LadyCrimson

I'm in agreement that no matter how ridiculous the odds, there's always the chance that it could happen, and occasionally, it actually does happen. That said...I wish I had had that woman's odds-beating luck.

Thanks, that was what I was trying to say. You said it much better than I ever could.

I didn't mean to imply there was only one type of personality ala Myers Briggs or something, that would be more attracted...it's more a matter of...certain personality traits, or at least the tendency towards such traits being in the forefront more often than the "average" person, perhaps.

I'm glad that I don't feel this way... or rather I look at the games from different angle. For me it always comes down to the simple fact - Is this game worth the price? It was that way in the early 80's and it's still that way. In the past, especially in early 90's there were more games worth the full price then I had time to money or buy. Nowadays only few games a year are worth the full price. Many games are worth something and some games are not even the worth to download or play 'em even if those games would be free. I interpreted that particular authors comment to be about his taste in games, not just price, and how the style of games made now may be part of the reason he has a harder time finding games that suit his taste. Like him, I have very distinct tastes in my gaming preferences, and the industry (perhaps because of his reasons listed) has slowly been evolving away from them, maybe because it's not profitable enough vs production cost risk...thus making me less interested video gaming as entertainment. Personal pricing-tolerance and a seeming drop in variety of games are two different things, imo.

All-star break for MLB, meaning no regular games to watch. Bah. Not interested. I've come to the conclusion that Stubb's brand Original BBQ sauce and their Beef Marinade are two of the better (non-gourmet-priced) pre-bottled sauces. Also, that's I'd BBQ/grill a lot more often if I didn't have to wash the stupid (and heavy) racks every time.

I'm not sure it'd be fair/accurate to say it's actually Hollywood/the area's fault per se. It's just where many congregate because it's easier to facilitate their chosen career to live nearby, either all the time or half the year or whatever, than have to constantly get on a plane. Remember a lot of the "Hollywood stars" have more than one residence. One thing I've theorized on (and it's only late-night ruminating...) is it could have something to do with the personality types that are attracted to that line of work in the first place. Perhaps such personality types are a little more prone to depression, addiction, anger/attention issues, or whatnot, and then on top of that some are...less capable?... of handling the media attention/pressure.

Aye...there is still some upfront consideration for me, since even a game that I think I'll love may end up sitting on that shelf. The hoped for replay value is what pushes me over the edge to buy full price new releases, however. Once it's down in the $9.99 or less category, it's less of a factor.

Cable station was playing a movie called "Doomsday", entirely dubbed in Spanish w/no english subtitles. I don't understand much Spanish (almost none, actually), but I sat down to watch some of it just to see if it looked interesting.....an hour later, I realized that while I didn't know much about the actual storyline or characters, none of that mattered anyway. I suspect watching it dubbed actually improved it.

Most of these temperamental stars aren't even close to equaling the woman who lived across/down the street from my parents for 10 years.

I was a grumpy fart on the internet 15+ years ago...the digital (game) future only means I have more & more space cash to spend on other things. Which probably isn't a bad thing. For myself, I'd rather spend $100 on a game that I'm confident will last 80-100+ hours (because I like to replay it - ie, Diablo's) than $30 on a game that when I finish it once, ends up on the shelf never to be played again. For me it's about replay or long-term value, rather than one-shot value. But I'm also aware not everyone likes to get so obsessed with/replay single games, they want to move on to the next, or get bored easily in general, and they're going to see cost-worth entirely different than I would.

