Lurker > shipwreckers

Cartoon Network stopped being for kids a long time ago. Heck, the golden era of Adult Swim (back when shows like Space Ghost dominated) was one of my fondest TV memories.
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Money is overrated...

Krazy_Kirby posted...

if a primary candidate got so bad people dont want to vote for them then they dont have to. they could write in someone who lost in the primaries.

Let's be real here. Write ins have an even lesser chance of winning or effecting change than third-party candidates (which have practically zero chance already, just look at the election stats from the past dozen elections).

All those people who "protested" by wasting their votes on third parties and write ins are like the people that think they can put McDonalds out of business by only eating at their local diner.
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Money is overrated...

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

The real issue is - Voters didn't want either candidate to win. Instead of casting votes for someone they like the only option was to vote against the person they hated/feared the most.

You're 100% correct, but wouldn't widening the ballot pool alleviate that problem? The more options you have, the less chance (statistically speaking) you are to get stuck with piss-poor candidates. Also, locking candidates into parties just makes a horribly polarizing situation even worse.
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Zeus posted...

Otherwise with the current voting system, you'd inevitably wind up with two major parties (whether or not the government recognizes them) and the race would ultimately come down to two candidates. Especially because the US *started* with no parties and quickly gained them.

Interestingly enough, George Washington HATED the idea of political parties. There's always going to be a couple top dogs who dominate, but by bottlenecking yourself into ONLY two candidates (no matter how completely, utterly full of shit they turn out right before election day), you then have zero fall back when the proverbial poo hits the fan. Mudslinging hits its biggest stride late in the election, and that's often when people try to play their strongest controversial cards against opponents.

By removing the Primaries phase of the election, you're less likely to get stuck with shitty candidates (since you'd maintain a wider pool). Should all credibility in your favorite candidate get shot to hell, you could then simply shift your preference a couple spots down the (wider) ballot. It's not that absurd or unreasonable to widen said ballot.
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Money is overrated...

One good thing about PotD is that you're pretty much guaranteed to find a Devil's Advocate argument from pretty much any subject matter. This was no exception.
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Money is overrated...

_AdjI_ posted...

Grendel posted...

shipwreckers posted...

then equally funnels all of the liberal candidates down to the most extreme warrior for hyper-PC, social-justice liberalism (Hillary).

You had a really bad read on Hillary.

She was trying to be the first female president. Obviously that means her entire platform was a SJW circlejerk.

I must have somehow overlooked this post earlier...

Honestly, considering the whole female gender pull in her favor (in ADDITION to her intensely "progressive" views on most issues), it just solidifies how much she was actually detested by the general population. She had pretty much every progressive sociological pull one could ask for in politics (from identity politics, to women's rights, to immigration rights), and she still couldn't beat her opponent (that opponent being Trump, of all people). The email controversy was bad, but no worse than Trump's "Grab her by the pussy" controversy (which was equally bad, ESPECIALLY with women). I should also note that women have had a historically higher percent voter turnout over men for several decades.
[SOURCE] http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/genderdiff.pdf

Controversies can certainly sway some votes, but ideology has a deeper plant in people's minds (to the point that many of Hillary's and Trump's supporters' minds were already made up from the start.) It's why people defended Bill Clinton unconditionally back in the 90's, and why Trump supporters still TO THIS DAY defend him in spite of his absurd actions.

I mean, less than 30 seconds of Google searching will give you ample material on the hyper-progressive views of Hillary. Chalking her entire platform up to to that "first female president" appeal is way too over-simplistic.
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Money is overrated...

When I worked construction, one of the General Contractors would say it letter-by-letter as well (H-V-A-C).

I wasn't sure why they did it either, but we all knew what he meant.
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Money is overrated...

Zeus posted...

shipwreckers posted...

Simply put, there shouldn't BE primaries. There shouldn't even be two parties. Instead, it should just be an open ballot. You could then have waves of elimination from the pool AS A WHOLE (regardless of party). The election night ballot should contain, at minimum, the top 10 candidates, and then let the cards fall as they will (so no matter what controversy stirs, you still have some decent candidates in the pool). Granted, I realize this would be much more boring to watch on election night television, but our nation is going to utterly rip itself apart down the middle if we keep doing what we're doing.

