ganata
Do mites really live on my face? - Greg Laden http://scienceblogs.com/greglad...
Jennifer Dittrich liked this
An example of how sometimes it's better not to know :)
- Victor Ganata
Forget 3D-Printed Guns; Here Are Some 3D-Printed Shotgun Slugs - Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com/forget-... >.< Considering any solid material could potentially be used as projectile ammunition, is this really that much of a breakthrough? Plastic slugs? Yay?
Jennifer Dittrich liked this
The idea that 3D-printing something rather than just fashioning it in some other DIY manner is somehow superior or at least noteworthy seems pathognomonic for technological solutionism.
- Victor Ganata
So, if the creator of the Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) says it's pronounced "jif", does that mean Spanish speakers call it "hif"?
Iván Abrego, Gimminy, Mary B: #TeamMonique and 3 other people liked this
It'll always be hard-g gif to me, because I decided years ago when people were debating the pronunciation that since the word graphic has a hard g, so should gif. But if I ever have reason to say it aloud, I'll try to remember the correct way.
- Starmama
from FFHound(roid)!
I'm with you; I've always pronounced it with a hard "g".
- DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE
Aargh. I also just learned that the "proper" pronunciation of "PNG" is "ping" rather than spelling it out (http://www.w3.org/TR...). What else can go wrong today?
- DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE
JPEG is pronounced ṋ̵̛̗̦͍̳̉͊̇ͩy̴͙̠̪͖͍̺̫̼͗̈́ͭ̀̍̒̂̕a͆ͨ̈͌ͩ̅ͥ͏̪͍̘̙͝n̖͍̏͡
- Gimminy
'JIF' reminds me how people say with faux French, 'Targét' which just makes me say the G even harder.
- Micah
from FFHound(roid)!
I took some time for me to discover that 'meme' (in the internet sense) wasn't supposed to be pronounced like the French word. The internet pronunciation just seems wrong.
- Tinfoil 2.0
Tinfoil, it should be pronounced meh-m, it's just a shortening of memetics. Nobody pronounces it that way though. ;)
- Gimminy
Close enough. I am vindicated. Thanks, J̢͕̣̎̔̋̎ͬͭ̾̔ͥ́í̜̤͚̝̹̣̜ͯ̊̆͟m̷̛̪͎̩̯͕͙͕ͨͮ̀m̲̝̈́ͣ͆̃̍͡į̖̠̣͕͖̮̈́͌ͅn̡̠̳͍̳͈͚̙ͣ̈y̷̜͉̺͖͌̎̇̿̀́̇̚͟ (pronounced Throat Warbler Mangrove
- Tinfoil 2.0
Meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene published in 1976, and it's patterned after gene, so it makes sense they have the same vowel sound. And the vowel change from mimetic to meme is pretty much the same vowel change from genetic to gene. (Although the adjectival form of meme is really memetic, and the study of memes is memetics.)
- Victor Ganata
A friend of mine pronounces it "me me" (as in the Me Me Me generation).
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
Which is definitely an odd way to pronounce g-i-f.
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
If I think about it, though, one of my uncles is named Gil but it's pronounced Hil, so GIF might be pronounced hif in certain Spanish dialects anyway regardless of how it's said in English. (Regardless of how it's really pronounced in Spanish, I'm certain it's not uniform.)
- Victor Ganata
Stephen kilt me
- DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE
Victor just ruined the entire Final Fantasy Franchise for me. :/ (Yes, the only thing that made the games, was the currency. ;))
- Gimminy
While Del Negro isn't the greatest coach, I can't help but feel like it's not totally his fault that, as much physical talent as the Clippers have, they can't do anything right if CP3 isn't on the floor, and that they can't make free throws even if their lives depended on it.
Then again, if it's either Vinny or CP3, you're obviously going to want to keep CP3.
- Victor Ganata
An Attempt to Make Sense of The Fast and the Furious Franchise’s Titles « Decent Mess http://decentmess.com/?p=943
Andrew C (✓), Jennifer Dittrich and Stephen Mack #TeamMomo liked this
Fast. Usually Furious.