Quoting from that escapist article: That's pretty much me in a nutshell. I certainly don't blame the companies because they've "evolved" into directions & business models/policies etc. that I personally don't like. I can wish it was different but if wishes were fishes. So I play old games & do other things while waiting to hear announcements or news of the occasional AAA or indie game that actually might interest me...I'm even getting used to the sun again. Mods still tend to be a niche area, imo. For certain games, that niche becomes loud (that's not a negative thing), noticeable, & fairly evolved, but still largely a niche. I have no hard figures for that, it's just my vague feeling from reading forums/game news for all these years. It's true that if you ignore an awesome mod - assuming you've even heard of it - that's your choice...but the article/opinion was about what the "official" companies produce, not what fan mod-makers produce. I'd be curious how many of the AAA companies/staffers live in high-living costs areas. I know Blizzard/EA do. The salaries needed/desired for even average living in those areas may sound absurd to those not living in them, but most of them really aren't that extreme. Unless you're talking about the CEO's who sit on yachts paying themselves bonuses...that might be true. I think most of it, tho, would be production time, marketing costs, increasing material, legal aid, insurance/license & other company costs...the sheer amount of workers required for all of it...look at the amount of ppl in many credits these days, particularly for feature games/movies...they go on and on and on...

But what if their next update/huge overhaul makes it worse again & it takes a long time for them to fix it? I don't like relying on that if I don't have to, that's all.

Not that you probably care now, but occasionally bnet does that as a kind of error...ie, it's not a stolen cd-key but for some reason it thinks you're already logged in, and thus sees your login as a 2nd login and gives you that message. I can't remember what might trigger it tho, besides server lag when you get knocked off. Other than that, yeah, could be stolen/hacked cd-key.

4000 books is definitely a lot. I love to read but I probably don't own more than 400-500 or so. I'd love to have a library of 1000's! Count me in the camp of liking a physical object to collect and place on a shelf or in a box. It's satisfying in some strange way. So don't mix in the book collection, movie collection, and the video game collection together, then.

I remember being pretty sad when his marriage ended. He seems to be on a downward spiral that's for sure. He might also go to jail if they can prove he hit Oksana. Some mags say she claims he knocked two of her teeth out, but who on the outside can really say, yet. If he did, he deserves some time, imo. However I also am bothered when someone feels it necessary to release such tapes to the public. Give them to the lawyers and the cops, yes, but public media newspapers? Such is life tho. In terms of Oksana sounding so calm on the tape...I'd guess it's partly because she knows she's taping him. Ppl can act a lot different when they know it's going to recorded, beforehand.

Ah, I see. I'd disagree with the interpretation that what I wrote=me believing it's silly to depend (or use) on them, or something, but thank you for the explanation of your opinion.

Good morning! Hubby's in the garage fiddling with some electronic project ("What are you doing?" "I'm switching out the 220omn resistor for a 5 ohm resistor..." "Ok...") and I'm in here watching Red Sox baseball. Occasionally we meet in the kitchen or in the yard & smooch like schoolchildren. Sunday's are nice.

Yeah yeah, I'm going to bed. Had to feed the cat, then of course I checked here again. Forums are so addictive sometimes. I don't remember saying anything of the sort? Yeah, but I've been bored & sometimes that pulls me into things. And I do find his kind of thought-style interesting for brief interludes. I've done it myself, here and there over the years. Also, I'm often away from here for a few months or more etc...I tend to forget stuff...

Guarantee folks will only hurt themselves? Who said anything about a guarantee? Strawman, strawman! ... I'm joking, don't take that seriously. But I do feel you're making some pretty broad assumptions about what "LC" would choose. I did say I was saying it "simply"...for one thing, I really don't feel like writing 100 pages about what I think/would do about every single scenario/circumstance ever possible. With that out of the way...we have punishment laws. If you run someone over with your car, you're (hopefully) held responsible for it. Yes, punishment after the fact is not a perfect/awesome solution since then it's "too late" & there can be "miscarriages of justice". Anyone who deals with domestic violence (and other such) cases can speak to that enormous frustration. But I don't believe that because a (possibly) small percentage of weed users may be irresponsible parents/irresponsible in general, we should say no one at all can smoke weed. Not to mention, such tactics don't seem very effective in preventing people who want to use, from using, anyway. There is no perfect solution or arrangement & never will be, imo. There is only choosing what type and how much risk is acceptable to you (and to the majority voters, in terms of making law). As to Jose Canseco et al...personally, I couldn't care less if he wanted to pump himself with enhancement drugs until his head exploded, in terms of whether they're legal overall. But the issue is some feel that competitive sports, the playing field should be level. If you say "If you join the MLB, you can use them if ya want", then those who don't want may be at a disadvantage from those who choose to use. It's more fair, at least imo, to say "if you join MLB, no one can" and then screen for/punish "cheaters." ...at this point I feel that you are arguing mostly for the sake of argument...to argue opposing/contrary points of view for whatever reasons. That's fine and all...and sometimes it's a very useful thing actually, gets people to think outside their self-made boxes...but I think I've had enough for now...it's interesting, but also tires my brain out...unfortunately I don't find it as entertaining as some, that's all. Edit: oops you wrote more while I was straining my slow witted brain trying to reply cohesively. Um...yeah...I'm tired. Going to bed now.