That's a stupid idea.

Finding the magic number of candidates would take some finesse, but no amount of justification can excuse this hyper-polarized two-party setup which plays to extremes. The objectively open-minded, balanced, and logical candidates simply CANNOT win with this current system, ever. Worst of all, when bullshit is exposed in the final nominees (as was the case with BOTH candidates in this last election), it's too late to do anything about it.

So, stupid or not, we've got to find some alternative to what we're doing, or we're going to rip ourselves apart completely. This isn't my conjecture, it's ALREADY HAPPENING (and it's quite painful to watch, really).
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Money is overrated...

faramir77 posted...

shipwreckers posted...

BADoglick posted...

I completely agree. The two party system has ruined this country, and it's why I always vote third party. I'm not taking part in the sham, but I still want my voice heard.

Indeed, and if we could ditch that dated primary system altogether, you wouldn't HAVE to vote third party. You wouldn't be voting ANY "party" at that point. You'd just have a list of names to pick from (a broader one at that), and no matter how much shit gets stirred up late in the election, you still have more than just two hyper-polarized candidates to pick from.

I would argue that this might actually encourage the election of even more extreme radicals.

Say there are 20 candidates to choose from. 19 of which are moderate, the remaining candidate being radical. If the winner received more than ~15% of the total vote, I'd consider that a landslide given that they won three times their fair share of votes.

It would not be hard whatsoever, especially in the US, for an absolute nutcase psychopath to gain 15% support. The crazies with extreme views would gravitate to that candidate, and the rest of normal society would have their vote split.

The ideal number of serious political parties is either 3 or 4. It's important that their ideologies have little overlap, otherwise votes just end up getting split.

But the frustratingly dangerous part of "party-based" systems is that the champions of ideological value often end up being full of shit (just like we saw with both Trump and Hillary). So, in this current system, once you get past the primaries, the damage is already done. You could be stuck with Satan incarnate, but the other better candidates have already been cut at that point.

The votes can be split however fate dictates. That's the point. Let fate dictate it rather than funneling yourself into extreme polar opposites (like we've been doing). If those candidates that had already been cut from last election's primaries were somehow re-introduced to the race (e.g. Bernie Sanders for Democrats or Ted Cruz for Republicans) Hillary and Trump would have ZERO chance of edging out a win with all their controversy and lack of credibility late-election. They were both despised by so much of the general public. People would have taken ANYONE over them.

Late-election controversies are common (as mudslinging hits its climax). A wider pool of candidates ensures that there is someone to fall back on when bullshit is exposed. We don't have that luxury in the US in the current system.
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Money is overrated...

BADoglick posted...

I completely agree. The two party system has ruined this country, and it's why I always vote third party. I'm not taking part in the sham, but I still want my voice heard.

Indeed, and if we could ditch that dated primary system altogether, you wouldn't HAVE to vote third party. You wouldn't be voting ANY "party" at that point. You'd just have a list of names to pick from (a broader one at that), and no matter how much shit gets stirred up late in the election, you still have more than just two hyper-polarized candidates to pick from.
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People have been complaining about the "Electoral College vs. Popular Vote" issue, but there is a much deeper, more SEVERE flaw in our elections. The reason we ended up with the two most piss-poor examples of humanity as candidates in the first place (Trump and Hillary) is very simple. THE PRIMARIES! Think about it...

The USA's traditional two-party primary system is dividing us further and further (and will ultimately kill us if it remains). This is due to the reality that voters absolutely hate, above all else, to compromise. Therefore, in our own primaries we tend to pick the person that champions our beliefs the most! So, this "Primary" system ends up funneling all of the conservative candidates down to the most extreme bastion of conservative, anti-PC sentiment (Trump), and then equally funnels all of the liberal candidates down to the most extreme warrior for hyper-PC, social-justice liberalism (Hillary).

