Octopus Overlords

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 2:15 pm The funny thing is, I don't mind complex mechanics when they're completely divorced from entertainment. Understanding complex systems for say, a job, is actually a fun challenge. But for entertainment? I want the experience of being there, with the mechanics staying out of the way unless they're needed.

I used to run into that all the time when I wrote in-game text and documentation for PC strategy games. Generally, I tried to avoid breaking fiction, even in help files. So I'd describe a weapon as medium-range, for example, when the player really wanted to know that it reached 15 tiles. Game developers tend to assume that players want precise information, and sometimes it was hard to obfuscate that in general descriptive terms and still make the help helpful -- for example, if a character has 12 inventory slots, a help entry that says "You can only carry so much" isn't very helpful. But if the designer's directive said "Don't make it sound gamey," I had to write around the numbers. Players who really want precision will always work the numbers out themselves and share them online. You don't want to remind the other players that your game is a collection of artful spreadsheets.

When I was writing manuals (usually for strategy games), I'd always try and make the descriptions of in-game elements (equipment, units, etc) be written in-setting, then either follow it with the technical statistics underneath, or have the stats in an appendix. Of course, that was all dependent on what the developer wanted (and on what Zaxxon would let me get away with.)

I agree. In the old Usenet terminology I am a simulation player (contrasted with narrative and gamist). One of my pet peeves in games is designing a game with a lot of story, lore, and theme but making the play experience focus on either optimal character building or optimal play.

The funny thing is that I love crunchy game mechanics that I can play around with. Some of the fun in Grim Dawn, for example, is planning builds or experimenting with different classes and skills. But that's just during the story phase / leveling. As soon as get close to the end game I lose interest because my fun and thematic builds don't match up with the optimum builds needed.

I'm going to be SO glad when this 5th Grade year is finished for Little B 10.9. She's in an ALPS program (Advanced Learning Placement) and it is really tough. Every month, she is assigned a huge project. One month it's a book report, the next month it's a geography project, next month its a history project, etc. They range from basic PPT presentations, to research papers, to dioramas, to posters, to creating a board game...you get the idea. This month's is a STEM project that requires them to design an experiment from scratch, create a project display board, turn in a full research paper, and do an interview about the project.

While I (sort of) appreciate that they're making the kids do this sort of work, the frequency and level of effort required seems a bit insane. Hell, just the instructions for this STEM project were 27 pages long. On top of 7 hours in school, she's typically spending 2 hours a day working on these projects and her other homework. It's the equivalent of a full time job...as a 10 year old. Add in the usual extracurriculars (soccer, guitar, karate) and the poor kid barely has time to breathe. She's super smart, gets good grades, and enjoys her friends, but she's starting to dislike school simply because of the huge workload.

Part of me appreciates the fact that she's getting prepared for the "real world", but I'm also concerned that she's not getting to just be a kid. When she's coming home from school in tears once a week because she feels "overwhelmed", that feels like an indicator that it's a bit too much. Granted, she could be better at project planning and being proactive, but it still feels like unrealistic expectations.

I'm debating whether to pull her out of ALPS after this year, or keep her in through elementary school and re-evaluate when she starts middle school (7th grade). It's not a question of intelligence, I just don't want a completely burnt-out 6th grader, y'know?

I also wonder what kids do if they don't have parents who have the ability (or willingness) to spend hours helping them with these projects, or who aren't computer savvy. The amount of effort for both of us is crazy.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:04 am but I'm also concerned that she's not getting to just be a kid.

nailed it

too many tiger parents prepping their offspring for cubicle jobs with childhood-and-adolescence-long training starting at age 2

Have you asked her if she wants to continue in the program?

TBH, that sounds like an insane amount of work for her age. I don't think my HS child (who is in 4 AP classes plus 2 Honors classes this semester) has to deal with that kind of stress.

Edit: Also what HBA said!

