Little things that annoy the hell out of you

[jonny5]

Torrents forever stuck at 99.~%

Even worse, stuck at 99.~% and when you look at the finished files, the idiot who created the torrent zipped the contents for no reason too, so you have nothing of use even if your client supports skipping files.

but then you discover the .PAR
...hopefully they did too

@ jonny5: Nope, you brought this on yourself. But have fun - I'm not gonna read your post, just gonna tell you that you're a bad person and your priorities are bad.






You mad.

Grow up Ed. For someone who professes to be such an intellectual, you can be a real idiot sometimes.

[Squire Grooktook]

Taking such unforgiving pot shots over a several month old convo is kinda uncalled for, yeah.

[Ed Oscuro]

It's not an "unforgiving pot shot" when it's simply a directly relevant comparison jonny5 made himself, and I'm still sick of being expected to be unfailingly polite when jonny (or whoever the idiot of the moment might be) gets to write that he's not going to engage and opens every post with an obscenity or vile comment calculated to destroy any chance at a calm discussion. If you want to just spout off without riling anybody up, get a blog. Otherwise, you might want to think twice before opening every post with "fuck off" or writing about how much you hate the mentally ill.

And yes, I've been wondering for quite a while about how you reconcile the notion that society is supposed to accept unmitigated risk from dogs - but somehow a person who poses no risk should be killed? It makes no sense unless we're working under a medieval conception of retributive justice and I ain't got time fo' dat.

[Squire Grooktook]

He didn't really say anything unreasonable in this convo though. Just struck me as kind of digging up old history.

I feel like that particular old clash was more a result of heated emotions then anything. Something I tend to avoid, but it's worth giving things a chance to simmer down rather then hold a permanent grudge.

I don't want to re-open that can of worms or get involved though.

[BIL]

While the subject of large internet egos and their supposed deaths is a hot topic..

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... of-a-troll

In the tight-knit online gaming community Epic Mafia, Eris was an infamous celebrity. So when news of his suicide reached the forums, many players were grief stricken. But in a virtual world where it pays to lie, could it really be true?

I was loving the article right up until everyone remotely involved including the author didn't die convulsing beneath an aluminium bat fusillade. Then I realised I'd been little annoyed hell'd once again!

[jonny5]

It's not an "unforgiving pot shot" when it's simply a directly relevant comparison jonny5 made himself, and I'm still sick of being expected to be unfailingly polite when jonny (or whoever the idiot of the moment might be) gets to write that he's not going to engage and opens every post with an obscenity or vile comment calculated to destroy any chance at a calm discussion. If you want to just spout off without riling anybody up, get a blog. Otherwise, you might want to think twice before opening every post with "fuck off" or writing about how much you hate the mentally ill.

And yes, I've been wondering for quite a while about how you reconcile the notion that society is supposed to accept unmitigated risk from dogs - but somehow a person who poses no risk should be killed? It makes no sense unless we're working under a medieval conception of retributive justice and I ain't got time fo' dat.

Let me ask you a question. Would you want that guy living next to your family? Would you feel safe? Somebody who killed somebody 'cuz voices' , got some help and now they're right as rain. What if the voices come back? What if it was your family on the receiving end this time? Does that one individuals right to exist outweigh the right to safety of EVERYONE else?

If I killed somebody in cold blood, sane of mind and intent, I'd be locked up for life, or some places in the US, I'd be killed myself. But somehow someone who went crazy and did it can be cured and back out in a few years? And that's a good idea to you? Like the fact that they have already gone crazy and killed, and nothing to say it couldn't happen again, is just water under the bridge.

As far as the whole dog exchange, I was only responding directly to your comment I quoted, anything else you have drawn are your own misguided conclusions.

As for any profanity sent your way, it is generally in response to whatever words you're currently trying to pass off as my opinions. It's not like I'm opening conversations with you like that, it's a response.

