JonCole

I've actually found myself reading Joystiq again after being lapsed for a while and I'm unfortunately (if they will indeed close) very happy with what I've been reading. I've also found that I recognize and follow many of the writers from Joystiq on Twitter and now am sadder than I was when my mind was on "Joystiq as an institution is closing" rather than "Joystiq's employees are being fired, which include all these rad people".

I generally find myself inspecting my posts on forums or on Twitter to eliminate unneeded commas. Usually I can find at least one or two per paragraph that don't really need to be there, but I practically need to read it out loud to determine if each should or shouldn't be there.

Does anyone on these forums play Guild Wars 2? If so, do you have any suggestions for a guild to join? My wife and I formed a guild when we first started playing for our friends, but most of them have dropped off the radar and we'd like to join one that potentially has some Thumbs or at least a good community.

I ordered Alpha Sapphire and have picked up my Pokemon X game again from badge 4 to hopefully finish it. I think my body is ready for another Pokemon spree. As I'm playing Pokemon X I'm being reminded that the framerate does get pretty darn bad in battles at times, especially if 3D is on. Does ORAS have the same framerate issues? I'm also wondering if the New 3DS will have a better time handling that framerate.

I think it's like a 25% penalty/benefit based on level difference, so if you're level 25 for the level 27 raid you'd be at a 50% damage penalty and level 28 would have a 25% damage benefit. I could be wrong though.

John Hodgman has been saying some interesting stuff on this Twitter feed in response to that article. Chait felt the need to respond and in reading those responses I've come to conclude that he's kind of a dick - There's definitely a kernel of truth in that article that I think is worth talking about (I'm still mulling it over). That said, invoking McCarthyism and constructing strawmen about how Congress has the potential to denounce Bill Maher is effectively equivalent to the continuous complaints of GGers re: censorship.

They paid out once as a method of trying to appease affected people to hedge against a class action, but one happened anyways. If you submit a claim, you'll see that people who took advantage of that offer get less than those who didn't. Also, the games on offer are the exact ones they offered the first time around.

I think I got a Belkin grounding strap for $4. Cheap for peace of mind, though I guarantee you'll lose it if you're not insanely organized. I ended up stashing mine in the motherboard box of whatever is currently in my main computer so I at least know where it is at all times.

No kidding, Gamestop has a trade-in promotion for the New 3DS where I'd get $100 in exchange for a pre-order. Considering the only way to do system transfers is with both consoles in hand, I won't be able to take advantage of that promo. Otherwise I'll get $80, but I'd need to trade it in with the AC adapter and I'd get $80 of credit that I could only use after acquiring the console. So, if anyone in the US wants to buy a blue 3DS XL that's in reasonably good condition for $75ish, let me know. Otherwise I might just cancel my MM LE preorder so I can use the Gamestop credit I get from my XL to buy the regular version. Ugh. I'm only in this conundrum because I got a chance to play MM with the new 3DS at PAX and was totally sold. To me, 3D was almost useless and generally not worth bothering with and the new 3DS actually makes it something I'd want to use all the time. That kind of an upgrade actually seems major to me, not to mention the higher specs that could make MM and the like a lot more stable. Plus, I just think the new version looks and feels better in hand. I kinda thought this might be a DSi situation where I basically felt I didn't get my money's worth at all, but I feel like I'd get value right out of the gate.

I like Orbulus, it lets you do a 3D tour of some famous places around the world. VR Cinema is also okay for watching videos on your phone. In other words, Cardboard isn't really good for any practical or gaming uses, just for playing around like a toy. I paid something like $15 for the kit and I think I got a few hours of enjoyment out of mine, so I'm not too bothered by it. Every once in a while I'll watch a video via Cardboard if I'm just laying in bed under my electric blanket.

I don't think my computer can handle this, so I imagine I'll be playing on PS4 albeit in a few weeks after I get through some of the games I'm working on already. Not to mention I believe reviewers just got the game this past weekend, which is an odd sign for a game that otherwise looks great.

Agreed, Dark Brotherhood > Thieves >>> Mages >>> Knights of the Nine > Fighters = Arena

It's worth noting that Google hasn't dealt with Humble Bundles either, the games included in Mobile Bundles are apks that can be downloaded and sideloaded onto Android phones outside of the Google Play Store system. You can install the Humble Bundle mobile app to manage these installs and facilitate updates, if you like.

So, anybody going to this? http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/9/5884533/pax-south-tickets-on-sale I actually had no idea that such a thing was happening, but when I saw that news story posted on Twitter I made the decision that I'd do it because there's likely no better chance that I'll do PAX in the near future. The weekend passes are sold out now, but I managed to grab one while they were still available. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday passes are still available at $30 each at this link. If anyone will be around, we should do some kind of mini-meet.