With two kids in across-the-board advanced placement classes since elementary school, I've dealt with this, too. I did a lot of reading on the importance of education, as well as on the importance of actual childhood experiences. My conclusion was that balance was absolutely necessary. They needed the challenges, but they needed time to be kids, too. There is a lot of development that's tied to play, socialization, imagination, all the things that kids do instinctively when given the opportunity.

Ok the Food City site is working again and I can view the weekly ad.

Looking at the BK site closely its their site now and not me. There is no way to view the menu. The normal MENU hotlink is totally gone and replaced with ORDER NOW. So theres no way to see the menu. Im not sure if I can view it when they are actually open or not. But thats just stupid.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:44 am Ok the Food City site is working again and I can view the weekly ad.

Looking at the BK site closely its their site now and not me. There is no way to view the menu. The normal MENU hotlink is totally gone and replaced with ORDER NOW. So theres no way to see the menu. Im not sure if I can view it when they are actually open or not. But thats just stupid.

When the page loads, i see Order, Restaurants, Offers, Trending, More across the top left. Click on More. Click on Explore Menu. Alternatively, scroll to the very bottom. Under the heading BKC Info, the last option is Menu. Final option is to just click Order and do everything but actually place the order.

Edit: I realized the above instructions were for a mobile device. From my desktop, at the very top is the Burger King logo, then Real Good Food. Click on that.

Alternatively, here is the link. http://www.burgerking.com.mx/en/menu

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:04 am I'm going to be SO glad when this 5th Grade year is finished for Little B 10.9. She's in an ALPS program (Advanced Learning Placement) and it is really tough. Every month, she is assigned a huge project. One month it's a book report, the next month it's a geography project, next month its a history project, etc. They range from basic PPT presentations, to research papers, to dioramas, to posters, to creating a board game...you get the idea. This month's is a STEM project that requires them to design an experiment from scratch, create a project display board, turn in a full research paper, and do an interview about the project.

While I (sort of) appreciate that they're making the kids do this sort of work, the frequency and level of effort required seems a bit insane. Hell, just the instructions for this STEM project were 27 pages long. On top of 7 hours in school, she's typically spending 2 hours a day working on these projects and her other homework. It's the equivalent of a full time job...as a 10 year old. Add in the usual extracurriculars (soccer, guitar, karate) and the poor kid barely has time to breathe. She's super smart, gets good grades, and enjoys her friends, but she's starting to dislike school simply because of the huge workload.

Part of me appreciates the fact that she's getting prepared for the "real world", but I'm also concerned that she's not getting to just be a kid. When she's coming home from school in tears once a week because she feels "overwhelmed", that feels like an indicator that it's a bit too much. Granted, she could be better at project planning and being proactive, but it still feels like unrealistic expectations.

I'm debating whether to pull her out of ALPS after this year, or keep her in through elementary school and re-evaluate when she starts middle school (7th grade). It's not a question of intelligence, I just don't want a completely burnt-out 6th grader, y'know?

I also wonder what kids do if they don't have parents who have the ability (or willingness) to spend hours helping them with these projects, or who aren't computer savvy. The amount of effort for both of us is crazy.

I'm probably the wrong one to be writing about this because I think grade school is too young for the real world thoughts, but...

We went through something similar. I am an engineer. When my first one went through it, our experiments had replicates to estimate our variation. She was frustrated because she had no clue what any of that was or why we were doing it. I was frustrated because the directions seemed to indicate that was expected. When the second one went through it, I let her work represent a 5th grader's work. She designed the experiments with a bit of help from me to make sure the conditions were separate enough to potentially see a result. We did one trial for each condition. She wrote up the results that occurred even if they didn't come out as expected. She used her own words with a bit of help to make sure it was clear. It was not the best presentation. It was, however, hers.

The first one took hours and hours and many tears. The second one took about 4 hours with only the normal frustration that eventually she would have preferred to be playing. Both kids got the same grade.