And even when I say I won't read your posts, I do. Just not the really long ones with footnotes

[Ed Oscuro]

Earlier, I made some comments along the lines that "breeding is a better gauge of expected behavior than putting faith in training" and jonny5's response just dogmatically ignored this. So...I have to beg forgiveness for being exasperated with this typical pattern. If I was smart I would have realized the conversation was already over. Still, I think that is the definition of being unreasonable, and doesn't help us get the conversation moving. I hope I'm not carrying a grudge when I want to simply send a clear message than I'm not interested in having a fake "conversation" where only one side pays attention to what the other says and doesn't get irate over being asked to have coherent beliefs. The bit about dogs vs. the mentally ill was something I've been pondering a while; it's something I'm legitimately puzzled about.

Mischief Maker did ask a good question which I put off replying to for a while, so here's my response:

"Training" is simply not a complete guarantee of good behavior, and anybody who views a pit bull (or, to be fair, other breeds) as completely predictable due to training is being unwise. In engineering and other scientific disciplines you get a simple formula for "risk" which is simply probability * severity. As I said before, it still does matter if even smaller breeds go on the attack against children, but with pit bulls the severity of an attack is worse, and the probability isn't less than with other breeds.

In my mind, a "shit owner" is somebody who believes that their dog is always going to be safe due to training or a fence or some other factor (in fact, the worst behaving dogs are often chained up). A totally untrained pit bull who isn't put into situations involving children is not going to maul them, because it has no opportunity to do so. On the other hand, a conscientious dog owner whose pit bull has been trained is still putting people at risk just by virtue of the dog being there. This is true of any dog, but as I said, it is wise to minimize many of these risks if possible and going to another breed has a good shot at that. On the other hand, I think that pit bulls in shelters should get a second chance too. It's legitimately puzzling.

There's a lot that is just unfortunately against the dogs and their owners: People on the street read some sensational news, don't have reasonable expectations of dog behavior, and many vulnerable people simply don't know how to act around dogs. So it is an open question about when and where, like with cars, guns, and mentally ill people, society at large has a right to curtail dog ownership rights.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hey, now we've gotten somewhere! Oh, and your comment about putting words in your mouth - totally right, I'll watch myself. I hope!

Let me ask you a question. Would you want that guy living next to your family? Would you feel safe? Somebody who killed somebody 'cuz voices' , got some help and now they're right as rain. What if the voices come back? What if it was your family on the receiving end this time? Does that one individuals right to exist outweigh the right to safety of EVERYONE else?

So, this is an awful lot of "what if" things, which aren't being asked of dog breeds. I have screwed up by not making it clear this is what I thought was odd from the start - how people simply accept risk in some places but not others.

My thoughts are basically the same as in my previous post: The guy we're talking about is essentially incarcerated. He's being treated with medication, he's being watched by staff, he's personally aware of what he did and seems unlikely to reoffend. The general statistics bear this out - people who were criminally insane are less likely to reoffend than regular criminals. This doesn't mean that we should be happy about it, but I think it's promising that when we actually try to treat problems, we get better results than just doing the whole medieval justice thing.

My problem is that we can ask your question about dog breeds too: If everybody can just get a pomeranian or a corgi, why accept the risk of a pit bull?

I am personally fine with the idea that there are going to be some dogs that could be dangerous out there, but I think the controls need to be more than just conventional training alone. As with our mentally ill guy, the problem is if somebody gets complacent and slips up. And I think it is a lot more likely that somewhere in North America, a little boy is going to wake a dog or interrupting it eating, than it is that guy is going to be unsupervised around other people again.

I will admit, the argument that you can fix the chances of the guy going crazy again by killing him is sound. But it's also one that applies to any dogs, cars that move and are therefore dangerous, random people walking on the street who haven't committed any crimes yet - anything - we can't shelter ourselves from all possibilities. At the same time we should also be working harder to come up with new fixes so we don't try to solve every problem with a ban or execution.

BTW, just to keep things on an even keel for the dogs: Science says dogs love us. So, there ya go.

[jonny5]

In all fairness, when I responded to your dog post, it was the first post I read in the whole dog exchange.

