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  #661  
Old 07-05-2012, 05:50 PM
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I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S. a townhouse is one of a row of houses next to each other. Each house has its own door directly to the outside. Whether you rent or own the townhouse, you generally pay a fee for someone else to do lawn and driveway maintenance. No elevators or parking garages. Your garage is accessed via the back, and the townhouse is usually a split-level.
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  #662  
Old 07-05-2012, 06:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke View Post
Houses have other advantages over apartments and condos. You don't have to take an elevator, you can park your car right there, you don't have to share laundry machines, etc. Maybe the answer for these people is Astroturf.
Xeriscaping. The house I'm renting now has no lawn, just paving stones and lots of decorative gravel and shrubbery beds. The sprinklers are on automatic, so all I have to do is sweep the tree debris off the front path (which reminds me...). My parents' place is on half an acre, and guess who got to mow all of that with a push mower? As soon as I moved out, Dad got a ride-on. And an automatic door opener (prior to that, Mum would just pull into the driveway and honk the horn until I came and opened the garage door for her).

I should also figure out how to turn on the fountain in the back yard.

The other thing houses have going for them is the lack of noisy neighbours on the other side of a thin wall (or, conversely, a lack of people to annoy by being noisy).
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  #663  
Old 07-06-2012, 08:23 AM
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Oh, I missed where you said townhouses. I lived in one in Waterloo. Never had to mow our little patch of lawn, although shoveling was occasionally needed.

Returning to WMP for a sec, have you tried some of the free alternatives? Media Player Classic is a good one; I use GOM Player and SMPlayer myself. They all have customizable hotkeys.

Sa'ar: I hear mowing builds character.
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[03:17] FiveMinZeke: Galactica clearly needs the advanced technology of scissors, which get around the whole "yanking on your follicles" problem.
[03:17] IJD: cylons can hack any blades working in conjunction
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  #664  
Old 07-06-2012, 05:12 PM
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I've got enough character. In fact, I've got several characters. And hayfever.
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  #665  
Old 07-11-2012, 05:06 PM
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PNQ: What do you call the decade from 2000-2009?

An episode of Mythbusters called it "the naughties." A local radio station calls it "2K" as in "music from the 90's, 2K, and today."

I was just curious.
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  #666  
Old 07-11-2012, 10:26 PM
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"The noughties" is probably my favorite. There's also "The aughts" or whatever.
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  #667  
Old 07-12-2012, 04:45 AM
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"The 2000s." It doesn't work for older century years -- "the 1600s" means that whole century, for instance -- but nobody will be using "the 2000s" to refer to a century or millennium until we're farther into it!
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[03:17] FiveMinZeke: Galactica clearly needs the advanced technology of scissors, which get around the whole "yanking on your follicles" problem.
[03:17] IJD: cylons can hack any blades working in conjunction
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  #668  
Old 07-17-2012, 02:12 PM
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So Stuart Ashen keeps using the word "lanyard" to refer to what Americans call a "wrist strap." To Americans a "lanyard" is something that goes around your neck, not your wrist (besides the flag-related definition, of course).

PNQ: Is this just another example of British/American definition drift, or is Stuart just confused?
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mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #669  
Old 07-31-2012, 02:28 AM
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peyoj...&feature=g-u-u

This guy comments on the possibility of Sony and Microsoft joining forces on the next generation of consoles. That is, instead of PS4 and X-Box 720 fighting between themselves, they'll just have one console to battle Wii-U and the emerging casual phone game market.

PNQ1: Opinions?
PNQ2: How many essential exclusives do the PS3 and X-Box 360 have?

Seriously, I keep seeing games that are released for both, with both being essentially identical. In the old days of Genesis vs. Super Nintendo, there were many subtle differences between the variants of a game to justify taking a stand as a Sega guy or a Nintendo guy, but does that principle still stand?
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #670  
Old 08-01-2012, 12:32 AM
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I've seen one or two man-on-the-street opinions that Nintendo's next console could make or break its hardware division -- if the Wii U (or whatever) fails, they may have to just focus on making games for others' consoles. This may reflect that possibility.

Consoles are expensive and, I guess, sometimes have to be sold at a loss to get a big enough market for the games. And if you don't devote enough resources to developing a console, it can have nasty shortcomings (such as those leading to a Red Ring Of Doom) that lead to bad publicity for your entire company. Nintendo and Sony may think it's better to join forces in that regard.
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  #671  
Old 08-01-2012, 01:38 AM
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I have a PS3 and a Wii, so the choice is fairly simple for me: PS3 if I want to admire the graphics, Wii if it has better gameplay and extras. Sometimes both if they're cheap. (I like to replay games, and it's fun to try a different system at the same time.) I have no idea how I would choose between PS3 and XBox if I had both. For some time now, I've wished there were a site just for this -- WhichVersionShouldIBuy.com or something -- where the different versions of games would be compared and the differences explained. That information is generally out there, but not always easy to find.

