Bjorn

So there's more stuff going on with Quinn, but I don't even know if it's worth talking about (thus drawing more attention to it)? But it also seems to be feeding into the 'gaters, fueling their drive (though it does seem to be staying off the public Twitter channels as they want to avoid being called out for continuing to focus on Quinn).

I hate it when I spot autocorrect errors in a quote. *ended, not intended*

A group of my friends has decided to throw a Goldblum themed Halloween party, where everyone dresses up as a different Jeff Goldblum. One person has already decided to go the extra mile and dress up as David Duchovny dressed up as Jeff Goldblum from an SNL skit. We have one friend who despises all things Jeff Goldblum. We will not be informing this person of the theme, only that a "costume" party is happening. God I hope this happens so much.

It's not a woman's job to explain feminism to a man, unless of course, it's actually that woman's job and she gets paid for it.

I knew what that was even before I hit the button.

IT'S REALLY HAPPENING! New Twin Peaks, picking up 25 years after the original ended, with as much of the original cast as possible.

Twin tweets herald Twin Peaks revival? http://welcometotwinpeaks.com/news/mark-frost-david-lynch-tweet-twin-peaks/

Wow, thanks for findind/sharing those. I think when talking about "enthusiastic" consent, its really a message aimed at people hooking up or early in a relationship. though I agree it is an imperfect term and probably doesnt have a place in a law, where clearer language would be preferred. I dont think it applies to long term relationships. A couple still needs to have communicated expectations for themselves though. Like, my wife and i typically operate under an implied consent understanding, where if one person is up for it, the other obliges. When youre talking about a couple of middle aged people, working full time, raising a kid, plus other social obligations, there just isnt always overlap between when each person is wanting or needing sex. That said, both of us have the power to say no and the other respects that. But we've also had dozens and dozens of conversations about consent, libido, changing libidos, sexual needs, the effects of hormones as we age, etc. you solve tons of consent/sex problems in a long term relationship just by talking about sex on a regular basis.

Ugh,so many things to talk about, but I'm on my phone and hate writing on it. So I'll just point out that github probably only banned gamergate stuff after getting embarrassed by a Mirror article using them as an example is a place that hosts gaters. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/one-simple-test-tell-you-4372864

Really mixed reviews are increasingly a sign to me that I will probably like a game. Moreso than universal praise.

Once we let you see the future, now you can enter it. Step into: Microsoft Doors.

I'm pretty sure if we call it that, we can get them to go there voluntarily.

Rebooting things is all the rage. They should just call it Windows. Start over fresh, reintroduce people to their brand.

I saw the announcement for that and was immediately stoked, then I realized it the PA guys and my interest plummeted.

Intel actually consistently ranks as one of the most ethical companies in the world. Which, it's still a corporation, so take that with a grain of salt, but compared to a lot of tech companies they tend to try and be more thoughtful and ethical about the impacts of their business than a bunch of other companies. That's one of the things that makes the move more disappointing and surprising to me.

Congrats!

Yeah, TB just kept moving the goal post, jumping from point to point as each one weakened, ignoring everything that Remo kept asking. It was honestly an embarrassing exchange to read because of the weird shifting focus of TB. I will disagree with Remo on one thing though. Journalistic ethics still apply to opinion pieces, columns and editorials, though the application may be slightly relaxed. You're still expected to do things like not plagiarize, accurately quote sources (if used), disclose conflicts of interest, follow your publications ethical guidelines for anonymous sources, etc. The only part of the ethical code that gets dropped is that the piece is obviously biased, since it is usually making a persuasive argument, judgement or delivering some other kind of opinion. I know he's limited by Twitter character counts, but he made a pretty definitive statement that he didn't see how "journalist ethics" applied to opinion pieces. I'm assuming that Remo was likely just referring to the bullshit "ethics" that gaters rave about (hence the quote marks), but still, the journalist in me needed to correct that.

Maybe it is! That's hole 10,000.

It's really fucking hard, no question. I hesitated about mentioning this, but I suppose I might as well, as maybe its a resource that will help. My sister-in-law is an addiction specialist (like, a nationally recognized specialist, shows up on TV shows and shit). She's co-author of a book called Beyond Addiction. Her and her partners attitude towards treatment is one that attempt to be data driven (rather than relaying on anecdotal evidence, hope or faith). It's about identifying strategies that there is actual research to support they work. I don't know a lot about her work, just the odd conversation here and there during visits with her. I hesitated about mentioning it only because I'm a horrible family member and haven't actually read it yet, even though I've had a copy for months. So I don't know what's in it exactly, and I don't like recommending something I haven't personally read. But I can vouch that she's kickass and extremely thoughtful about approaching her work (which I suppose should be true of most people in her field). I know some of her strategies involve harm reduction (like, not trying to get someone to stop, but to get them to slow down, moderate, or change other risky behaviors even if they are still an addict), which can be particularly successful for some younger people. If it looks like something that would be of any interest to you, I can link to some of the articles or interviews that include her so you can get a better feel for how she and her partners approach things.

Sadly it sounds like you're more or less doing what you can. Having patience, expressing concern, maintain a certain level of expectations and boundaries as he's a regular part of your life as a roommate. Unless he's putting himself in imminent harm (drunk driving, ODing on some combination of stuff) or the situation deteriorates to where it is causing great stress to you, I'd say keep gently pushing the way you have been. Also, I'd pay attention to your own levels of stress and happiness in regards to the environment of the condo. I've been in two roommate situations that went quite sour. One I'd put down to expected immature behavior of a bunch of young roommates and we were all at fault. But the other was having a roommate who was dealing with some major mental health issues and just being around it daily eventually took a toll on me that I didn't even recognize until after I moved. It is often hard to realize how miserable someone else's behavior has made you until you are way deep into a mental/emotional hole. Depending on your finances and/or the insurance you have, you could also go talk to a professional yourself. Not to intervene, but for you to talk through the feelings of powerlessness you have watching a friend do this. Even a few sessions might make a world of difference for how you feel about it and give you more insight on any decisions you need to make now or in the future.

Speaking of former Raider's quarterbacks, Rich Gannon went off on his former team. I always liked Gannon, losing him was one of the poorer decisions the Chiefs have made (and there are a bunch to choose from!).

It's hard to give any real concrete advice. There are so many factors. How close to him are you? How old his he? How long has this level of drinking been going on? Are there other mental health factors at play? I've been a (former) heavy drinker myself and have had friends with drinking problems, but can't particularly say that I know any good way to deal with someone who currently has a problem. So much is unique to the person in question, and your relationship with the person.

National Review Writer Calls for Hanging Women Who Have Abortions We're really thinking about doing some volunteer work for our local Planned Parenthood after having met one of their employees recently. They're doing a bunch of phone banks to call voters in the next couple of months.

Dropping this here instead of the feminism thread, as it seems thematically related to the kind of crazy gater bullshit, except that it is book publishing not games.