I also don't think all crazy killers should be killed necessarily but I also don't think they should be allowed out either. A sane person would be locked up for life, so cure the crazy and then they can do the rest of their time. It just seems a very odd way of dealing with the situation. If a crazy person can be cured of killing in a couple years, why does a sane person do 25-life, or death, for the same crime?

I guess I just don't see crazy as a free pass, because it's the other people around them that end up getting hurt and footing the bill.

[Ed Oscuro]

What you're writing just sounds like healthy skepticism of psychiatry - but the days when people promised miracle cures are long gone, and you bet his care and support staff are giving his case special care because careers depend on it. The cases that are really going to be problems are those where it's not really clear somebody is really sick or dangerous - but like I said, that's also just day to day life. One day you might pass by a homeless person who is totally sane, and the next you're hanging out in Patrick Bateman's crib.

The prison system is fundamentally broken. Just as we incarcerated a bunch of people caught in Iraq and they formed ISIS, prisoner reform is simply not well designed. But you're absolutely right, it really bothers me that I can't figure out why I think some criminals should die, and others get off. It sure does feel arbitrary and unjust.

As far as footing the bill goes, well, unfortunately I feel that there are some things worth doing even if they're expensive. But if we just say "it's too expensive" and give up, we surely don't make any progress.

[jonny5]

What you're writing just sounds like healthy skepticism of psychiatry - but the days when people promised miracle cures are long gone, and you bet his care and support staff are giving his case special care because careers depend on it. The cases that are really going to be problems are those where it's not really clear somebody is really sick or dangerous - but like I said, that's also just day to day life. One day you might pass by a homeless person who is totally sane, and the next you're hanging out in Patrick Bateman's crib.

The prison system is fundamentally broken. Just as we incarcerated a bunch of people caught in Iraq and they formed ISIS, prisoner reform is simply not well designed. But you're absolutely right, it really bothers me that I can't figure out why I think some criminals should die, and others get off. It sure does feel arbitrary and unjust.

As far as footing the bill goes, well, unfortunately I feel that there are some things worth doing even if they're expensive. But if we just say "it's too expensive" and give up, we surely don't make any progress.

The cost I was referring to was human lives, not dollars

[Strikers1945guy]

If the guy in question is the bus murderer zombie flesh eating guy, who is now being treated, monitored, checking in with probation officers or whomever keeps a close eye on him, going to therapy, taking medication, etc. I would probably feel safer living next to him than say the leader of the Westboro Baptist church. At least he is being treated, those people are walking around and protesting without getting the mental help they so desperately need.

I wouldn't ask him to babysit or anything but at least he's getting help. Mental illness is a very real thing, much like addiction, and can at least be treated. Hard to grasp the concept for people who have never been in their shoes I know. I get more pissed off seeing the amount of people the United states jails for non violent drug crimes than anything, as far as tax payer expenses go.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yes, it's the same guy, but he's living in a locked community. The crapstorm was that they were planning to let him on some very closely supervised trips, which seems appropriate since he's now functioning seemingly just like any other person, except one who probably has a hell of a lot of reason to be depressed enough even without being locked into a cage for the rest of his life.

It's definitely appropriate to let the mental health pros do their work - it's not magic, sure - because the alternative is that we don't make progress in finding ways to let people live better.

I'm still not getting how there is some huge cost from letting this one guy have as normal a life as is responsible, when I've stated a few things that are in direct opposition to this: 1.) When the issue was pit bulls, we're encouraged not to worry, why? and 2.) As I already said, people who go through the mental health system end up better off than those who go through the regular prisons system. This is, of course, not exactly the comparison jonny5 made, where we simply eliminate the problem at the source - but, going by the source of most reoffenses, that "final solution" makes more sense being applied to convicts who don't go through the mental health system, since their toll on innocent lives is higher. Alternatively, I'd suggest looking at reforming the prisons and sentencing as well. Besides, the death penalty is hideously expensive - again, in dollars. It's just not a good fit for many of these cases.

