Going by wikipedia's definitions, I would think a "basic income" would be preferable to a "guaranteed minimum income", the difference being means testing. Means testing could create a disincentive to work for people at or below the bubble, would add extra bureaucracy for validation of applicants, and undoubtedly lead to fraud (and, in turn, investigation and punishment). Sending the same check to everyone, rich or poor, seems like a much cleaner and more efficient system.
With a basic income you could abolish not only programs like SNAP and TANF, but also the minimum wage, since employers wouldn't have to provide a "living wage". It seems to me like it would be a much more voluntary exchange of labor for money if I didn't need to work to keep a roof over my kid's head.
With the growing support for new gun control measures, it seems to me the NRA is running the risk of them reaching critical mass and forcing through more changes than are being proposed now. If people get upset enough to counter the NRA and demand something be done, why would they simply stop at things like universal background checks?
Finally finished Arkham Origins. I got all the collectibles, but not all the challenge maps, some of which still aren't unlocked. I'm guessing I would have to play through New Game Plus and I Am The Night modes to unlock everything. Yeah, I don't think that's going happen.
I did get the season pass when I bought the game, though, so I still have the Cold, Cold Heart DLC to play.
Marvel Cinematic Universe - Kinda cheating, but I'm throwing it in anyway. They keep continuity and fit together through the Avengers movies (and usually the after credits scenes.)
Toy Story - Touching stories, very well done.
The Matrix - I know some people hated the 2nd and 3rd, but I found them enjoyable and spent many hours discussing the movies with coworkers.
Lethal Weapon - The epitome of the buddy cop movie, back when you could still like Mel Gibson.
I had also considered Mad Max, Shrek, and Lord of the Rings, but they lost out.
Monte Cristo - I'm not talking about those grotesque creations you find in some restaurants, with the french toast or some other desert bread that has no business in a proper sandwich. One of the best sandwiches I ever had was piles of hot ham and turkey and swiss and russian dressing and egg bread, grilled individually then together until everything was nice and hot and melty. Half of one of those used to fill me up (and I can put away the food, mind you.) Sadly, what the restaurant nows offers is but a mockery. Not only is the bread smaller, there's not even enough meat to cover the whole sandwich and you end up with just bread.
French Bread Pizza sandwich - When I was a kid, my friends and I used to go to local pizza joint and get french bread pizzas. Then we'd fold them over and eat them as sandwiches. The bread was great and a little crunchy on the outside and nice and soft in the middle, with all the cheesy goodness.
Pulled pork - Always delicious, varies greatly depending on sauce used. I tend to prefer the slaw on the side instead of on top, but I can eat either way.
Cheeseburger - Ubiquitous, hard to screw up, and when it's done well (but not necessarily well-done), it's hard to beat.
Finally got the achievement in Arkham Origins for beating Shiva without taking damage. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do that. I had to restart that battle a few dozen times.
Fits in with #10, but sleep for yourself becomes much more important. It might be tempting to stay up after everyone else is asleep to take some time to do things you want to do, but it's not fair to your family if you wind up a little grumpier and more easily frustrated due to lack of sleep. I really hate when I turn into cranky dad.
People hate to think that much of what we dislike in government stems from the people themselves. It is so much easier to blame pols and this or that.
Reminds me of Carlin:
Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here... like, the public.
Arkham Origins. Went on sale for PCs this weekend.
A throwaway line early in the game brought a question to mind (which is unrelated to the plot). If a person such as Killer Croc existed in our world and was incarcerated, his teeth would still pose a formidable threat to guards and other inmates. Could a judge legally order his teeth removed? Assuming he has some sort of regenerative ability, could this be done on a regular basis?
A coworker who was big into Diablo 2 helped convince me to buy Diablo 3 on launch. IIRC, we played pretty frequently over a couple months, then I guess burned-out and stopped. I haven't touched it since. It wasn't without problems, but I mostly enjoyed it. His experiences were clouded by his expectations based upon the 2nd game.
I can't remember the last time I discovered something new from the radio. Apart from kids movies my daughter watches (Let It Go really gets stuck in your head), I probably get most exposure from video games. Especially games like Saints Row or GTA where the soundtrack becomes an integral part of the experience.
Pandora probably comes in second, but I haven't made time for it in a while.
TV would be a distant third. I occasionally hear something I like on SNL or a late night show, but I watch those infrequently. I once searched for a song I was annoyed by from a Mastercard commercial they kept playing over and over again. I ended up liking the song once I heard the full version.
