GAME THREAD: New York Mets (22-19) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (19-22) - (May. 21, 2012)

TheZachster · 2 days

That, and Rob Johnson's 0.00 ERA.

yogthos · 4 days

My hope is that someday this technology will basically allow us to have avatars. I just thought of this a few days ago: all the things that I think I'm physically incapable of ever doing might be possible if only I live long enough that my brain can control a robot or organically-based body that can do them. It might even be possible to live much longer, because failure of the rest of our bodies would become unimportant. I was kind of ambivalent about life before, but now I want to live as long as possible because if this technology improves, the opportunity to live as someone else would be pretty much limitless.

argonauts · 4 days

In NYC even the first plane was fishy. It was the most picture-perfect blue-sky day ever. The idea of commercial pilots accidentally flying right into the biggest building in the city seems basically impossible. Also there had been that other flight a few years earlier when the Egyptian pilot supposedly crashed a plane on purpose, so it wasn't without precedent for a commercial pilot to go nuts and crash on purpose, in or around NYC.

When the second plane hit, I was frightened by the idea that it was obviously a well-coordinated attack, not just a lone nutjob. I turned around in the street to look at the Empire State Building, and honestly expected to see the plane already approaching it. Every time I look at the ESB, I'm glad it's still there (not that it would have fallen down anyway, because it has mad plane-repelling skillz).

argonauts · 4 days

I think maybe nathanielleblanc is me, because these are exactly my memories.

Mostly I remember the strange politeness that came over everyone. At least in my head, it was because you just didn't know if the person coming through the door at McDonalds had just lost a loved one or a friend, and at least holding the door for them would not make their day any worse. I remember the construction workers who helped with the recovery at ground zero who would ride the train home at the end of their shift, covered in dust. Everybody on the train would make room for them and be especially nice.

I remember it being mid-November when I stopped smelling the BBQ smell when I'd leave my apartment (I lived in Chelsea at the time).

argonauts · 4 days

Yeah, after about 24 hours I was wondering if they thought there was anyone in the US who hadn't seen the same footage 50 times already, and what more use there was in replaying it. Even today it seems if 9/11 gets mentioned in even a tangential context, they have to insert a 3-second clip of the towers blowing up, like we might not be aware of what event they're referencing.

argonauts · 4 days

I think they stopped when they started getting complaints from people because the footage was so clear that people could identify their relatives.

argonauts · 4 days

I found the military planes over NYC strangely comforting. Not that I expected they would be needed to shoot down more terrorist-flown planes, but NYC is not a place that feels particularly protected by the military (at least not then). It was just nice to know that somebody was looking out for us, however unlikely it would be that they were needed.

argonauts · 4 days

The moment I first heard the words "Department of Homeland Security," at some press conference where they first announced it, I felt like I was living in a movie about the rise of a dystopian state -- a really bad movie where the writers gave the organization of oppression a name that should have been a tipoff to all citizens that this was going to be a Bad Idea. Same with the "Patriot Act." Really, if a movie used those terms, critics would say it was too cliche.

Jinjit · 4 days

My brother didn't have many possessions, but I'm hoping I can get one of his pieces of surfer style "jewelry" to hold on to.

I hope you can. My aunt died last year, and I ended up with a bunch of her possessions. I have some jewelry, a keyring, some sports memorabilia of teams she liked, etc. I think some of them are actually things I gave her as a child. It makes me happy to see and use them all the time. I know she'd be happy that I'm making use of them. I see it as a way of keeping a part of her alive and active in this world.

RapeFest · 8 days

For most people, they can just go online or send a text message accepting the information in the packet.

That sounds nice. In the US we get forms in the mail from our employers and banking institutions reporting what our income was, and the various taxes that were deducted (and that they also pass on to the government). It would be nice if we could just get that all combined in a statement, with the math already done, and go, "yup, that sounds right," but instead we have to manually enter it all onto another form and send it in ourselves. I guess the idea is that it's somehow more legal if you have to do it yourself and affirm that everything you reported is true, rather than just accepting the result you're given. Still, with today's technology, it could all be more automatic.

RapeFest · 8 days

The issue I sometimes have is that I have like 10 jobs a year, and the income can vary greatly. My basic understanding of how taxes are taken out of your check is that they look at your income and project what you would owe if you made that all year. If I make $70 a week, they take out like $7. If I make $1500 a week, they take out like $500 (the math isn't exact, but it's not that far off). This makes a lot of sense, in terms of helping me save money when I'm not making much, but if I work a low-paying job for a long time, and then my yearly income ends up being too high because of other jobs, when they lump it all together at the end of the year, it turns out the low-paying job wasn't taking out enough taxes for what my eventual income ended up being.

statt0 · 8 days

The scene with Zoey and Bartlet in this episode has always made me hate "Commencement." Martin Sheen's performance describing the scenario is so good that when the exact same thing actually happens it feels unnecessary and a really cheap excuse for a cliffhanger.

I can only hope Sorkin did it to intentionally screw up the plot, because I'd rather think of him as vindictive than as someone who thought that was a good idea.

dangerlul · 25 days

Worst case, she has keys to his apartment and it's not her TV at all.

dangerlul · 25 days

(sheepishly raises hand)

xaphanos · 1 month

The summons clearly states NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Ew. The first time I had jury duty in like 2001 I understood how they had a rule like this, but I figured they did away with it years ago.

The last time I went (last year) they had wifi and encouraged people to bring laptops to keep busy in the holding room. Different courthouse, though (100 Centre Street). Of course when I was actually on a jury the bailiff held our phones when we were in the courtroom or deliberating.

draebder · 1 month

American Idol voting also doesn't require leaving your couch. Voting in elections means going out of your way to a school or other public building either on your way to work (having to get up early), or on your way home (when you're tired and just want to go home). For the lazy, the barriers to getting to the poling place are higher.

Spacefail · 1 month

ROTT always made me nauseous. Even without shroom mode.

KyleGibson · 1 month

It's nice to meet another bookmark entrepreneur!

I made fancy bookmarks with tassels and glitter and sold them at the corner near my house, using the same business model as my lemonade stand. I think I was only open for business for a day or two. I did sell a few, though.

iscrewyou · 1 month

Doesn't sound like the right layout, but Outrun is the only other really popular arcade racing game I can think of that hasn't been mentioned.

MisterWonka · 1 month

That last part is my favorite moment in the series.

VoluntaryZonkey · 1 month

Think about it this way: the resolution of a Blu-ray movie is already too small for the iPad's screen.

smokesteam · 1 month

I love my old Timbuk2, but it's sized for a PowerBook, and the sleeve is unfortunately a little too narrow for the MacBook Pro. I still use it as a generic messenger bag, though.

jjquave · 1 month

See, and I distrust free apps because I'm afraid of security issues.

wondertwins · 1 month

When you sign up for the data plan, I think it just asks the billing address for your credit card. So you have to use the billing address, which I've heard they also use to assign your iPad its phone number. Not that a local phone number means anything these days.

jimmyslim22 · 1 month

Sometimes I think Star Fox is the reason for the misconception. At least among gamers, which is the only context in which I have attempted a barrel roll or an aileron roll.

KPDover

TROPHY CASE

KPDover

TROPHY CASE

you'll need to login or register to do that

create a new account

login