- Victor Ganata
Fast and Frustrated
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
" Fast & Furious is the fastest title yet - and the most infuriating to me, personally, because I still think they missed a huge opportunity by not calling it The Fast and the 4ious."
- Andrew C (✓)
"nope close but 6'd like they've been numbering them the whole time or something"
- Andrew C (✓)
RT @faboomama: Photo: It’s like a spaceship and a library had a baby and gave me my dreamworld. http://t.co/oc45GII9Ck
Betsy #TeamMonique, Stephen Mack #TeamMomo, Yvonne and Andrew C (✓) liked this
Now *that* is a wall of text.
- Victor Ganata
All these thoughts about consoles makes me think about how, in Star Trek, when the captain has to leave the bridge, he tells the highest officer remaining "You have the con(n)"? I have no idea what "conn" really means.
Steven Perez, Scoble, Alex Scoble, Hieronymous Boosh and Jennifer Dittrich liked this
If they just said it on starships, then I would've assumed it was "console" but apparently it's real nautical terminology, so is it short for "controls"?
- Victor Ganata
Or none of the above, it looks like http://oxforddictionaries.com/us...
- Victor Ganata
Huh. I always assumed 'console' as well, even figuring that it was nautical in origin.
- Jennifer Dittrich
I always assumed it had something to do with the conning tower on ships or submarines.
- Mark H
So not conch? hrmm.
- Micah
from FFHound(roid)!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... I think Wikipedia's explanation is a bit better...Conning is the act of directing the ship, so whoever is directing the ship has the conn
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
I guess what I'm getting at is that it's not really short for anything, it's actually its own word.
- Victor Ganata
Yep. Engage!
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
I suppose now is not the time to admit that I always refer to my driver's seat as conn and passenger seat as ops. :) #trekkielife #askatrekkie
- Hookuh Tinypants
You guys. I think... I think I've forgotten how to dance The Macarena.
Kelli H., Brent Schaus, Lisa | #TeamMonique and 14 other people liked this
'ey Macarena. I did until you posted this.
- Gimminy
CURED AT LAST!
- Hieronymous Boosh
Jimminy, I think this calls for video proof. ;)
- Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart
Same here, Jimminy. Dammit. *side-eye at Z*
- Hookuh Tinypants
/dance (human female toon in WoW)
- Victor Ganata
I will be 90 and doing The Macarena. :)
- Heather
Z, NOPE. TURN, ARM ARM, HEAD HEAD, HIP HIP, SWAY, REPEAT. That's as close as you're getting. P.S. Now you know how to dance The Macarena. ;P
- Gimminy
Exsqueeeze me, I need visual aids not textual instructions. *waits*
- Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart
You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out, you put your left foot in, and you shake it all about.
- Betsy #TeamMonique
Apparently Microsoft can't count. The Xbox One is the THIRD generation of Xbox. LOL
Kelli H., imabonehead, Steven Perez and 5 other people liked this
"One" as in the "One Ring to rule them all." Enjoy being bound in the dark etc, found, etc.
- Soup in a TARDIS
Well, consider that the iPhone went from the 1st generation to the 3G and the iPad went from 2 to "New", and that Mac OS has been stuck at version 10 for more than a decade, and it's clear that innumeracy is rampant in the tech sector :)
- Victor Ganata
They were to call it the Last One, but the marketing team nixed that.
- Tinfoil 2.0
I am surprised it's not XBox Ultimate Edition, to be honest.
- Victor Ganata
It looks like it's about as big as the old ones, and so. many. ports. I wonder how much longer this antiquated form factor will hang on.
- Tinfoil 2.0
To get smaller, they'd probably need to invent a revolutionary, new cooling system, or figure out how to make GPUs that don't generate oven-like temperatures. Or try to force people to accept that you really don't need that many polygons.
- Victor Ganata
They said it'd be quiet, which further constrains cooling.
