Etdlahq Memorial Bar - your shelter from forum crashes

[Swiller]

We used to have twice-yearly pay rises, but that got switched to twice-yearly-performance-reviews-but-only-one-pay-rise-per-year, round about the same time double-time on public holidays got reduced to time-and-a-half. I hate McDonald's, my cheap-*** franchisee, the rurality of where I live and the job market of where I live, regardless of the current economic climate.

Twice yearly pay-raises? Sign me up!!!

I work with a guy whose been with the company for 3 years. He got a raise the first year he was there, and never again. It's not right. We have kids--literally--that make only a dollar less than him, yet they have only been around 6 months and have no college degree. Whereas he does have a degree, and he works hard as hell. He hates it, and so do I. It makes me miss the military; where I had the stripes on my collar to stick up for guys like him, and to see that they got what they deserved. Sigh.

In other news, my most recent post here about fracturing a bone in my foot was deleted. After 5 days, I took the splint off and threw the crutches aside. I don't feel pain anymore, but my foot is still swollen as all heck, and it's a lovely conglomeration of red and purple. Perhaps I was a bit hasty, but I needed to have both my legs functioning again.

By all intents and purposes, I am healed. But just as fast as I recovered, my father fell and broke a rib.

It never ends. That's why I'm also drinking for the first night out of several.


Also, I hate Fallout 3. Dude. Come on, those connecting subway tunnels are SOOOOOO confusing. Plus, I bought Prima's official guide. A 12-year-old could have been more helpful. If I had a penny for every typo I have found in this guide, I'd seriously be a rich man. Prima sucks. Which I really don't get. Fallout 3 is by the same guys that made Oblivion. Prima made the guides to both games. So, why does the Oblivion guide pwn; while the Fallout 3 one is borderline unintelligible?

Yes. TL;DR by Swiller. Thank you.

 

[Trim]

I was a contract worker (read: temp employee) with the Postal Service off and on for three years. At the start, I was allowed to do two 90-day terms in a single department (hence the off and on), but if your term happened to be within a quarter year (ie, Jan.1 thru Mar.31, April 1 thru June 30) you'd get a raise. I started at $10 per hour, but after four fulfilled contracts I topped out at $11.50. But four potential raises per year were awesome.

Where I'm at now, we have twice a year reviews but there's only a yearly raise. The other review determines how much we get for our personal bonus. I was lucky to fit into the timeframe last year, and my bonus was about 1.5 weeks of pay. If things work out this year, I could get my bonus a month or two after I move to my new place, which would be excellent timing.

@FastE: Good job at work! Always nice to receive compliments and rewards for a job well done and handling a potential crisis.

If you had a blog, I'd definately be checking it out all the time. JayGun, too, and quite a lot of others around here as well. As for me having one, I wouldn't really have anything substantial to write. My woes with the roommates will be done in about three weeks. I can't write too much about the GF since it's best if the people around me don't know who she is. I wouldn't want to talk too much about music, since I'm usually behind the times and I "acquire" albums instead of purchasing them. Really... the most I would need is a Twitter account, but I'm always lightyears behind the times. I didn't get a myspace account until it was already on its way out, and I never check facebook unless someone friends or messages me. So... I use the SPF as my own blog, I guess. When was the last time I wrote less than ten sentences in a daily?

Glad to hear you're on a SDA kick. I'm always checking it out, seeing if there's new runs or threads on games I know something about (which is a pretty rare thing). There's been some talk about River City Ranson for the NES and Super Punch-Out for the SNES, so I've done my best to post a couple things about those. As for my own two games I've thought about running... well, my practice has slowed. Diablo usually eats up a lot of my gaming time. And Diablo being the exception because there's so much you can do with it, if I play the same game over and over I get really sick of it quickly. If I had a DVD recorder, I might get really serious about it. I have a $100 gift card to an electronics store, but the last time I went to price a recorder the cheapest one they had was $180+. What with my new move, there's a lot more things I need before a recorder, so it'll have to wait. However, I am thinking about using that gift card to buy myself a screen for my projector that hasn't seen any use in over a year. Decisions, decisions...

TL;DR: Too bad! I'm not summing all that up! If you want to know what I wrote, read it!!

 

[Neksja]

@Nek: You sound sad, my friend. A walk always helps me with my thoughts, and I do enjoy a good spot of rain, although I haven't combined the two for a good while. What films have you been watching while you've been away from work?

