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Comment IDKFA (Score 1) 95

I was 9, and my uncle showed me this game on his PC. I was mesmerized. I didn't have good hand-eye coordination. I wasn't good at the game. Never made it past the first few levels.

He taught me "idkfa" â" and I've been hooked ever since about easter eggs, cheat codes, and started me on my path to finding bugs in games and how to debug them.

I never got to finish that game even with the cheat codes. But that memory will always live with me on getting a peek behind the curtain, getting a glimpse into the creators' minds.

Thanks, uncle.

Comment Re:Do the math (Score 1) 72

AMC's pricing becomes better if you take advantage of premium offerings, namely IMAX, Dolby, and 3D options; some tickets will go as high as $20 for a single screening. However, I just find it better to take advantage of their $5 Tuesday Tickets --- there tends to be less people overall, and most movies by then will have passed the opening-weekend-surge.

For me, there seems to be a different psychological effect between AMC's approach ($20/month --- watch LOTs of movies) vs Cinemark's approach ($9* ticket/month). The former feels like I have to force myself to watch 3-4 movies a month just to "break even", while the latter is more "Oh, I can watch a new movie, and pay the same price if I want to watch another".

*Cinemark MovieClub bills you $9/month, which gives you 1 movie credit â" access to regular/premium screenings. Credits roll-over. All subsequent tickets are also $9.

Comment Re:Yeh no shit (Score 5, Informative) 206

I agree. The improvements in battery tech from one generation to another is significant, in that it can be lifestyle-changing. Range anxiety can be a real and frustrating issue to deal with.

I helped a friend go a different approach for an EV-as-a-commuter/second car option: Buy used, and the price drop from a lot of off-lease vehicles can be significant (e.g. Fiat 500e, Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, Mitsubishi i-Miev, BMW i3, etc).

Some back-of-the-napkin math using a Nissan Leaf as an example:

  • 2017 lease: $229/month for 36 months + $2,000 at signing = $10,244 + taxes + etc
  • 2014 off-lease purchase with ~32K miles: $8,500-$11,000 using Kelly Blue Book / Private Party valuation

Some areas even give additional incentives, even to pre-owned buyers (e.g. $500 PG&E Clean Fuel Rebate), and older EVs may still have the Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) sticker that may eventually phase out in January 2019 in California.

If you're patient and do your research, you might find a very good deal that may work to your advantage. My friend ended up getting a 2013 Fiat 500e with 27,000 miles for $6400 after taxes and rebates. Decent commuter vehicle, and the owner gets to enjoy company-provided charge stations (so effectively "free miles" while employed).

Comment Re:A Plumber Goes on a Call to Fix a Leaky Faucet. (Score 2) 120

Dan Ariely, an economist, also has a similar story to share:

As I mention in the video, what's really interesting is that this locksmith was penalized for getting better at his profession. He was tipped better when he was an apprentice and it took him longer to pick a lock, even though he would often break the lock! Now that it takes him only a moment, his customers complain that he is overcharging and they don't tip him. What this reveals is that consumers don't value goods and services solely by their utility, benefit from the service, but also a sense of fairness relating to how much effort was exerted.

Emphasis is mine.

Comment Re:They're not the first. (Score 2) 71

I've found this pretty useful. The person ahead of me had their card swallowed for whatever reason (maybe incorrect PIN entered one too many times), so using the contactless method was a relief.

One limitation I've found is that Bank of America has restricted this to withdrawals only. To deposit cash or checks, you'd have to insert your ATM card still.

Comment 100K for new grads? Nice... (Score 1) 221

So potentially someone finishing their undergrad could start off with a USD 100K salary, when combined with this other bill. Now 100K may not be much in the coasts and various STEM fields, but then who decides which degrees/fields get priority? From what I can tell, it's almost always been lottery the past several years, even those in the "advanced degree" fields.

Independently, both bills have good intent at addressing specific problems. Taken together, it introduces another one (or more, depending on how many lawyers can take advantage of it).

Comment Re:Turnabout is fair play. (Score 2) 147

This is pretty much what many reviewers and gamers point out every time a game is released on both platforms. Inevitably, someone always points out that the game runs at 1080p on the PS4 but only at 900p or 720p on Xbox One, if only to validate that they made the "right choice" with their platform purchase.

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