THIS shit is precisely why moderates (who actually try to see the common ground, and look at the best of both worlds objectively), can NEVER win elections! They get slaughtered in their own primaries every damn time (and why not because I'M VOTING FOR THE CHAMPION OF MY OWN PERSONAL VALUES, DAMMIT! FUCK COMPROMISE!!!) Also, we love our whole "red vs. blue" maps on election night. It's just so fun to watch!

Simply put, there shouldn't BE primaries. There shouldn't even be two parties. Instead, it should just be an open ballot. You could then have waves of elimination from the pool AS A WHOLE (regardless of party). The election night ballot should contain, at minimum, the top 10 candidates, and then let the cards fall as they will (so no matter what controversy stirs, you still have some decent candidates in the pool). Granted, I realize this would be much more boring to watch on election night television, but our nation is going to utterly rip itself apart down the middle if we keep doing what we're doing.

TL;DR - The entire concept of 2-party "Primaries" is killing us. It's filtering out all of the "moderates" who objectively see the best of both sides of the argument, so they have zero chance in hell of ever winning anything (even though they'd objectively be the best overall for the job).
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Money is overrated...

Raid!!!
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Money is overrated...

Action53 posted...

It's a party now

Random question. Is your garage insulated / climate controlled???

I could never pull this off in my garage (especially in this crazy winter weather we have right now.
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Money is overrated...

Action53 posted...

I picked up a carpet scrap and black light from my buddy

Dude..., that's freaky. Black lights have always intrigued me.
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Money is overrated...

R.I.P. 2017

You died so quickly...
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Money is overrated...

Happy New Year!!!
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Mrs. Claus is an SJW feminazi.
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Action53 posted...

92 points!

Lol, I love the part where the gator said "OUCH!"
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Money is overrated...

Smarkil posted...

shutup duckbear

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Money is overrated...

Wacky Gator!!!

That game annoyed the hell out of me back in the day, but somehow it was still addictive.
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Money is overrated...

It's weird that they would use a newsletter email to hand out codes. Many times in the past, the PSN store will have a discount code displayed directly on a full banner ad on the PSN frontpage.

I guess they wanted to slip this promo under the table. I'd love to have a code as well, but I'd also rather not be spammed by newsletters that tell me what I already know.
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Money is overrated...

I took some pics of arcade machines I saw at one of the latest arcades I went to. One of them had one of the biggest Pac-Man machines I've ever seen in my life!

I'll try to post the pics eventually.
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Money is overrated...

Stop wearing blush, duh.

Is it possible to reach a level of frustration where it would be considered socially reasonable to kick a puppy?
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Money is overrated...

Well, I just got back from a 10-day trip. Saw some interesting arcades while I was traveling. You can find some nice classics at truck stops these days.
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Money is overrated...

I also would like an answer to TC's questions.

Also, is it necessary to beat the original NIER (including story-heavy NG+) in order to fully understand / appreciate Automata's story???
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Money is overrated...

That depends on if you mean the evening of the 2nd just before midnight, or the early AM of the 2nd where I went to sleep the day before, since both are considered "night" but I was traveling.

If you can find lava simply by digging downward far enough, why do we need a stove?
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Money is overrated...

Trump's personal bank account can dry up like a raisin in Death Valley for all I care.

I just want the overall economy to keep up its slow mend. Stock prices are hitting records, and development projects keep popping up everywhere (which is win-win for both companies and individuals).

Honestly, as long as we don't get any natural disasters or receive actual bombings from a foreign opponent (not these endless threats without action), things are looking up economically.
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This will end well.
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Money is overrated...

Liam O'Brien
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Money is overrated...

Not really, no.

If I deposit too much money in the bank, will it explode???
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Bwubeywy pankeks pweese!

If boycotting fixes all problems, why don't liberals simply boycott the president???
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Money is overrated...

AlleRacing posted...

Are we just going to forget that Joss Whedon took over for directing this one?

Shaneariffic posted...

I find Wonder Woman so average. I'm not sure why it's praised as DC's star.

Anyway I just watched JL and yeah it felt super uninspired :/

Even the action was average and not on par with batman vs superman. At least they got the combat in that done right.

This to be honest.