Just some crappy ones, with couple of exceptions. This far, I've watched:

Pride and Glory
S.W.A.T.
Watchmen
The Spirit
Barbershop
Snakes on a Plane
Lakeview Terrace
American Gangster
Jumper

I'm planning to watch 1-2 movies more today, propably some of these: Cloverfield, RocknRolla, Zodiac, Streets of Blood and/or Changeling.

My next tattoo session is on Thursday, yay! That reminds me, I still haven't posted pics from the last session.

You gotta keep the thread alive Eddie, we need you, because I'm so broke after the trip to Madrid, I won't be getting a new tattoo before September


Bartender, give me an orange juice, please.

 

[Trim]

<OJ for Neks, with a shot of vodka on the side... just in case> :wink:

Not that I want to lure you back into the world of OVG, Neks, but you said you almost broke out your Wii the other day. What games do you think are worth it?

My roommates own one so in the course of time I bought a couple games (Punch Out, No More Heroes, and my ultimately hated copy of Resident Evil 4). Now that I'm moving out, I'd like to get a Wii... but I'm not convinced that there's enough games for it that I'd enjoy. There's a TON of games I haven't played (like, everything not listed above) so I guess I'm pretty out of the loop. Even with your choice to drop VGs from your daily life, is a Wii worth the cash? And BTW, my time isn't all that valuable, so I don't mind wasting it away.

 

[Fenrix]

If you're going to live on your own, I wouldn't get a Wii. All Nintendo consoles are great for group use for awful for solo gaming. Plus, you feel like a twat waving your arms around on your own.

Neksja: I really hope Watchmen is one of those exceptions the rest are pretty bad, especially Jumper. Cloverfield is good fun, I'd recommend that as a watch.

Now... it raineth, which is a shame, because I'm having a barbeque today... at least it won't be so hot.

 

[Neksja]

@TRM, I don't have much games, just Zelda TP, Mario Kart, some rally game, FarCry and Wii Sports and Wii Play and a punch old NES games I bought with points. But if I take that Wii and start playing, it's definitely Zelda or some new game. And I kind of agree with Fenrix, Wii is most fun with group of players, but it's still enjoyable alone, at least games like Zelda are just incredible.

@Fenrix, have you seen the Watchmen? Don't wanna spoil anything, but it was the biggest disappointment of the movies I've seen in few years. Don't have words for it, suck is not enough, awful is way too lame, crappy doesn't cover it, so maybe I'll just call it suckawfulcrappy

 

[Trim]

I don't really mind looking like an idiot (have you SEEN No More Heroes? :wink: ), and I'll make the point that I've had lots of fun with Nintendo consoles since the very early years. A big bunch of my favorite games are from the SNES era, and I spent a ton of time on the N64, too. And while I own probably 40ish games for the GCN, I never really got addicted to any one game for too long (well, maybe Phantasy Star Online, but that came out for the Dreamcast first). I can usually make due with any console alone.

However, Zelda. ...man. I know I'm in the minority, but since the game went 3D I've never been a big fan. I've played a lot of OoT over the years, and I beat Wind Waker... but meh. And Twilight Princess just looks like more of the same. Call me old school, but the original for the NES and A Link to the Past are the ultimate and probably will remain so.

Still. There seems to be a few Wii games that looked interesting over the years. And yes, Mario Party (the roommates own it) still rules when you've got a crowd of gamers and non-gamers alike.

 

[John Remedy]

THE BAR IS ALIVE!

Where to start? Wow, I was pretty drunk, eh? My mouth still tastes like poor-quality beer.

@Swiller: IIRC the average 6month pay rise was £0.06/hr, but as I said that practise stopped ~7 years ago. There are two new managers (soon to be three) that have been promoted internally, and they make seven pence less than I do, and I've been a manager for around 3.5 years now. YES the Subway tunnels are confusing and YES most Prima guides are written by seven year-olds asking the aforementioned twelve year old for help, but Liam Neeson is your estranged father and I want to kill radioactive ants! Get well soon.

@TRM: My store manager said "OMG thanks Dan you've done a great job today, handling everything really well, grab yourself a beer on me". My franchisee said "thanks". I'm tempted to reactivate my Facebook now that the ex and I are speaking, but IDK. I thought everyone 'acquired' albums these days? I am also behind when it comes to music.

