SecretAsianMan

They look different but the stick on the Orbweaver is still an 8-way d-pad. It even clicks in each direction (at least the one with mechanical switches does, there's another version called the Orbweaver "stealth" that I guess eliminates the sound).

I'm constantly bothered that there aren't more tools to learn Chinese. It's the most spoken language in the world by number of speakers and it's one of the 6 official languages of the United Nations. You'd think it would be easier to find a way to learn it. I understand time and resources being a factor but I still wish things like Duolingo offered it.

I used to have a Razer Nostromo (which now in Teg's possession). I currently have a Razer Orbweaver. I really like it because I find it far more comfortable and usable for the types of games I frequently play, namely shooters. It's an entirely personal preference and I can't state that it's objectively better than a normal keyboard. I will say that calling it an analog stick is a misnomer because it's really a d-pad with a nub on it. I don't use it as an analog stick/d-pad, I use it as additional buttons, similar to a hat switch on a joystick. The Nostromo(blue) and Orbweaver(green)

I used to do a similar thing as Teg when playing older emulated NES/SNES games. Before the Xbox existed I tried a couple of PC controllers. The d-pad and analog sticks on most older PC controllers are terrible and I hated using a keyboard for the face button inputs so I used a combination of the two. I'd use the keyboard with my left hand for the d-pad and the controller in my right for the buttons. It was really awkward but still better than using either the keyboard or controller alone. In terms of more modern stuff, I'm totally comfortable with WASD but will concede that it does make for some goofy movement in games that have more than one speed.

I really love Lastpass and if you do a lot of mobile browsing the premium account is really useful. I don't know about iOS but the Android app can fill in your username and password in other apps such as the Chrome browser. You can lock access with a pin that will require re-entry if you haven't used it in a while. The autofill doesn't work correctly 100% of the time unfortunately, it depends on the site. In those instances I usually end up copying the password and then pasting it in myself, which still saves time compared to manually typing it in.

Saw that there was a quake out in California today. Everyone ok?

I have a very difficult time distinguishing spoken Korean and Japanese. They sound very similar to me. I do love the way they sound though. It flows so well. I can speak Chinese, in the sense that if I were stranded in China I could probably survive but I'm by no means fluent. One thing that it did make me realize though is that English is such a terribly shitty language. There are so many rules that make no sense or have stupid exceptions. Actually being in China isn't all that different from being in the US or any other Western country. Obviously there's a cultural difference but in terms of the regime, in all likelihood you won't encounter much of it as a tourist. There's a ton of shit that sucks and is terrible, but it's like the US where that stuff is mostly hidden until something happens that brings it out into the public. I wouldn't want to live there though. I mainly don't like going to Taiwan because it's constantly hot and humid.

I know pretty much nothing about Haven except for one thing: the lead character is played by Emily Rose, who also did the voice and mocap for Elena from the Uncharted games. I think she would also be a good fit for an Uncharted movie.

I was also at the DF party last year. I'm somewhere in this picture. Sucks I can't go this time.

Yes

It makes sense to me. Unless it sucks, gets broken, or becomes unsupported, once you find an app you like there's not a lot of reason to go looking for a replacement. I'm somewhat obsessive about updating the apps I have, but I rarely go looking for new ones. It's like Bjorn said, my biggest binges are when I get a new device.

I agree with these statements. On the topic of not being able to drink beer, I have a specific reason for hating it. I believe I've told this story before on these forums but I'll repeat it. When I was a kid I saw a beer commercial. I told my father I wanted some, so he went out and bought a six pack. After drinking about half of one, I spent the next few hours puking my guts up. It's a mean trick but it fucking worked because it wasn't until college that I was able to even smell beer without immediately wanting to hurl. It took a LOT for me to learn to tolerate drinking it.

At one of the PAXs I attended, I went to the Gearbox panel. They like giving stuff away Oprah style, and this time they gave out codes for the psycho character. I managed to sneak out with 2 codes. I gave one away and the other I never redeemed. In theory it should still work if someone wants it.

I don't think the moral from the Tortoise and the Hare should be "slow and steady wins the race". It should be something about not losing focus or not being overconfident. And I just found this addendum to the story on Wikipedia

That's what I thought too.

Along those lines, I also wondered if there should be a thread that has all the promo codes in them because frankly there are so many I don't remember what they are. I suppose you could just keep trying Idle Thumbs words until something works.

For me, a lot of problems would be solved if scores were just dropped altogether. I think scoring games (or movies or any other kind of creative content) is just dumb. Reviewing them is fine. Tell me what you liked about a game. Tell me what you didn't. Let me decide if the good things sound better than the bad. Unless it's actual, technical info like framerate or something that can actually be measured, it's your opinion which is totally valid. Putting an number on it implies some sort of universal scale on which all things can be judged and I don't believe for a second that exists. It makes me want to enact an idea I've had forever, which is a website that is built on subjective reviews. The scores are basically "recommend" and "don't recommend". Everyone would be free to review a game and give their opinion, but in order to do so you have to provide a list of other games you like or dislike. The idea is that if you liked certain games, and someone else liked those same games, then maybe you'd also like this other game they recommend. Or vice versa. It's something I'd do if I had the time, money, and ability.

I saw that it was on sale but somehow missed that it's free for the weekend. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

I don't really care for viral trends, even ones in support of donating toward disease research. I'm not against donating to worthy causes, it just bothers me that it requires stuff like this to get people to do it. Even worse is that many people miss the point altogether and don't even mention (or in some cases even know) the actual reason for doing it other than as a popular thing people are doing. That said, I feel a strange urge to do the ice bucket challenge just to nominate Idle Thumbs.

If anyone is going to PAX or will be in the area that weekend, this is the event that was referred to at the end of the episode. It sounds amazing and I'm so bummed I won't be there. http://blog.camposanto.com/post/95382964369/devsnbevs

I think you're right about some of them. I think the ones that just randomly spawn in coffins don't show up, but then again I may just be assuming that because I've never seen it, even after essentially starting over by playing on a new computer.

For someone just getting into the game, I would not recommend the daily. In order to learn about the game, you need to do dumb stuff, take risks, and experiment. The single try nature of the daily isn't good for that. It would probably be ok as a final run in a given session, but not as a learning experience for someone unfamiliar with a lot of the game. Also the shortcuts can't be unlocked in the daily, nor can any new characters.

FUUUUUUUCK! WHY DO I HAVE TO MISS THIS PAX!!! http://blog.camposanto.com/post/95382964369/devsnbevs

Yes, but fortunately for me they're usually people I don't interact with often or haven't seen for a long time so it doesn't mess up life beyond the first ten minutes after waking up.

It changes. It can be other things too.