Questions you want answered.

Demyx wrote:
ringsnort wrote:

Theoretically you'd have *some* idea of what you were watching once the opening title sequence plays...maybe 8 to 10 minutes into the film. Not two hours.

I've known people who have such reactions to surprises. It seems to be due in part to an extreme aversion to potential disappointment.

I'd feel bad about getting ten minutes into a movie and then being like "no, I don't want to watch this, sorry." I'd much rather prefer to be upfront.

But then, I'm also super adverse to all surprises in general. I even have trouble watching suspenseful movies.

Ditto. Edwin likes surprises and I hate them, so I'm the custodian of all approved surprise-making in our house. Even our vacations work that way... once I got him halfway to Hawaii before he figured out where we were going.

But I grew up in pretty unpredictable places, so surprises don't usually signal "fun" to me... more like "oh jeebus what's this going to turn out to be?"

Demyx wrote:
ringsnort wrote:

Theoretically you'd have *some* idea of what you were watching once the opening title sequence plays...maybe 8 to 10 minutes into the film. Not two hours.

I've known people who have such reactions to surprises. It seems to be due in part to an extreme aversion to potential disappointment.

I'd feel bad about getting ten minutes into a movie and then being like "no, I don't want to watch this, sorry." I'd much rather prefer to be upfront.

But then, I'm also super adverse to all surprises in general. I even have trouble watching suspenseful movies.

A good surprise giver is like a good gift giver. It takes someone who understand you, what you like, your sense of humor, and knows what touches your heart. It's tough to pull off consistently, even for the people who know you best. I get why someone would be far more comfortable avoiding the surprise thing altogether.

clover wrote:

once I got him halfway to Hawaii before he figured out where we were going.

Please tell me waiting outside the gate for a plane to Hawaii was when he figured it out...and not like, ON the plane

McIrishJihad wrote:
clover wrote:

once I got him halfway to Hawaii before he figured out where we were going.

Please tell me waiting outside the gate for a plane to Hawaii was when he figured it out...and not like, ON the plane :D

We waited at a different gate across the way, during our layover, until final boarding call.

(the gate agent knew, so it was ok)

Why can't I rent Skyfall any where online? Sure, I can buy it here but I just want to rent.

Trashie wrote:

Why can't I rent Skyfall any where online? Sure, I can buy it here but I just want to rent.

It's on Netflix now which may or may not be part of the answer to your question.

Trashie wrote:

Why can't I rent Skyfall any where online? Sure, I can buy it here but I just want to rent.

It's on Amazon Prime Instant Watch for free as of a few days ago

Trashie wrote:

Why can't I rent Skyfall any where online? Sure, I can buy it here but I just want to rent.

It was mentioned that it's free to stream if you have Amazon Instant Prime. I dunno if you can rent it off Amazon, though. Yeah, I hate when they lock up movies like that as buy only. It's ridiculous.

My wife loves surprises but hates anticipation.
There's a birthday present for her that has been sitting in the downstairs bathroom (ostensibly 'my' office (edit: the downstairs, not the bathroom)) for the last few days. She knows about it but has no idea what it is. It's another week until it's officially her birthday. I know she hasn't peeked yet, but it has come up a few times that maybe we should just do the present thing early. Sadly I'm a jerk and enjoy pushing her antici...
...
... pation as far as I can for my own amusement.

Question time!
This year I paid a guy to mow my lawn. I think it's time to own a mower/trimmer.
We have a steep hill (it's flat enough to grow grass and you can climb it, but a few more degrees and it would probably be considered a cliff.) so I am considering an electric push mower for the reduced weight. (probably corded because battery longevity is still an issue)
Any impressions or recommendations from people that have owned one?
I've checked out a few models online and reviews seem to be all over the place regarding power, build quality, predominant use of cheap plastic in the housing, that sort of thing.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Trashie wrote:

Why can't I rent Skyfall any where online? Sure, I can buy it here but I just want to rent.

It was mentioned that it's free to stream if you have Amazon Instant Prime. I dunno if you can rent it off Amazon, though. Yeah, I hate when they lock up movies like that as buy only. It's ridiculous.

Perfect! Thanks all. Our Prime account is in my wife's name so I didn't check that option.

Rezzy wrote:

Question time!
This year I paid a guy to mow my lawn. I think it's time to own a mower/trimmer.
We have a steep hill (it's flat enough to grow grass and you can climb it, but a few more degrees and it would probably be considered a cliff.) so I am considering an electric push mower for the reduced weight. (probably corded because battery longevity is still an issue)
Any impressions or recommendations from people that have owned one?
I've checked out a few models online and reviews seem to be all over the place regarding power, build quality, predominant use of cheap plastic in the housing, that sort of thing.

Hovermower!

IMAGE(http://eastmanind.com/Portals/3/HOVER%20MOWER/Hover%20with%20bail_Medium.jpg)

Disclaimer: I don't actually suggest cutting a whole lawn with a hovermower. It's really only good for cutting grass on steep hills.

nihilo wrote:

Disclaimer: I don't actually suggest cutting a whole lawn with a hovermower. It's really only good for cutting grass on steep hills.

Interesting! I will need to see how these compare price-wise to a solution that would work for the hill and my flat yard sections.

Why can't I buy Battle for Middle Earth 2 for a reasonable price? It seems to be both out of print and not available digitally. I hear really good things about it and would like to go back and see what I missed. The same problem exists for Age of Mythology and Rise of Nations.

Wembley wrote:

Why can't I buy Battle for Middle Earth 2 for a reasonable price? It seems to be both out of print and not available digitally. I hear really good things about it and would like to go back and see what I missed. The same problem exists for Age of Mythology and Rise of Nations.