- Andrew C (✓)
from Android
They'd also probably have to do away with the optical drive, which would then probably reintroduce the issue of requiring an always-on Internet connection (which they've confirmed is not required with the XboxOne - it will require an Internet connection, but will still work if the net connection is out-of-commission for a while)
- DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE
Also sounds like they didn't bother with backwards compatibility for DVD based Xbox 360 games.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
Or online games you have purchased
- Shevonne
Yeah, Shevonne, I think you are right, but I also think that with the online stuff they can possibly translate ownership from old platform to new for any online titles that get rewritten. Not that they will do this, just that it's possible.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
I was thinking that it could be possible as well, but it seems due to the new hardware architecture...maybe the online games were created using the old one so it won't transfer? Someone know?
- Shevonne
I assume that the PS4 will have the same issue.
- Shevonne
They could always recompile the old games if a software emulation system isn't possible. But it's still noticeable how they didn't even mention it. Used to be backwards compatibility was a key feature (at least at console launches), or if it was left out, they at least had to address it.
- Andrew C (✓)
Yeah, I'm certain Microsoft (and Sony) would rather that developers port their games to the new platform.
- Victor Ganata
Yep, and it would still be possible for Microsoft to swing the licenses to the ports. Unfortunately, for the bean counters, there's little financial reason to do so. The number of sales that good will creates is much harder to count.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
IMHO cross compiling always has, and always will, suck big time
- Jeff (Team マクダジ )
It's got to be better than emulation, though, performance wise, even if the XBox One is way more powerful than the XBox 360.
- Victor Ganata
That depends on the game, but yes, in general that's true, Victor. Jeff, I believe that a lot of modern games are developed chiefly for one console (I think EA mostly develops first for PS3) and then ported to the Xbox. It seems to work well.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
should be interesting to watch now that both platforms will be x86 based, instead of totally different core architectures
- Jeff (Team マクダジ )
These days they're usually not ported after the fact, they're usually developed on the dev team's own abstraction layer (or sometimes licensed middleware) over PS3 and 360.
- Andrew C (✓)
Yeah, I know that Square Enix uses Crystal Tools to develop games for PS3, XBox 360, Windows, and the Wii.
- Victor Ganata
Yes, Sony is doing the same thing with PS4. Regarding MS transferring the licenses, if Windows Phone 7-> Windows Phone 8 is any indication, some games will, but others won't (I was able to download new version of Fruit Ninja when I switched phones, but had to buy new copies of my Angry Birds games)
- DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE
One red ring to rule them all. (a correction to the first comment) I wonder how they will compare to the original XBox, as web servers.
- April Russo
Based on the totality of my entertainment choices throughout my life, I am convinced the end of the world will consist of some horrific ecocatastrophe exacerbated by giant robots. The soundtrack of the eschaton will be dubstep alternating with J-pop ballads.
Tamara J., Stephen Mack #TeamMomo, Bren and 9 other people liked this
...and yet no ZOMBIES??
- .LAG liked that
Mutants, ghosts, mummies, wraiths, and liches, but no zombies.
- Victor Ganata
big rocks from space?
- Hieronymous Boosh
I guess a meteor strike could be considered a form of ecocatastrophe, all right.
- Victor Ganata
Hey, thanks to anime, at least I know a new, entirely weird world will arise from the ashes of the old. I suspect there will be giant bugs.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Times like these I'm glad I'm a descriptivist and don't give a crap about whether someone uses hard or soft "g".
Micah liked this
Can I call you "Dr J." for Janata? ;)
- Micah
from FFHound(roid)!
It's still a "g" though #NothingButAGThangBaby
- Victor Ganata
Ggggah!
- Eric - seven eleven
from iPhone
Fair 'nuff.
- Micah
from FFHound(roid)!
Crazy. Finishing the 120 quests for the In to the Nether achieve got me from level 70 to level 75. On another toon, I haven't even finished the 90 quests for the Shadow of the Betrayer achieve, but they've so far gotten me from level 67 to 76.
Hookuh Tinypants and Arlan K. liked this
Although I just realized pet battling actually gains you XP now.
- Victor Ganata
So I'm trying to get both toons to 80 so I can finish off the group quests in Nagrand and Shadowmoon Valley. Doing Icecrown quests, I realize that I've forgotten just how much Garrosh screwed the Alliance even before he was Warchief.
- Victor Ganata
Trying to finish Shadowmoon Valley is starting to get painful. A bunch of the quests seem bugged and I can't start the Netherwing dailies until I get epic flying. I'm exactly two quests short. It seems like my only path forward is to try and partially solo Serpentshrine Cavern.