I think you're on the right track worrying about burn out. I think as long as the kid is interested and engaged, the challenges are good. If they are getting overwhelmed or showing signs of disliking what they used to like, it's time to pull back. There is plenty of time for them to dig in deep in the future. Now is the time where boredom will help strengthen their imaginations. In my opinion anyway.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 2:15 pm I want the mechanics of the activity to take back seat to the fantasy (whether that fantasy involves wizards, cybernetics, or spec-ops.) I like when the feel of the activity is that you're experiencing the fantasy, with the mechanics there only to allow you to answer the unknowns ("Did I hit?")

Same here. The RPG rules are just a "framework" to model / abstractify how the world works. It shouldn't take away from the role-playing aspect itself. When too much focus was placed on the framework, it's like a novel with way too much world-building and characters and plot are bland as ****. Games like that are too much game, not enough play.

It also affects how I game. I mainly play the game through on "easy" for the experience. I don't expect a total cakewalk, but how to defeat bosses should be relatively obvious. If they suddenly spring a new game mechanic on me and expect me to use that on the boss right away, something's off about the balance or difficulty curve, and if not all builds are capable of defeating the boss, something's wrong with the game balance.

Currently playing Victor Vran, and some of the challenges they put in seem to be just extremely "arbitrary", like "kill 70 enemies without taking any damage". This turns out to be practically impossible, even if you have special powers like diamond aura. Some enemies just move too fast and/or have seeking projectiles that you can barely outrun, and not when multiple projectiles are fired at you from different directions. That's a "game" mechanism, not a play mechanism.

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:25 am

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:44 am Ok the Food City site is working again and I can view the weekly ad.

Looking at the BK site closely its their site now and not me. There is no way to view the menu. The normal MENU hotlink is totally gone and replaced with ORDER NOW. So theres no way to see the menu. Im not sure if I can view it when they are actually open or not. But thats just stupid.

When the page loads, i see Order, Restaurants, Offers, Trending, More across the top left. Click on More. Click on Explore Menu. Alternatively, scroll to the very bottom. Under the heading BKC Info, the last option is Menu. Final option is to just click Order and do everything but actually place the order.

Edit: I realized the above instructions were for a mobile device. From my desktop, at the very top is the Burger King logo, then Real Good Food. Click on that.

Alternatively, here is the link. http://www.burgerking.com.mx/en/menu

I must be seeing the mobile site on my desktop then? Weird.The more then explore does nothing. But the one at the bottom under info then menu does work to bring up the menu. Why they changed it from having an easy access menu at the top I dont know. Also I wish all fast food showed prices like some places do.

Thanks!

Hrdina wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:16 am Have you asked her if she wants to continue in the program?

She says she does, but I’m not sure how much of that is because she enjoys the program and how much is simply the opportunity to stay in the same class as her friends. There’s been a core group that has advanced in this program together since 2nd grade, and I think there’s some fear about going back to “gen pop”. We’ve tried talking to her about separating those two factors, dunno if it’s sunk in or not.

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:10 am When the second one went through it, I let her work represent a 5th grader's work.

I’ll admit that I struggle with knowing what this is. She often thinks that what she puts together is comprehensive work, while I often view what she does as meeting the bare minimum requirements. It’s been a bit of a battle, but I have forced myself to be less critical and more open to what she creates as grade appropriate. Less projection from dad is probably a good thing.

Honestly, a big part of the challenge is that project expectations are always extremely unclear from the teacher. For example, her last project was to create a board game based on a topic she was interested in. There was a grading rubric that outlined the research she had to do, the paper she needed to put together, then the aspects of the game she had to create. B chose to do her project on dragons. She found multiple books about dragons, compiled quite a bit of research, then dove headfirst into creating this board game. We play lots of games, so it was something she was super interested in.

She did an incredible job in developing the game. She created four pages worth of “dragon encounters”, complete with descriptions and actions based on dragons from different literature sources. We found a site that makes MtG-style cards, and she created an entire deck to use in the game. She developed a gameboard and populated it. She created gold, weapon, and encounter tokens. She playtested it with me, Mrs. Skinypupy, and the Wonder Twins. This game was awesome, and she was incredibly proud of the work she did on it.