I was disturbed by the bin Laden celebrations in a way that I'm not by the glee over Phelp's death. In addition to the manner of celebration you mentioned, I think it's also that the US government had bin Laden killed. By extension, it was the will of the American people. To have those same people have a party over the killing makes it feel almost like mob justice and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I've been spoiled by Steam. I can't remember the last time I bought a game on physical media.
I have bought a few pre-orders in recent years, thought I wasn't swayed by the extras, they were games I would have bought soon after release anyway. I've also put an embarrassing amount of money into backing Kickstart projects. The latest craze seems to be Early Access games. I haven't bought any of those directly, but I received keys due to Kickstarter backed projects and Humble Bundles.
(On an unrelated note, I think Steam Sales and Humble Bundles are turning me into a digital hoarder.)
I enjoyed Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, but don't have Arkham Origins, yet. I hate the feeling of getting nickle and dimed over DLC, so I'll probably wait for complete package.
The mobile version of Dungeon Keeper has gotten a lot of (negative) press lately, many using Hearthstone as a contrast, so I tried them both of these this week.
Dungeon Keeper is being widely panned because of its microtransaction system. The game is very limited in what you're allowed to do at a given moment, with cooldown timers for almost everything. They range from a few seconds for the most basic actions, to a full day to dig through the hardest materials. In my few days, most actions seem to take several hours. The main issue being that in order to bypass the cooldown, you have to spend "gems", which can be purchased using real money. They can also be earned slowly by completing in-game achievements. Without using gems, gameplay pretty much consists of harvest materials->build/upgrade->wait. I've rarely spent more than 5 minutes at a time playing. This is hardly a new style of gameplay and one I've never been a fan of and I doubt I'll continue much longer. I think EA's biggest "sin" was in using a beloved IP. If it had been named something else, I doubt anyone would have been outraged.
Hearthstone offers a very different free-to-play experience. You can play as long and as often as you'd like. You unlock the basic cards by playing and leveling up the various characters. You can also spend the in-game gold to by booster packs, which gives a chance at rarer and more powerful cards. You can also spend cash to buy booster packs.
On a different note, it's been a month since I've started with Rocksmith. My skills have definitely improved. I can now play Next Girl by The Black Keys pretty well (by the game's metrics, anyway, wouldn't sound as good in a live performance.)
Twitter does allow for much quicker spreading of news (and often misinformation) than other services. I first started using twitter mainly as a glorified RSS feed and followed mostly news organizations and reporters. I've seen several news stories break on twitter and have to wait some time before more information appears on news sites.
In addition to not having an account, you can also set your account to be private. You'd still be able to partake in the stream public information, but your own tweets would only be seen by those you've allowed to follow your account.
I didn't grow up in a household that were fans of Woody Allen, so I never saw any of his movies growing up. By the time I was out on my own, the Soon-Yi relationship and abuse allegation had surfaced. Despite the fact that several entertainers I enjoy have mentioned their respect for Allen and cited his works as major influences in their careers, I still haven't seen any of his works.
I'm not a court of law and there's enough doubt in my mind for me to feel uncomfortable with any of my dollars going towards a Woody Allen product. There are enough great movies that I haven't yet seen (not to mention other forms of entertainment), that I think I'll be ok with abstaining.
I do wonder if there have been any actors that have refused to work with Allen due to the allegations. If not publicly, at least as an uncommunicated personal reason.
Broken Age. It was the first Kickstarter project that I backed, oh so long ago. Despite having put a significant amount of money into various projects, I haven't really kept tabs on how they're progressing or if and when they actually deliver. I skipped over the email announcing that Broken Age was available and only became aware when I saw it on Steam.
As far as the game goes, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's been a while since I've played adventure games and I'm a bit of a Tim Schafer fanboy.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “What Do We Really Want?”
Going by wikipedia's definitions, I would think a "basic income" would be preferable to a "guaranteed minimum income", the difference being means testing. Means testing could create a disincentive to work for people at or below the bubble, would add extra bureaucracy for validation of applicants, and undoubtedly lead to fraud (and, in turn, investigation and punishment). Sending the same check to everyone, rich or poor, seems like a much cleaner and more efficient system.
With a basic income you could abolish not only programs like SNAP and TANF, but also the minimum wage, since employers wouldn't have to provide a "living wage". It seems to me like it would be a much more voluntary exchange of labor for money if I didn't need to work to keep a roof over my kid's head.