Nowadays, even handhelds are worth comparing. GBA versions of console games were usually pared down to sidescrollers. (That didn't make them bad necessarily -- the GBA Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is great. Playable Farah!) But with the PSP and DS lines, they've been trying, with gradually increasing success, to just slap the whole game on a cart. I have Spider-Man: Edge of Time for 3DS; it's almost exactly the same experience as the console versions, just delivered differently. I intend to get it for PS3 eventually just to enjoy the hi-def, but playing as Spider-Man in 3D is well worth owning a second copy.
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[03:17] FiveMinZeke: Galactica clearly needs the advanced technology of scissors, which get around the whole "yanking on your follicles" problem.
[03:17] IJD: cylons can hack any blades working in conjunction
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  #672  
Old 08-01-2012, 02:54 AM
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I don't want to get into handheld vs. stationary variant comparison. Naturally a handheld has different capabilities than the stationary counterpart.

I was just wondering about the PS3 vs the X-Box 360. In terms of graphics I have yet to see or hear about a significant difference in gameplay between the two. I see no reason why the successor couldn't be a unification of the best qualities of the proposed PS4 and 720.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #673  
Old 08-01-2012, 01:04 PM
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I try to follow the latest iDevice news (who knows, maybe one of these days I can actually afford one of them) (rimshot), so I'm looking at this smaller dock on the upcoming iPhone 5 with some concern...

PNQ1: Couldn't they fit the headphone jack on the side of the device, near the bottom, and still keep the old dock?
PNQ2: Could they make a set of official Apple headphones (with inline controls, Siri, and all that), that attach directly to the dock (instead of the headphone jack) to accommodate those who want base-mounted headphones?
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #674  
Old 08-02-2012, 01:40 PM
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So I'm a huge garage saling nut...

PNQ: Why do so many sales operate on the "make us an offer" system?

Look, some people like to haggle and some don't. I don't. I want prices on the item or on a master price sheet. Having to make an offer means that one of the two scenarios will occur...

1. You offered too much, and you feel ripped off.
2. You offered too little, and you feel guilty; like you're taking advantage of the people running the sale.

I don't like feeling either of these two things.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #675  
Old 08-23-2012, 06:12 PM
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PNQ: Why does Microsoft Word autocapitalize Greek letters?

I mean, in English versions of Word we generally use Greek letters as mathematical variables only, so we want them to be lower-case. Furthermore, the lower-case and upper-case versions of a Greek letter often mean different things.
It gets worse when you consider that I'm inserting the letter from the Symbols menu. That is, I'm treating it as a symbol, not a lower-case letter that needs to be automatically capitalized.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #676  
Old 09-09-2012, 02:27 PM
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So I just watched another review bashing New Super Mario Bros. 2 because it doesn't bring anything new...

PNQ: Shouldn't all games be held to one rule above all others? Namely "is this game fun to play?"

I mean, messing with a formula that works just because it's been done a million times before is something they tried with Sonic, and failed at. Over and over again.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #677  
Old 09-10-2012, 12:01 AM
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Well, to be fair, if it says New in the title then the game should bring something new to the table. Otherwise just continue numbering with the old system . . .
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  #678  
Old 09-10-2012, 11:53 AM
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Okay, I'll give you that. But I'm one of those freaks who thinks that once you start numbering sequels, you shouldn't stop unless the formula radically changes.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #679  
Old 09-24-2012, 02:55 AM
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PNQ: Other than the Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women, what Western books have been turned into anime?

I know of other English-language novels that have been converted, but a complete list would quickly become tedious. The three above are the most common, so I didn't want to waste people's time in suggesting them.

PNQ2: I've read rumors of a Harry Potter anime. Opinions of whether or not this could work?
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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  #680  
Old 09-24-2012, 11:14 PM
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The most nonsensical literary thing I have ever seen is a The Little Prince graphic novel. Why? Why do you want to lose the charm and simplicity of the original prose (translated or not) and the original pictures? The pictures are part of the story. Just . . . why?
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“There must have been a point in early human history when it was actually advantageous to, when confronted with a difficult task, drop it altogether and go do something more fun, because I do that way too often for it to be anything but instinct.” -- Isto Combs

Last edited by NAHTMMM; 09-24-2012 at 11:36 PM. Reason: not sure if it was actually manga style
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