[Strikers1945guy]

Well yeah, restitution over retribution any day of the week.

Some people just see a bad dog and want to put it down. It takes a real man to try and teach, coach, sympathize with and help the dog. I agree we shouldn't be dispositioned to be accepting of taking danger on whim alone and put another down in a similar circumstance but its a crazy world I tell you. Every time I drive 10 minutes to work on the highway the number of distracted drivers I see on cellphones makes me mad enough to put them down. At least be responsible enough on the fucking highway. No one care if your feminist tumblr isn't updated with another obese selfie every 5 minutes.

These are the same people that want the bus zombie guy in jail for life. Yet they risk MY life by texting while driving at max speed. The thought process of these people escapes me.

BTW Ed you are a pretty cool chap.

[Ed Oscuro]

haha, thanks, I'm cool...except when I'm not. Sorry jonny5, I'll try to go easy on ya.

Being nice on Forums has been my New Year's resolution for a bit too long.

[Mischief Maker]

Well maybe we can't agree on whether the cannibal should be allowed to live in public or not, but I'm sure we all agree that it would be a horrible violation of all we hold dear and sacred if the government interfered in any way with that guy getting his hands on an AR-15 at a gun show.

[Ed Oscuro]

We'll just train them to be good owners, and then we can start training all those dogs, eh?

I don't recall anybody calling for an unconditional release, or even "living in public," but yeah, I guess we can't agree on whether the last 100 years' development of legal philosophy and medicine on the insanity defense is worth keeping or not. While we're at it, we can get rid of the double jeopardy protection too, since that's clearly putting murderers back on the streets.

And where are these great defenders of the gun show loophole? Not really hitting the mark there.

I now notice that Vince Li is being allowed unsupervised day passes, and might be allowed to move into a group home. Maybe that's fairly soon, but so long as we have "tough on crime" types cutting funding for everything but permanent incarceration, for everything, this might be the best option regardless. So far, despite the lies spread by fearmongering politicians, the only person who is in danger from this release is Vince himself, who has been threatened.

[null1024]

Overscan on LCD TVs.
Right now, all I want to do is temporarily use the damn thing as a PC monitor over HDMI.

and now I'm finding that I can't adjust the setting on the TV, and I can't adjust the setting in the drivers on the PC

[Lord Satori]

I'm sick of the government trying to regulate the internet through various bills peppered with a bullshit title since like 2013 was it?

[Xyga]

Overscan on LCD TVs.
Right now, all I want to do is temporarily use the damn thing as a PC monitor over HDMI.
and now I'm finding that I can't adjust the setting on the TV, and I can't adjust the setting in the drivers on the PC

That's normal most TV's disable overscan controls when typical PC signals matching the set's native are detected.
If you set your computer to output a slightly non-standard resolution all controls should be available again, but you will lose in sharpness and clarity.
example: on 1366x768 'hd ready' sets the typical 'pc mode' is activated by sending a 1360x768 signal, force your pc to output 1366x768 or 1280x720 if not available, and 'pc mode' will disble itself.

[Lord Satori]

I know I just posted, but I just lost two months worth of gmail! Google, what the fuck!

edit: So I got them back, but that's still strange. Seems to be common, since it's so common that they have a recovery system.

[Mero]

When the fast food place next-door-but-one to me lights a big fucking bonfire in their back garden and somehow the smell of it can get into my place.

[Blinge]

The more and more I read advice online about finding work in a specific industry, Q&A's etc, the more pissed off I get.

It's all "Get out there! " "Network!" "Go to events and meet people!" "Engage with people on twitter! "
"Find out what their pet dog's called and tailor your application to how you want to bathe and walk their dog!! "

There's something about the idea of worming my way into conversation with people because I want to further myself, that I find repulsive.
At this point I want one of the successful twitter goddesses to just admit it, "do what I did, suck the right dick."

The word network (in that context) makes me want to vomit. At this rate you'll find me starved on the street, owning nothing but my hubris.