On “The moral abyss that is Joe the Plumber”
With the growing support for new gun control measures, it seems to me the NRA is running the risk of them reaching critical mass and forcing through more changes than are being proposed now. If people get upset enough to counter the NRA and demand something be done, why would they simply stop at things like universal background checks?
On “Saturday!”
I was somewhat tempted by Watch Dogs. Given the issues that PC users are having due to the DRM, I'm glad I waited.
On “Mount Rushmore – Children’s Author Editions”
I was thinking Jim Davis, but Schultz is the better choice.
On “Saturday!”
Finally finished Arkham Origins. I got all the collectibles, but not all the challenge maps, some of which still aren't unlocked. I'm guessing I would have to play through New Game Plus and I Am The Night modes to unlock everything. Yeah, I don't think that's going happen.
I did get the season pass when I bought the game, though, so I still have the Cold, Cold Heart DLC to play.
On “Mount Rushmore – Movie Franchise Edition”
Marvel Cinematic Universe - Kinda cheating, but I'm throwing it in anyway. They keep continuity and fit together through the Avengers movies (and usually the after credits scenes.)
Toy Story - Touching stories, very well done.
The Matrix - I know some people hated the 2nd and 3rd, but I found them enjoyable and spent many hours discussing the movies with coworkers.
Lethal Weapon - The epitome of the buddy cop movie, back when you could still like Mel Gibson.
I had also considered Mad Max, Shrek, and Lord of the Rings, but they lost out.
"
Wow, I didn't realize they made a third Riddick movie. I'll have to watch that.
On “Mount Rushmore – Sandwich Edition”
Monte Cristo - I'm not talking about those grotesque creations you find in some restaurants, with the french toast or some other desert bread that has no business in a proper sandwich. One of the best sandwiches I ever had was piles of hot ham and turkey and swiss and russian dressing and egg bread, grilled individually then together until everything was nice and hot and melty. Half of one of those used to fill me up (and I can put away the food, mind you.) Sadly, what the restaurant nows offers is but a mockery. Not only is the bread smaller, there's not even enough meat to cover the whole sandwich and you end up with just bread.
French Bread Pizza sandwich - When I was a kid, my friends and I used to go to local pizza joint and get french bread pizzas. Then we'd fold them over and eat them as sandwiches. The bread was great and a little crunchy on the outside and nice and soft in the middle, with all the cheesy goodness.
Pulled pork - Always delicious, varies greatly depending on sauce used. I tend to prefer the slaw on the side instead of on top, but I can eat either way.
Cheeseburger - Ubiquitous, hard to screw up, and when it's done well (but not necessarily well-done), it's hard to beat.
On “Saturday!”
Finally got the achievement in Arkham Origins for beating Shiva without taking damage. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do that. I had to restart that battle a few dozen times.
On “Mount Rushmore – Candy Edition”
I'm not a big Peep eater, but this year I tried a strawberry creme one, and it was good. If I see them in the store, a few might end up in my cart.
"
1. Giant non-chewy Sweet Tarts
2. Air Heads
3. Runts
4. Caramel Creams
On “Ten Lessons Learned from Year #1 as a Dad”
Fits in with #10, but sleep for yourself becomes much more important. It might be tempting to stay up after everyone else is asleep to take some time to do things you want to do, but it's not fair to your family if you wind up a little grumpier and more easily frustrated due to lack of sleep. I really hate when I turn into cranky dad.
On “Why Third Parties Can’t Solve What You Think They Can”
People hate to think that much of what we dislike in government stems from the people themselves. It is so much easier to blame pols and this or that.
Reminds me of Carlin:
On “Saturday!”
Arkham Origins. Went on sale for PCs this weekend.
A throwaway line early in the game brought a question to mind (which is unrelated to the plot). If a person such as Killer Croc existed in our world and was incarcerated, his teeth would still pose a formidable threat to guards and other inmates. Could a judge legally order his teeth removed? Assuming he has some sort of regenerative ability, could this be done on a regular basis?
A coworker who was big into Diablo 2 helped convince me to buy Diablo 3 on launch. IIRC, we played pretty frequently over a couple months, then I guess burned-out and stopped. I haven't touched it since. It wasn't without problems, but I mostly enjoyed it. His experiences were clouded by his expectations based upon the 2nd game.
On “Damn Yankees!”
I can't remember the last time I discovered something new from the radio. Apart from kids movies my daughter watches (Let It Go really gets stuck in your head), I probably get most exposure from video games. Especially games like Saints Row or GTA where the soundtrack becomes an integral part of the experience.
Pandora probably comes in second, but I haven't made time for it in a while.