When she got her grade back, it was a C. The teacher said her game was “fine”, which was literally the only comment she made about this incredibly creative game that B put together. Honestly, I doubt she even looked at it. Instead, she chose to mark down the entire project because B’s research paper about dragons wasn’t detailed or comprehensive as she thought it could be. Look, if you want them to write a research paper, then just say you want a damn research paper. Don’t send them running off down the rabbit hole of developing an entire board game, then simply ignore it because the research paper component wasn’t as fully developed as you would have liked. B was crushed that all this incredibly detailed work she did was simply dismissed. I'm sure that next time she'll just skip the entire creative part and just write a paper, which seems like the exact opposite behavior that we want to encourage.

Some variation of this happens on nearly every project. Mrs. Skinypupy and I have been frustrated by the teacher's lack of clear expectations, but have tried really had not to be “those parents” who are always complaining about their kid’s grades. We’ve reached out a couple times via e-mail, but usually just get the equivalent of “read the project instructions”.

It's ultimately her decision, but I’m just kinda over the whole ALPS thing at this point. I don’t want school to make her miserable, and it feels like that's what’s happening.

You sound like you're in a very similar situation to where we were ~4 years ago with our daughter. We ended up changing schools and then ultimately moving, which I can appreciate isn't a reasonable situation for most people. I can PM you more details but I'm not sure they'd be all that helpful knowing hour our story ends.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:29 pm Also I wish all fast food showed prices like some places do.

The ones that let you place orders are the ones that will show prices. Without that option, though, it's just not worth the hassle to try and keep up with something that is not standard nationwide. Think of how much you'd complain if the online price differed from what was found in the store!

Too cold. Into the teens tonight with a good wind. Ive dripped water for 2 days but tonight I think it will need a small stream. I had a heater full of kerosene saved from last year and may need to use it tonight as well. I usually just heat this bedroom I live in in the winter and let the rest of the house freeze but Ill have a heater under the front porch on the well pump and one in the bathroom tonight. The kerosene heater can keep the kitchen warm for one night. Hope Feb is better. Why the heck does Kerosene cost $4 a gallon?? And thats the cheap stuff from the local stores...if you buy it in a place like Home Depot....and I dont know who does that crazy shit....its probably over $9.

EDIT: Just looked online..its $12 a gal at HD lolz.

Oh this shall be mine!

On the coldest night in a year I blew a fuse. After replacing the fuse I moved my bed room heater to my pc circuit. I turned off the pc and stuff hoping it would be ok but the power strip still flicked off. In the other area I turned one of the heaters to low so maybe another fuse wont go during the night because that is being used to keep !y pump unfroze and pipes intact. So now I have no heat in my bedroom and am under an electric blanket that only half works on the 4 of 10 setting. Going to be chilly tonight. I have a kerosene heater warming the main part of the house but I cant leave my bedroom door open or leaves a path for the wind to blow around the window and though the wall at the head of the bed. I hate winter.

$iljanus wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:56 pm Oh this shall be mine!

If only it was sold in modules...

Survived. Woke up a few times cold and once to the blanket on error but my little chihuahua made a good heating pad as he'd slide under the cover and snuggle up right against me.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 12:16 pm Survived. Woke up a few times cold and once to the blanket on error

I really hope that wasn't supposed to be 'on fire.'

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 2:21 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 12:16 pm Survived. Woke up a few times cold and once to the blanket on error

I really hope that wasn't supposed to be 'on fire.'

Sure would have been warmer.

I swear to Pancake I get this sort of thing several time a day. Not even always computer related:

"What version of x[ do we license?"
"Version y"
...
...
"I read that version y comes with feature z."
"We don't license feature z with version y unless a budget approver signs off on it. If I get signature I can put in a request"

If the goal is to get feature y, why is it so hard to say "Why don't I have feature y", "Can I get feature y", or "What would be required for me to get feature y"? I don't get the point of ulterior question when it won't change the real question or the real answer. And yet that approach happens to me all of the time.