If you're really interested, PM me your address and I can see if I still have the discs for all of those laying around somewhere. Everyone needs to be able to play those at least once

I thought of this while staring at the latest 4K TV display in Best Buy...

TV's claim to be getting so close to replicating reality, but has science ever figured out what the "resolution" of healthy human eyesight is? Like, how far away is UHD from real life?

Prederick wrote:

I thought of this while staring at the latest 4K TV display in Best Buy...

TV's claim to be getting so close to replicating reality, but has science ever figured out what the "resolution" of healthy human eyesight is? Like, how far away is UHD from real life?

Dunno but I have at least 30/20 vision. How does that factor in?

It's a bit complex to calculate, because the eye doesn't receive the entire field of view in full resolution. There's only a tiny part that you're actually seeing in detail; the rest is out of focus or filled in by your brain. The calculation has been attempted, despite that.

The other complication is that pixel resolution is only part of the difference between real life and a screen. Most monitors have color depth and dynamic range that are less than the human eye can perceive. Dynamic range in particular makes a huge difference: a high dynamic range monitor can be darker and brighter at the same time and looks much more realistic than a similar display with less dynamic range but more pixels.

However, for games in particular more pixels effectively reduces aliasing, decreasing the jarring jagged lines typical of CG imagery.

Prederick wrote:

I thought of this while staring at the latest 4K TV display in Best Buy...

TV's claim to be getting so close to replicating reality, but has science ever figured out what the "resolution" of healthy human eyesight is? Like, how far away is UHD from real life?

IMAGE(http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.png)

In other words, if you have a 60" screen, you would have to sit less than 7 feet away to fully resolve the resolution of 1080p. Less than four feet to fully resolve 4k, although ostensibly you would notice some difference between the two at 5 and 6 feet.

But do you know anyone who sits less than 7 feet away from a 60" screen?

misplacedbravado wrote:
Chumpy_McChump wrote:

I need an expression in English that means something like, "It's better to aim high and miss by a little than to aim low and hit it." Any thoughts?

"Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star" isn't exactly that, but it's a proverb that's in circulation.

IMAGE(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/shoot_for_the_moon.png)

Spoiler:

Shoot for the Moon. If you miss, you'll end up co-orbiting the Sun alongside Earth, living out your days alone in the void within sight of the lush, welcoming home you left behind.

Minarchist wrote:
Prederick wrote:

I thought of this while staring at the latest 4K TV display in Best Buy...

TV's claim to be getting so close to replicating reality, but has science ever figured out what the "resolution" of healthy human eyesight is? Like, how far away is UHD from real life?

In other words, if you have a 60" screen, you would have to sit less than 7 feet away to fully resolve the resolution of 1080p. Less than four feet to fully resolve 4k, although ostensibly you would notice some difference between the two at 5 and 6 feet.

But do you know anyone who sits less than 7 feet away from a 60" screen?

This is also the reason the aisle in the big electrical stores are set up to have very little space to 'step back' and look at the different resolutions from a distance. You are literally standing an arms length, in most cases, from the screen they are trying to up sell you on. It's done for a reason.

I'm looking for board or card game suggestions for my wife and I. She generally sticks to the same boring "family games" and I'd really like to see her branch out. We've tried Pandemic a few times and it has always devolved into me playing both turns.

CannibalCrowley wrote:

I'm looking for board or card game suggestions for my wife and I. She generally sticks to the same boring "family games" and I'd really like to see her branch out. We've tried Pandemic a few times and it has always devolved into me playing both turns.

The board gamers have you covered over here: http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...

A few of us exchange coffee from time to time (thanks to TuffaloBuffalo who got it started). Since it has been a while since we mentioned it anywhere else, my question I want answered is does anyone new want to join in the fun?

If so, head over here: http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...

Anyone know if the guitar from Power Gig will work with Rocksmith? It's essentially just a regular electric guitar, right? Or does it have some weird cable to connect to the console?

It's my birthday today. How are you going to celebrate it?

Chairman_Mao wrote:

It's my birthday today. How are you going to celebrate it?

Just for you, I'm going to go ahead and eat that third kitten. Because you're worth it.

Chairman_Mao wrote:

It's my birthday today. How are you going to celebrate it?

In whatever manner is mandated appropriate by the Directorate Mr Chairman.

So, is there such a thing as a car stereo with local storage that will hook into my home wifi network so I can "see" it from my computer and manage the music in my car as if it were an external drive?

My Google-fu is weak.

Or I'm just missing the larger point that we just assume that everyone has a portable device with a sh*t-ton of music on it, and an aux cable will do.

Jonman wrote:

Or I'm just missing the larger point that we just assume that everyone has a portable device with a sh*t-ton of music on it, and an aux USB cable will do.

FTFY, but yes. Put phone in dash holder, plug in dock connector, turn on engine, drive away.

Gravey wrote:
Jonman wrote:

Or I'm just missing the larger point that we just assume that everyone has a portable device with a sh*t-ton of music on it, and an aux USB cable will do.

FTFY, but yes. Put phone in dash holder, plug in dock connector, turn on engine, drive away.

Hmm, yeah. Wife's car and mine are same age (2005). Stereo in hers was arse, then broke anyway, so we replaced it with one that Bluetooths to her phone (in addition to having aux and USB inputs). She loves it.

My car, on the other hand, has a rather nice stereo in it, but being that it's stock from 2005, is a 6xCD changer with no aux inputs.

I suspect that I'm looking for a solution for my next car, if anything. The turbo-powered 2-seat deathtrap that is my current ride might have to be traded in for a more sensible, child-friendly ride inside of a year anyway....