TV would be a distant third. I occasionally hear something I like on SNL or a late night show, but I watch those infrequently. I once searched for a song I was annoyed by from a Mastercard commercial they kept playing over and over again. I ended up liking the song once I heard the full version.
On “If I ever visit Topeka, I shall pack dancing shoes”
I was disturbed by the bin Laden celebrations in a way that I'm not by the glee over Phelp's death. In addition to the manner of celebration you mentioned, I think it's also that the US government had bin Laden killed. By extension, it was the will of the American people. To have those same people have a party over the killing makes it feel almost like mob justice and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
On “Saturday!”
I've been spoiled by Steam. I can't remember the last time I bought a game on physical media.
I have bought a few pre-orders in recent years, thought I wasn't swayed by the extras, they were games I would have bought soon after release anyway. I've also put an embarrassing amount of money into backing Kickstart projects. The latest craze seems to be Early Access games. I haven't bought any of those directly, but I received keys due to Kickstarter backed projects and Humble Bundles.
(On an unrelated note, I think Steam Sales and Humble Bundles are turning me into a digital hoarder.)
On “Saturday!”
I enjoyed Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, but don't have Arkham Origins, yet. I hate the feeling of getting nickle and dimed over DLC, so I'll probably wait for complete package.
The mobile version of Dungeon Keeper has gotten a lot of (negative) press lately, many using Hearthstone as a contrast, so I tried them both of these this week.
Dungeon Keeper is being widely panned because of its microtransaction system. The game is very limited in what you're allowed to do at a given moment, with cooldown timers for almost everything. They range from a few seconds for the most basic actions, to a full day to dig through the hardest materials. In my few days, most actions seem to take several hours. The main issue being that in order to bypass the cooldown, you have to spend "gems", which can be purchased using real money. They can also be earned slowly by completing in-game achievements. Without using gems, gameplay pretty much consists of harvest materials->build/upgrade->wait. I've rarely spent more than 5 minutes at a time playing. This is hardly a new style of gameplay and one I've never been a fan of and I doubt I'll continue much longer. I think EA's biggest "sin" was in using a beloved IP. If it had been named something else, I doubt anyone would have been outraged.
Hearthstone offers a very different free-to-play experience. You can play as long and as often as you'd like. You unlock the basic cards by playing and leveling up the various characters. You can also spend the in-game gold to by booster packs, which gives a chance at rarer and more powerful cards. You can also spend cash to buy booster packs.
On a different note, it's been a month since I've started with Rocksmith. My skills have definitely improved. I can now play Next Girl by The Black Keys pretty well (by the game's metrics, anyway, wouldn't sound as good in a live performance.)
On “Twitter and the Social Archipelago”
Twitter does allow for much quicker spreading of news (and often misinformation) than other services. I first started using twitter mainly as a glorified RSS feed and followed mostly news organizations and reporters. I've seen several news stories break on twitter and have to wait some time before more information appears on news sites.
"
In addition to not having an account, you can also set your account to be private. You'd still be able to partake in the stream public information, but your own tweets would only be seen by those you've allowed to follow your account.
On “Stupid Tuesday questions, Walt Disney edition”
Thankfully those days are over. It's closer to 10 minutes now.
"
One of a kind wax cylinder.
"
I sometimes miss having manual, then I remember my former 4-6 hour daily commute and how "fun" it was in stop-and-go traffic.
On “Private: Is Cate Blanchett Morally Reprehensible?”
I didn't grow up in a household that were fans of Woody Allen, so I never saw any of his movies growing up. By the time I was out on my own, the Soon-Yi relationship and abuse allegation had surfaced. Despite the fact that several entertainers I enjoy have mentioned their respect for Allen and cited his works as major influences in their careers, I still haven't seen any of his works.
I'm not a court of law and there's enough doubt in my mind for me to feel uncomfortable with any of my dollars going towards a Woody Allen product. There are enough great movies that I haven't yet seen (not to mention other forms of entertainment), that I think I'll be ok with abstaining.
I do wonder if there have been any actors that have refused to work with Allen due to the allegations. If not publicly, at least as an uncommunicated personal reason.
On “Saturday!”
Broken Age. It was the first Kickstarter project that I backed, oh so long ago. Despite having put a significant amount of money into various projects, I haven't really kept tabs on how they're progressing or if and when they actually deliver. I skipped over the email announcing that Broken Age was available and only became aware when I saw it on Steam.
As far as the game goes, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's been a while since I've played adventure games and I'm a bit of a Tim Schafer fanboy.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.