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Comment Talk about narrative... (Score 2) 377

With how much this story is getting passed around, you'd almost think this site was temporarily blocked as a publicity stunt.

But that's almost as crazy as the theory from the article: that this particular pro-union site, out of god knows how many, was purposefully blocked because they thought that'd make everyone go home. That it wouldn't just give the protesters another talking point.

Comment One Step Further (Score 1) 414

You have to ask, why do we resort to standardized tests to "bust" bad teachers? Because the better alternatives were shut off.

It's almost impossible to fire a bad teacher nowadays. School principals should have the power to discipline and dismiss bad teachers at their own discretion. Teachers may rant and rail that this will lead to favoritism and other bad -isms, but it's better than using a dry, standardized test designed by some committee thousands of miles away.

Comment Re:Israel has the right to exist in peace... (Score 2, Insightful) 760

...but not the right to expand by force.

Every other nation seems to have claimed this right at some point in history. That's basically how most of today's large, well-defined nations formed. At some level it's just humans defeating other humans, and then later saying they're sorry.

I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here, but it seems like Israel is getting flak for acting in a more humane way than historical standards. Had they just kept the land they won through war and drove everybody out, we might not even be talking about it today. It'd just be another sad footnote.

Comment Re:It's not the engine and bling. (Score 1) 328

The current WoW quest formula seems to be:

Main Questgiver: Go over there and do (something interesting and/or plot critical)
NPCs Nearby: Hey, while you're over there, could you (kill/collect/rescue) some of those (enemies/doodads/victims).

Which is kinda nice, since it fleshes out the main questlines and exposes you to more enemies/environments.

Another main quest type is using a few simple quests as a gateway to a major quest.

Main Questgiver: I'll repair this awesome mech suit for you to use, but first I'll need X, Y, and Z.

So you're working towards a goal for yourself (piloting the mech suit), instead of just for XP and gold.

Comment Re:Good! (Score 1) 244

FYI, infant mortality rate comparisons are mostly meaningless. Everyone has their own standards when deciding if an infant is "stillborn" or not. Generally, if the baby is in a condition that they can't treat at all, it isn't counted. That's what the U.S.'s rate is comparatively high -- they try to save more infants.

http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/060924/2healy.htm

Comment Re:Yea I'm a contractor too (Score 1) 90

If you really are working for the US Gov (and you're not just a simpleton soldier following orders) you have a responsibility to make the world a better place.

And here I thought it was your job to make the U.S. a better place. My bad! Does this apply to government workers in other nations too?

IMHO, there's all sorts of "the truth" that should be covered up. Like how negotiations with China about North Korea are going, or what the U.K. diplomat really thinks of the Prime Minister.

Comment Re:Missed opportunity (Score 1) 98

A lack of long cutscenes and spell animations is dated?? I'd say that those two things are dated. Most modern games aren't like Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid. Well I guess the newest Call of Duty has a lot of cutscenes, though I didn't hear about them being long.

What really dates some older games for me is the interface. Some of the best loved classics of yesteryear have horribly clunky interfaces.

  • First person games with no freelook.
  • Layers upon laters of nested menus.
  • No key or button remapping.
  • Cluttered, unintuitive information screens.
  • Other bad decisions that are obvious in retrospect.

Comment Re:Fear & Ignorance (Score 1) 1530

Somehow in the minds of many, the economy is the fault of the Democrats, in spite of the fact that the 2008 candidates left the campaign trail to focus on the rapidly failing economy.

The Democrats took control of Congress in 2006. It's not like they were out of power until 2008.

Comment Re:Difficulty Settings! (Score 1) 854

You're just mad because it doesn't mean anything to beat a game anymore. Sure, on XBox you can get gamer points or achievements for beating it on the hardest setting but it bothers you that others can experience the same rewarding progress dopamine that you get.

This was especially funny in WoW whenever endgame content got rebalanced, and especially when 10-man raiding got introduced. All the hardcore players wailed "those noobs are getting to kill our bosses!*"

(*note: in World of Warcraft, most endgame content is located in dungeon "instances". i.e., every group gets their own copy of the dungeon, so nobody is actually losing anything.)

Comment Re:Pay For The Internet? (Score 1) 193

The click rates are low.

I'm amazed that there's still such a focus on click rates. Tell me, how many clicks do TV ads get? Or newspaper and radio ads? Ads need to look interesting and deliver their message, that's it. Clicks are just a bonus. They only happen if you can entice people to learn more AND it looks at least a little trustworthy (i.e. not adspam).

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