- Victor Ganata
Oh, hey, they nerfed Fathom-Lord Karathress. http://us.battle.net/wow... I wonder if I can solo this at 85, or if I need to ding 90.
- Victor Ganata
Growing up, my brother and I have only ever pushed for a new console when there was a game we just had to play, and that kind of carried over to our game-buying habits now.
Hieronymous Boosh, John (bird whisperer), Steven Perez and Jennifer Dittrich liked this
Actually, I'd have to say it started with my dad. He picked up an Atari 400 because he wanted to play a decent port of Pac Man and not the crappy version on the Atari 2600.
- Victor Ganata
The reason we got a NES was because of The Legend of Zelda.
- Victor Ganata
Sega Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog
- Victor Ganata
SNES: Street Fighter II
- Victor Ganata
Playstation: Final Fantasy VII
- Victor Ganata
My brother got the Playstation II for Metal Gear Solid 2.
- Victor Ganata
I wouldn't have gotten a PS3, though, except my brother got me one for a housewarming present.
- Victor Ganata
So pretty much the only console I ever personally bought was the original Playstation.
- Victor Ganata
My parents bought me a Colecovision then a NES and then a SNES. I bought my Playstation, PS2 and PS3 (and an assortment of handheld devices). What made me decide to get the PS was a Japanese Robotech game so the unit was modded. Then FFVII and Metal Gear Solid came out. Stuck to Sony Playstation ever since.
- Arlan K.
I bought an N64 for Goldeneye.
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
from iPhone
Goldeneye is like crack.
- Tinfoil 2.0
My sibs and I spent so many hours killing each other in Goldeneye.
- Steven Perez
My parents disapproved of dedicated game machines, so my first console was the Dreamcast.
- Andrew C (✓)
from Android
RT @way0utwest: Star Trek gets closer every day http://qz.com/86685...
 |
Kelli H., Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart, April Russo and 3 other people liked this
Given all of the random food bars, gels, supplements, and energy drinks we consume, I figured we were mostly there already on the manufactured nutrition front.
- Jennifer Dittrich
3D printing of everything will probably really bring us one step closer to the end of scarcity, but the big breakthrough with Federation replicator tech is really the abundant supply of energy and raw materials.
- Victor Ganata
Tea, Earl Grey, hot.
- Betsy #TeamMonique
(Star Trek question: the food replicators also replicated cups and plates. In a years-long expedition, wouldn't they end up with more dishes than they have storage space for? Or do they recycle the dishes to get re-replicated? If so, wouldn't it be cheaper over the long term to use regular non-replicated dishes?
- Betsy #TeamMonique
I've assumed they recycle the dishes, which on a ship with limited storage space, might be the cheaper option in the long run (no washing or storage needed, or a need to replace when broken.)
- Jennifer Dittrich
Betsy! LOL - must pose to my severely nerdy Star Trek everything girlfriend.
- Janet:#TeamMonique
Yeah, I think they recycle everything. Since they don't worry about energy expenditure or material cost, storage space might be the only factor they have to consider.
- Victor Ganata
I think the food and dishes is made from the same grey gloop in Star Trek
- Mo Kargas
Considering that I don't buy game systems until they've been on the market for at least a year, it's hard for me to get all that excited about these new consoles. Let's see what they do for games after a year and then we'll talk.
Shevonne and Jennifer Dittrich liked this
I feel more or less the same. I'm also so far behind on the games I currently own that it will be a while before I feel like I need to get something new.
- Jennifer Dittrich
This is a rule I won't break after years of experience buying game systems too soon. No point in throwing away money on a system or systems that are poorly supported.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
Yeah, Jennifer, I feel you on that.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
I watched one of my roommates deal with the endless RRoD, so I'm a bit shy on initial console purchases as well. Truthfully, most first generation complex technology.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Yeah, I feel like I just got my PS3. I usually don't upgrade until there's a game that I feel like I have to have, and those are really few and far between these days.