Now, I do understand overly complicated answers to simple questions. But asking ulterior questions will only serve to make potentially complicated answers even more complicated.

You must be in IT.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 3:48 pm You must be in IT.

You must be old. We call it Tech now.

Tech is too broad a word.

It doesn't have to be IT related. An IT related example is just the easiest to remember because, that's my job. (And that example just happened today)

How odd. My regular local channel took off the news and put on an informational.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:16 pm How odd. My regular local channel took off the news and put on an informational.

They have more factual content.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1ZL0F8

U.S. drinking water widely contaminated with 'forever chemicals': environment watchdog.

The chemicals, resistant to breaking down in the environment, are known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Some have been linked to cancers, liver damage, low birth weight and other health problems.

Of tap water samples taken by EWG from 44 sites in 31 states and Washington D.C., only one location, Meridian, Mississippi, which relies on 700 foot (215 m) deep wells, had no detectable PFAS.

In 2018 a draft report from an office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the risk level for exposure to the chemicals should be up to 10 times lower than the 70 PPT threshold the EPA recommends. The White House and the EPA had tried to stop the report from being published.

https://geocities.restorativland.org/

A restored visual gallery of the archived Geocities sites, sorted by neighborhood.

Sites with a sound icon may have embedded midi/wav files. Click somewhere on the site to start playing.

CONTENT NOTE: Some sites may contain objectionable content.


BTW its Netscape optimized hehe.

I had to vacate my dog's anal glands. If you find yourself doing this and the anus has teeth, you're doing the wrong end.

My wife pays other people to do that for our dogs.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 24, 2020 3:01 pm I had to vacate my dog's anal glands.

va·cate
/ˈvāˌkāt/

verb
1.
leave (a place that one previously occupied).
"rooms must be vacated by noon on the last day of your vacation"

Man: I had to vacate my dog's anal glands.
Veterinarian: Stop going there!

The term my wife uses is "expressed." I have no idea how correct that term is.

ex·press
/ikˈspres/
verb
past tense: expressed; past participle: expressed
1.
convey (a thought or feeling) in words or by gestures and conduct.
"he expressed complete satisfaction"
2.
squeeze out (liquid or air).

Alrighty then.

squeeze out (liquid or air).

I thought you only "expressed" glands, and while there are anal glands the anus isn't one. But... something new every day.... "Express your anus" or "your anus needs expressing" can mean what you think it means. Go figure.

Looks like Ill be getting rid of tv again in the near future. Got a letter in the mail saying my promotion is ending and price is going up. I cant afford another $20+ over the money Im already spending too much of. Im going to try and watch everything thats on the DVR and in a couple weeks call and see about getting a new promotion. If they wont work me Ill tell them to reshove it and move on. It sucks because this is a good time waster at night when I go to bed or during the day as a break from other shit.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 24, 2020 8:03 pm Looks like Ill be getting rid of tv again in the near future. Got a letter in the mail saying my promotion is ending and price is going up. I cant afford another $20+ over the money Im already spending too much of. Im going to try and watch everything thats on the DVR and in a couple weeks call and see about getting a new promotion. If they wont work me Ill tell them to reshove it and move on. It sucks because this is a good time waster at night when I go to bed or during the day as a break from other shit.

Try reading this guide on How to Ruthlessly Negotiate Your Cable Bill, and be sure to do the suggested prep work ahead of making the call (i.e. scour the Internet for offers from any competitors or at the very least, find out what current offers they have for new customers). Negotiating from a position of knowledge and citing specific prices vs. simply begging them to lower your bill a bit will put you in a vastly superior situation.

Seem like my cable company would rather have all of nothing than something a month. I hate dealing with people.

Something something What the Market Will Bear