Does that mean there's no installing any software beyond the game file itself, or is it like GOG.com? Either way, I could handle that...a lot better than Steam.

I do use all my fingers...1 typing class and 1 Mavis software program years & years ago gave me that much. However, that's only with the letter/punctuation keys and surrounding function keys. The 1-2-3 etc. number keys above, I hunt and peck. I don't use them much so no habitual training. heh ...tonight I ate too much pizza. And I'm cool with that, because it sure tasted good.

Hmm....I don't believe I was "railing against" strawman. I was simply trying to say that 'strawman' accusations, to me, often feel more an excuse to simply argue for sake of argument. Er, I can't find the words for what I mean, exactly I guess. It depends on what the debate actually is about. Asking someone to justify whether a law should be or shouldn't be legal via only "proven facts" is a teensy bit like asking someone to justify their spiritual belief (imo). "Justification" is a moral merry go round...you can't "prove" a justification that is going to apply to everyone's sense of morality...but you can have interesting & lively discussions/back and forths on all the maybes and could-be's and possible ramifications of a law...based on similar laws from the past or laws currently in place or out of just plain sheer speculation. ...I think I suddenly know more where you're coming from, now, which is helpful. In terms of my own beliefs, I do believe individuals have the right to choose what they wish to do with their bodies...assuming they are mentally capable of doing so & are aware of the possible consequences of their decision. Also assuming that when they do so, it doesn't present an unreasonable increase in danger to others. ie, smoking (anything, really) in my house by my lonesome is my right to risk myself, but puffing away directly into someone's else's face (especially in an enclosed area) would be invading their rights to choose not to take the risk for themselves. It's a fine line sometimes, but for me it's there. However, since I don't think I'd enjoy a lawless, random "me-me-me" chaos society, I also believe in having laws...but that the government should not have the 'right' to blanket choose such "personal choice" laws for the people...the people should choose them, by voting. That's saying it simply, but...yeah.

Do we really want IW folks here? Don't we have enough "I CANNOT SHOOT IN AP!!!!!1111one!!111! WAAAH The combat system sucks" comments already of people with a lack of patience? Having never been to these forums in question, I would have no idea what type of folk their "average poster" might be.

I guess I'm not a very logical person...sometimes the way 'strawman' gets tossed around on the internet confuses me. Seems like it's becoming too generic a catchphrase. Tho maybe in this case it's because I often have a hard time untangling Gromnir's text. I do understand your point that tobacco/booze isn't weed (cats aren't dogs), & yeah, technically that's probably 'strawman', but since laws are based on subjective/collective group beliefs, it's fairly common for people to point to what they consider similar situations as precedent(s) - as a past example to justify/convince trying a new action. I don't see what's so 'wrong' when people do so. *shrug* The only way to know what will happen if weed is legal, during any period/generation of action, is to have it be legal long enough to find out. Past precedents/similar current laws can help people make up their minds whether they want to take the risk and try.

Ditto. I don't think the graphics were anything special, but it does look like it might be a fun co-op game. Maybe one hubby & I could run around with.