- Victor Ganata
I totally understand your position, but with our Xbox (and most likely with the Xbox One) we use it much, much more for the other entertainment than we do for games. Our wii is the game console for us (Nintendo's games are fun for us, only a handful of Xbox games are - and those are mostly XBA games).
- DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE
But seriously, is anyone really going to pay more for backward compatibility? Does it really make sense for them to spend money on developing an emulation layer when they're probably going to lose money on each unit sold and have to make those losses worth it by selling dev kits?
Stephen Mack #TeamMomo liked this
That's one thing about being Microsoft. They probably don't really expect anyone to give them any good will anyway.
- Victor Ganata
That's a good question. I'd never assume such a thing, but then again, I grew up in an era where one brand of computer was unable to read a 5-1/4" or 3-1/2" floppy disk formatted on another brand of computer. It must be a totally different paradigm for anyone who grew up in the era of Blu-Ray/DVD players and computers running different OSes but which can all read DVDs and NTFS-formatted portable hard drives.
- Victor Ganata
I think Nintendo usually does provide one generation of backwards compatibility. Maybe not with n64 to GameCube though. But they don't sell their consoles at a loss either...
- Andrew C (✓)
from Android
I don't expect backwards compatibility for discs, though the Wii's ability to read Gamecube discs is still part of what endeared me to that console. Software based stuff, especially if the same game works for the next generation console, that annoys me - that's just a failure to transfer the license. I'm not up in arms, I'm not surprised, but still annoyed.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Yeah, Nintendo not having to sell consoles at a loss is probably why they have no problem with being backwards compatible all the way to the 8-bit NES (through Virtual Console, at least).
- Victor Ganata
The weird part is, space and ports on the TV are getting to be enough of a premium, that I would be willing to spend more on a console that had one full generation of back compatibility and kept the purchased games. I'd love to ditch the 360 and the PS3 to combine with a One, but I'd lose all of those other games.
- Jennifer Dittrich
I think the Commodore 128, released in 1985, the same year as the Commodore Amiga, was an object lesson in how slavish devotion to backward compatibility will kill your platform. The Commodore 128 had full Commodre 64 emulation, so hardly anyone developed C128-specific software, and the C128 flopped.
Amir, Scoble, Alex Scoble and Andrew C (✓) liked this
Meanwhile, the Commodore Amiga had zero backward compatibility and survived 7 years longer than the C128 did, and is still the beloved platform of many die-hard users.
- Victor Ganata
A more relevant modern example are iOS devices. If you bought Angry Birds on the original iPhone, you still get to play it on your iPhone 3GS, iPhone 5, iPad 2, etc. And that's really going to be the competition to consoles from here on out. If they can do it with smartphones, why can't they do it with consoles?
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
Because smartphones are upgraded every year and therefore use relatively small revisions of ARM architecture each time. Both Sony and MS completely switched architectures.
- Andrew C (✓)
Last time they used custom CPUs - the CELL and a somewhat customized PowerPC. Now both are using x86 derived architecture.
- Andrew C (✓)
Who knows, if the PC falls behind the smartphone in driving chips, maybe the next consoles will be ARM-based.
- Andrew C (✓)
Yeah, incremental change in hardware, incremental change in OS/API. But the only reason why you can still play Angry Birds is because upgrades are free from the App Store. I don't think you could actually run a copy of Angry Birds compiled for iPhone OS 2 on an iPhone running iOS 5 or 6.
- Victor Ganata
It would be nice if MS (or Sony) offered a free upgrade to the XBox One (or PS4) version of a downloadable game, but we'll see if that really happens.
- Victor Ganata
Yes, the key point that I made was that you buy a game from Apple Store once, you have it on all your devices for a long time. The mechanism they use to do this is of little relevance. Most users don't care about how it's done, but only that it is done. To many users the valid question is if Apple can do it, why can't Microsoft?
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
Heh, maybe it's a sign that MS and Sony just don't have the clout that Apple does in being able to strongarm their developers into providing free upgrades forever. (I'm sure that some developers aren't happy about this, but are willing to tolerate it for the flood of money coming their way.)
- Victor Ganata
It's not forever on Apple's side even, and that's with a stable architecture and APIs. For example, GLU withdrew some of their earlier games from the App Store because I guess it was too expensive to update them, esp since they predated the company's new freemium business model.