My wife and I did the circuit today, a little bit of everything to get an idea what was going on plus the 404 panel and the Giant Bomb panel. If people are still around tomorrow or Sunday, I'm sure we'd be willing to meet up. Today was just a little overwhelming, our first convention of this type ever. Also I'm falling asleep as I type this because I'm an old man. G'night.

So I got a chance to play this game on the New 3DS at PAX and I am more excited than ever. The graphics are fantastic, everything looks greatly improved over the original version and runs very smoothly. I actually do think that the right thumbstick thing was very well worth it, 3D Zelda can sorely use some easy camera control and I was surprised at how precise that little nub turned out to be. So pumped that I pre-ordered this, but kinda bummed that the New 3DS isn't in the cards for me if I'm being financially responsible.

This happened to me too. I imagine that the link between my eShop account and my Club Nintendo account got messed up at some point, so I unlinked it and relinked it. Bought one of the cheap Picross games to test it out and now it's registering my purchases properly. Seems like I only missed out on a handful of purchases, like 2 retail games and Shovel Knight. And apparently there's no way to claim these past digital purchases, just in case you were thinking about that as a possibility.

If done well, you could cook with it and not taste all that much. You also barely taste it if you vape.

They're going to be adding one last, large round of new stuff next month so I'd wait until then and then consider cashing out & eBaying if desired.

As a person who was probably considered a stoner at one point in his life, I agree that they actually tend to be good people. It's kind of interesting that the culture, for instance, tends to enforce the idea that sharing is good and being accommodating to other people is in everyone's best interest in the long run. Even dealers (at least with MJ, I imagine this would change with harder drugs) tend to be flexible, give samples, etc. Of course, there are exceptions to this stuff and I imagine that part of this is regional (or even suburban vs urban experience) but I really found stoners to be a pretty endearing part of the culture. That said, I don't really like the "culture" of the t-shirts, merchandise, and whatnot. I suspect that some of the "gross" attachment is due to the fact that it's most regularly smoked, which isn't an altogether pleasant thing to be around in any case. I was never stoked to hang out with dudes who would smoke in their cars or do it so often that they smelled of it at all times. I'd guess that most people who regard mood altering drugs as bad do so because society (at least American society) expects us to be in control of our bodies. If we're sick, we are conditioned to feel ashamed if we take more than a day off at work. Getting mental health counseling is similarly shameful, as we should have control of our minds.

I don't think that trend has held true for the last couple games. Advanced Warfare has already been either $30 or $40 on sale and it's not even been out for a full quarter. Ghosts pitiful price curve probably screwed AW, that game was $20 within 6 months and the season pass even went on sale a couple times on console at least. Of course the whole season pass thing still makes COD come out to higher than a regular game's original MSRP even with sales, so I imagine they're still doing good.

The major gaming thing that I saw about Windows 10 is that it can act as a terminal for Xbox One streaming much like you can remote play to a Vita with a PS4. I think it's really neat but ultimately a half-step, as a real power move would be to have a 360 streaming client so every old 360 could effectively be an Xbox One if you've got a One in the house. I guess there's also DX12, but I haven't gotten a chance to read up on it yet. The free upgrade thing is very cool, but I wonder if you get a normal key so that if you reformat you can install Windows 10 or if you're stuck buying it again if you're not "upgrading" + you're not in that 1-year window.

I wish there was a Tinder specifically for meeting friends. As far as I know outside of sites like Meetup that are for organizing events or recurring groups, there really isn't anything of that nature that exists. And everything I've heard from everyone ever is that using a dating app and just selecting "making friends" doesn't communicate anything since you're using a dating app.

It does make it a lot easier to decide to buy a Nintendo game when it goes on sale. Smash is $41 at Walmart right now, which I estimate is probably the best or close to the best it's going to get for months if not years. Granted, I decided not to buy it as I don't get a lot of local co-op opportunities but I didn't waver on price or anything as transient as that.

I use Verizon pretty much only for coverage and bandwidth reasons. I seem to be on their LTE about 90% of the time and at almost all times I get crazy good download speeds (like, I can download a 30MB app update in about 5 seconds). I actually don't even use my work wi-fi, because in places like the bathroom I get faster/more consistent LTE. Verizon is relatively poor on pricing, phone selection, and international roaming but they do tend to at least sell all the major flagship devices and they come unlocked so you can dodge expensive roaming by getting a prepaid SIM while traveling. At some point, if I'm going to be locked in for two years I might as well value the stuff that matters like coverage over the more transient stuff like switching phones too often or whatever.