To be fair, the bar was set pretty low for Wonder Woman, when you stack her against the other Zach Snyder movies. However, if you were trying to stack her against the Avengers / Marvel movies, she'd have a much tougher time (especially with the recent hits like Thor: Ragnarok).

In other words, she's only RELATIVELY good, compared to the other piles of crap in the series.
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Money is overrated...

GreenTreeClub posted...

The memory leak problem is completely solved, at least for me. Before the latest update, I would have to hard close the firefox process a few times an hour.

The browser is pretty good, at least for personal use.

That's my FAVORITE part of the update. The memory leak was horrible. This update seems to have helped significantly.
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Money is overrated...

Krow_Incarnate posted...

Holy hell, I just got this and it's UGLY.

Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew

I agree, I hated it at first. It also broke compatibility with several addons, so I had to download a compatibility pack.
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Money is overrated...

Foppe posted...

NBA Jam?

I never actually played the arcade cabinet version. I remember seeing it maybe once or twice growing up, but I always ended up spending my quarters elsewhere.

Sports games in arcades were always frustrating, because they cranked the difficulty settings so damn high, the AI always felt cheap!
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Money is overrated...

SilverClock posted...

Veedrock- posted...

AllstarSniper32 posted...

I feel like people who think this just don't realize how disliked EA is. I'm sure at least a million people dislike EA and have disliked EA for a long time now.

And that warrants bad reviews on principle or something?

It's about sending a message. If this game has to be crucified for that purpose, so be it. For the greater good!! *raises pitchfork and torch*

Even if people stuck to their guns, and actually boycotted the hell out of this game..., knowing EA, they'd simply blame Dice for shoddy development and shut them down like every other developer they've killed off in the last 10 years.
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Money is overrated...

I haven't gotten to BoGT yet. It's taken me YEARS to finally get around to playing these, but I'm definitely looking forward to that one too.

I think I'll play through TLaTD first, and then BoGT immediately after :D
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Money is overrated...

Seriously man..., in playing through the first few missions, I feel like I'm in a Sons of Anarchy episode (not that this is a bad thing). SoA first premiered in 2008, and TLaTD first released in 2009. Is it possible that Rockstar drew inspiration from the show???


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We can, but only for 5 minutes.

Why do they call them Apple Jacks, if they don't taste like apples?
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Money is overrated...

Even if you exclude subscriptions (like instructed in the OP) just the base game with expansion costs, WoW is the leader by far with money spent.
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Money is overrated...

You're just spoiled with all of the tutorials and guides that modern games provide.

If Sharry shares, and Carrie cares, what does Larry do?
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Money is overrated...

There's ALWAYS cameras around you, if you on a smartphone.

Why do you wind up windy fishing line while the windy wind blows???
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papercup posted...

The "EA employee" who received death threats doesn't actually work for EA.

https://kotaku.com/the-curious-case-of-the-ea-game-dev-who-said-he-receive-1820474458

And there's no evidence he received death threats.

Surprisingly, kotaku of all sites actually did good investigative journalism work.

It certainly isn't uncommon for employees to post highly opinionated / poorly-written stuff on their personal pages. Remember Adam Orth from the Xbox One "always online" debacle???

But I agree, the Kotaku journalist's work on this seems pretty thorough.
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I would rather be a Pokemon from a work of nonfiction.

If fat makes you float in water, does that mean fat people can't go scuba diving?
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TC, you came to the right place. PotD will steer you straight on this important life decision!
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Well, for starters, we can talk and write doctoral theses..., so yeah, there's that.

If guns don't kill people, but rather people kill people, why can't we simply enforce people control laws?
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Money is overrated...

People will always buy EA's stuff, not because of EA, but because of the stuff. Dice is a good developer, and BattleFront is a huge IP. The silver lining is that the more people can keep EA's PR in the crapper, the more likely they'll be to make better decisions (or reverse bad ones) because NO COMPANY WANTS BAD PR.

The same thing happened when Xbox One was about to launch and their batshit DRM / Online policies were reversed. The whole "vote with your dollar" thing rarely actually works, but a little bad PR can go a long way.
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Money is overrated...