- Andrew C (✓)
from Android
Yep, Andrew. That's why I said "for a long time". Anyhow, it will be a year and a half at least until I decide to get the One. I don't buy game systems until they've been out for at least a year. You can't tell how viable they will be until then and I've wasted enough money on that industry in my life already.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
Yeah, presumably iOS 7 won't run on the iPhone 3GS and maybe not even the 4 or the iPad 2, so it will be interesting to see how that all plays out.
- Victor Ganata
Heh, they finally lowered the starting area of EotS. http://us.battle.net/wow...
Hookuh Tinypants liked this
Now if they could get rid of the awful domes.
- Victor Ganata
Sports Book Club: Tim Grover's Relentless - The Triangle Blog - Grantland - http://www.grantland.com/blog...
Victor Ganata liked this
"Relentless is a sports self-help/inspirational book by famed athletic trainer Tim Grover that reads like it was written by the love child of Gordon Gekko, Ayn Rand, and Sonny Vaccaro. Imagine The Onion doing a parody of an ultra-sociopathic Michael Jordan with the constant roar of the author swinging his dick like a helicopter rotor in the background and you have Relentless."
- Andrew C (✓)
from Bookmarklet
"Anyway, there are 13 rules and all the rules are labeled "#1." Why label every rule with the same number? Excellent question! " ... because if you give people a numbered list, they think #1 is the most important and the rest just follow behind." OK, so why not just use bullet points or dashes or something? Don't you think it's a little confusing to be, like, "rule #1" and have it mean 13 things? "If it's a long list they lose interest after #3 or #4." Well, I don't know ... Adderall? "
- Andrew C (✓)
"Which brings me to the nagging question that anyone who has followed sports for the last 20 years should ask themselves when they encounter the story of a trainer who gets incredible results: ummmm, PEDS? Grover has always denied using PEDs as part of his prescribed regimens. [...] Which is nice to say, except that Grover's book is about describing the mind-set of a person who is...
more...
- Andrew C (✓)
"In other words: Tim Grover, who always abides by the guidelines the NBA has put into place regarding PEDs, uses a story about a man who takes a chemical potion to illustrate the idealized mind-set of the ultimate winner, a Cleaner. "
- Andrew C (✓)
"The entire book reminds me of Colonel Jessup right before he admitted he ordered the code red."
- Andrew C (✓)
There's a fine line between genius and sociopathy :)
- Victor Ganata
Yeah, the line is called winning. You win and everyone forgives you your sociopathy.
- Andrew C (✓)
Unless you get caught using PEDs.
- Victor Ganata
Fair enough!
- Andrew C (✓)
Language Evolution: The Inca Connection: A Quechua Word Game - http://langevo.blogspot.de/2013...
Gabriel Conroy, Emre Sevinc, Stéphane Miroux and 5 other people liked this
"I think I have already demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that the Quechua people are a lost Nostratic tribe. Note that the semantic matches are impeccable and the similarity of the words is quite obvious to any open-minded observer. Indeed, the matches are much better than many of those in the LWED. The quality of examples 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9, in particular, is guaranteed by the fact that they represent statistically certified ultraconserved Eurasiatic vocabulary (Pagel et al. 2013). The famous items ‘mother’, ‘bark’, and ‘worm’ are among them. In many Eurasiatic languages the words for ‘bark’ and ‘skin’ are the same or look related (6, 7). This seems to be true of Quechua as well, but just in order to probe every possibility, I can offer an alternative etymology of qara ‘skin’ (8, from a different Eurasiatic root), in which case its homophony with qara ‘bark’ must be accidental. A nice match either way."
- Maitani
from Bookmarklet
LOL.
- Victor Ganata
Excellent series of posts and a blog to follow. Thanks for sharing once more.
- Afonso Xavier
Afonso, this relatively new blog and Asya Pereltsvaig and Martin Lewis' GeoCurrents http://geocurrents.info/ are excellent sources and my favourite blogs on historical linguistics and language change in general. Asya and Martin cover a fascinating array of items, often beyond the scope of linguistics. :-)
- Maitani
Other ways to read this feed:
