Random non sequitur posts catch-all thread

Lost Eidolons is a really good fire emblem game on pc. I wonder why there are not more games like it.

There's a lot of SRPGs. A lot.

Most just aren't as good of a story or battle system as Fire Emblem and XCOM. But there's a few.

I've had that Lost Eidolons demo installed for a bit, need to try it.

In my Mass Effect 2 playthrough, I just did Project Overlord. I had to lower the volume and put something happy on my other screen. I just can't listen to David screaming for help through possessed Geth.

I was glad that they gave him a somewhat happy resolution in ME3.

On this day, 22 year ago, millions of people lined up to try and secure one of the only 500,000 PS2s available for the US launch.

IMAGE(https://i.redd.it/75e7ofgmj6w91.jpg)

I remember getting to Best Buy at 4am or so. Standing in line for 6 hours. I got one though!

I did this in 06 for the Wii. I picked a Wal-Mart, and they were kind enough to set us up in the garden department, so it was warm and sheltered, and they were actually happy to have us, because we kept buying things to stay comfortable and fed. 13 hours.

I then proceeded to be largely underwhelmed by the Wii and decided I wouldn't ever do that again. I got my PS5 by waiting in line less than 90 minutes.

Yup, queued up for a midnight opening of my local game store to get a Dreamcast way back when.

I'm too old to be in that much of a rush now, BUT I would totally do it again with my daughter if she was excited by a console launch. Looking at the next Nintendo console as a candidate.

I lined up for a Wii for my kids so it was worth it.

Get this though, my Dad and my uncle lined up for Windows 95!

God. I think I covered the Halo 2 release for... here, maybe? Or some other site? I just remember standing in the November cold for several hours and having that moment of "wait, why in God's name would I do this for a video game?"

Nevertheless, I, of course, did it again for GTA V and RDR2 (and I think one CoD game and one Madden game) before I was like "Nope, never doing this again."

I reserved the GameCube at GameStop in Nov 01 with a friend. Then he went to pick his up without me and called me when he got home to tell me that there were only 4 black systems (3 left since he took 1) and get over there if I wanted one or I would get stuck with purple.

Alas indigo it was for me.

Ended up trading it in and getting the platinum Metroid Prime system a few years later anyway. Still works great.

Without looking, attempt to guess how much the 1989 film "Look Who's Talking" made.

Then go on Wikipedia and see how much it actually made (especially against its budget). I imagine you are as surprised as I am.

Yeah I guessed about 2/3 of the actual gross and about half of the actual budget. Dang.

It was hugely popular. I am going to guess something like $200 million? Back then maybe cost $20 million to make?

They cranked out a bunch of sequels, that tends to mean it was successful. I can't imagine it cost that much to make, either.

Spoiler:

Budget
$7.5 million[2]
Box office
$297 million[3]

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Am I weird? Or are the people who insist that the word "data" should always be plural the weird ones?

"The data used are publicly available."

Data is the plural of datum, which is a single piece of information. You almost never see someone call a piece of data "a datum" though. So those who say it should always be treated as plural for grammar purposes are technically correct, but no one cares and they lost the argument anyway.
Unless it's Lt. Commander Data, then they are Datas.

A fistful of datas, even.

Tscott wrote:

Am I weird? Or are the people who insist that the word "data" should always be plural the weird ones?

"The data used are publicly available."

I used to feel this way before I worked with scientists. Now I’m used to it. Data is plural. Although no one really uses it, the singular is “datum.”

I've even got used to the Brits saying “maths” as a shorthand for “mathematics.” But don’t me get started on why the Brits leave out “the” when speaking about hospitals. “He was taken to hospital.”

I'll never understand that one.

Edit: Stengahaussered

PaladinTom wrote:
Tscott wrote:

Am I weird? Or are the people who insist that the word "data" should always be plural the weird ones?

"The data used are publicly available."

I used to feel this way before I worked with scientists. Now I’m used to it. Data is plural. Although no one really uses it, the singular is “datum.”

I've even got used to the Brits saying “maths” as a shorthand for “mathematics.” But don’t me get started on why the Brits leave out “the” when speaking about hospitals. “He was taken to hospital.”

I'll never understand that one.

Edit: Stengahaussered

yet we don't go to the school...

Chairman_Mao wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:
Tscott wrote:

Am I weird? Or are the people who insist that the word "data" should always be plural the weird ones?

"The data used are publicly available."

I used to feel this way before I worked with scientists. Now I’m used to it. Data is plural. Although no one really uses it, the singular is “datum.”

I've even got used to the Brits saying “maths” as a shorthand for “mathematics.” But don’t me get started on why the Brits leave out “the” when speaking about hospitals. “He was taken to hospital.”

I'll never understand that one.

Edit: Stengahaussered

yet we don't go to the school...

Ooooh. Good one. That helps a bit!

Language is dumb.

Tscott wrote:

Am I weird? Or are the people who insist that the word "data" should always be plural the weird ones?

"The data used are publicly available."

You're not weird, you're just wrong.

This has helped me realize that I say "Dah-tuh" or "Day-tuh" when implying the singular or the plural, respectively.

Chairman_Mao wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:
Tscott wrote:

Am I weird? Or are the people who insist that the word "data" should always be plural the weird ones?

"The data used are publicly available."

I used to feel this way before I worked with scientists. Now I’m used to it. Data is plural. Although no one really uses it, the singular is “datum.”

I've even got used to the Brits saying “maths” as a shorthand for “mathematics.” But don’t me get started on why the Brits leave out “the” when speaking about hospitals. “He was taken to hospital.”

I'll never understand that one.

Edit: Stengahaussered

yet we don't go to the school...

Thats a place vs activity thing. We do go to "the school" when it's for purposes other than the activity of attending school. Like, if you have to go to a concert, a parent-teacher conferences, or a school-board meeting, you don't go to school for that, you go to the school.

And yet you go to a concert, parent-teacher conference, or school-board meeting, but you go to school, or work, or soccer practice. No article. I wonder why that is.

A family friend had a stroke today -- and I am 1100 miles away.

Also, one of the cats where I'm renting a room loves to lounge on and climb into my discarded pants.

It's a weird day.

hbi2k wrote:

And yet you go to a concert, parent-teacher conference, or school-board meeting, but you go to school, or work, or soccer practice. No article. I wonder why that is.

My sense is that there are almost never "reasons" for much of anything related to language usage. I think the closest analogue is to fashion - asking why we say one thing instead of another is a lot like asking why hemlines went up or neckties got thinner. People imitate each other and weird social dynamics happen, and we can kind of see patterns afterwards but none of it makes any sense.

I say all that as a language nerd who has taught this stuff to non-native speakers - if you find English articles weird, imagine how they look to someone whose native language doesn't have articles to begin with..

There are even rules of English that native speakers use but don't know.

I made pork dumplings following a couple of recipes. Finished they were the ugliest I’ve ever seen but also, incredibly, the tastiest I’ve ever eaten.

The soundtrack to Katamari Damashi is pretty much the best album ever.

So many trick 'r treaters! Just about through our six giganto candy bags.