[BulletMagnet]

There's something the idea of worming my way into conversation with people because I want to further myself, that I find repulsive...The word network (in that context) makes me want to vomit.

This, a thousand times this. Just in case human interaction hadn't already been reduced to enough of a soulless, mechanical ritual as it is, kissing ass to get ahead not only has a shiny, euphemistic new name but is perhaps the most "valuable" skill in the modern marketplace. Y'know, because we obviously weren't already doing anywhere near enough of that.

[HydrogLox]

...

..., kissing ass to get ahead not only has a shiny, euphemistic new name but is perhaps the most "valuable" skill in the modern marketplace.

I get what you are referring to - but you have to take into consideration that the various sources of this type of advice are in fact presenting you with a shallow representation of the "real thing" for (shallow) individuals moving into "industry X" simply because there is "money to be made" (or that's where the cool kid's hang out). While it is often necessary in life to do whatever "job" will put food on the table it's important to keep looking for something that you genuinely care about (dare I say be passionate about) but which also happens to put food on the table. Then to further the "industry", "cause" or whatever you ultimately have to interact with people with similar motivations and interests to your own to move things (dare I say the "community") forward - that isn't worming yourself into their field of perception but making an effort to contribute.

I personally don't have much love for "social networking" - and I initially thought Twitter was a total waste of time; it seemed to be designed for narcissists with a need to broadcast their every move to world (and who the hell would be listening to that anyway). However now I find Twitter quite useful to keep tabs on people "in the industry" (and indirectly the industry itself) who

• have a history of putting a lot of good "signal" out there in terms of books, blogs, etc.
• and who don't put a lot of "noise" on the wire.

Once you are ready to "broadcast" yourself just make sure to maximize the "signal" and suppress the "noise" (we've got enough of that already).

[null1024]

Overscan on LCD TVs.
Right now, all I want to do is temporarily use the damn thing as a PC monitor over HDMI.
and now I'm finding that I can't adjust the setting on the TV, and I can't adjust the setting in the drivers on the PC

That's normal most TV's disable overscan controls when typical PC signals matching the set's native are detected.
If you set your computer to output a slightly non-standard resolution all controls should be available again, but you will lose in sharpness and clarity.
example: on 1366x768 'hd ready' sets the typical 'pc mode' is activated by sending a 1360x768 signal, force your pc to output 1366x768 or 1280x720 if not available, and 'pc mode' will disble itself.

This has been the case I've seen on most TVs.
but oddly enough, not this Phillips one

Semi-resolved it. On my main machine, I can just tell it to not stretch the resolution to fit the screen and pick a relatively large one that fills most of it. Not ideal [it's still not 1:1px despite disabling scaling, which is really fucking dumb], but more than acceptable.
On the work laptop [I want muh dual screens for EXTRA PRODUCTIVITY and not having to alt-tab repeatedly between documentation and what I'm working on], the video control panel crashes, so I can't actually configure that.

would be able to fix that problem, except it's a locked-down to fuck work laptop
On that note, it's a fast i7 machine that's got so much shit running on it that it takes several minutes to come up and drags like a dog.
I'm pretty sure they re-configured services to start up in serial too [long, long, long start up], and when it shuts down, it gets stuck waiting for something to end every other time, requiring a hard poweroff. Shit's the worst.

[Xyga]

^ heavy, bloated, locked ? yup that's a 'company laptop' !

PS: no idea how Philips do their stuff, never owned one of their lcd sets...

[emphatic]

When you copy files over your network in Windows, and the connection has been dropped, so you get the:

"Retry, Skip, Cancel" options, and even though you know the connection is fine/back, there's no way in hell the retry option will work.

[JBC]

People who talk about being obsessed with pi or the golden ratio & spirals like it's making them look smarter.

People who rave about Chuck Palahniuk, Hunter S Thompson, or Timothy Leary.

Radiohead & their pretentious fans.

Sue me!

[cicada88]

Region locks...specifically on the 3DS at the moment...

Way to add region locks to your handheld after 25 years of them being region free

It's costing Nintendo a bit of my money