@Nek: You had a Samuel L Jackson mood? Who *doesn't* love SLJ, right? I would suggest you check out Cleaner. First half of the film is superb, and only really let down my the plot taking itself too seriously (and Eva Mendes' atrocious acting). I didn't know what to make of The Spirit, but I loved Lakeview Terrace and Cloverfield. Go go gadget EMB film reviews! Man, my tattoo next week is my last till Sept 25th... what a wait!

TLDR: Suck it! Green tea please.

 

[Megalomania]

HEADACHE!

*Hitting fanta*

@FE : I´ll try to respond 2 U Soon!

 

[Swiller]

I'm planning to watch 1-2 movies more today, propably some of these: Cloverfield, RocknRolla, Zodiac, Streets of Blood and/or Changeling.

Changeling is a damn good movie! Let me know how Cloverfield is, okay? That looked pretty interesting.

However, Zelda. ...man. I know I'm in the minority, but since the game went 3D I've never been a big fan. I've played a lot of OoT over the years, and I beat Wind Waker... but meh. And Twilight Princess just looks like more of the same. Call me old school, but the original for the NES and A Link to the Past are the ultimate and probably will remain so.

I agree. The newer Zelda games are still pretty cool, but they don't compare to the old-school stuff. I am convinced that A Link to the Past is the best Zelda game, and possibly one of the best console games ever.

I personally don't see what's so wrong with 2D. Sure, it might look unsophisticated and old; and 3D is maybe more realistic. But I don't think it's fair for the gaming industry to almost totally abandon 2D. Look at Castlevania. The first 3D Castlevania games were made for the Nintendo64, and they were just terrible. They are cancers on the Castlvania legacy. They were that bad. But in the same time that the series was going 3D on the N64, Konami made another 2D game: Symphony of the Night. And in my opinion it's one of the best PS1 games ever made. Despite being 2D it's far superior to most of the 3D stuff.

 

[Fenrix]

@Fenrix, have you seen the Watchmen? Don't wanna spoil anything, but it was the biggest disappointment of the movies I've seen in few years. Don't have words for it, suck is not enough, awful is way too lame, crappy doesn't cover it, so maybe I'll just call it suckawfulcrappy

Each to their own, I suppose. I'm a HUGE fan of the graphic novel, so I really enjoyed how true to the original it was, but it isn't the mindless action film the trailer made it out to be... you NEED to have read the book to appreciate it fully, really, which is a downside. Same can't be said of other graphic novel adaptations, such as V for Vendetta (awesome film) and 300 (which IS a mindless action film)

 

[Kanonfutter]

Each to their own, I suppose. I'm a HUGE fan of the graphic novel, so I really enjoyed how true to the original it was, but it isn't the mindless action film the trailer made it out to be... you NEED to have read the book to appreciate it fully, really, which is a downside. Same can't be said of other graphic novel adaptations, such as V for Vendetta (awesome film) and 300 (which IS a mindless action film)

I really enjoyed both V for Vendetta and 300 for exactly the above reasons. In fact I enjoyed V for Vendetta so much I showed it for my students before doing political philosophy. But then again, I've used Land of the Dead for discussing cultural relativism.

I am sorely disappointed that the local cinema didn't run Watchmen, I'll have to wait for the movie to go on DVD. Shows how backwater I'm living, I guess.

I need a lot of coffee, my Poison Necro is starting up and loving it to death.

 

[Megalomania]

@Swiller : have you seen Cronicles of Riddick?

 

[essojay]

JayGun, did you watch A-Rod vs. R-Fed?

Spoiler

Roddick did pretty well, but the Federer win seemed inevitable

 

[Fenrix]

@Swiller : have you seen Cronicles of Riddick?

Hah, that film is hilarious. Great action, great CGI... just a shame the director has no grasp of basic science. So, you can outrun the sun while stopping every 5 minutes to screw around or kill something? You can somehow breathe on a planet so hot the atmosphere would have ignited if it had any oxygen in it? And, of course, crashing into another plane from beneath WOULDN'T throw you wildly out of control.

I love the films, but I deplore their realism... as much as you can for a sci-fi universe.

 

[Pijus1]

Oh come on, just enjoy when you watch a movie, instead of nitpicking on how not real a(science)fiction universe is.

The above isn't meant for the above poster, but for moviegoers in general.

 

[Fenrix]

I DO enjoy the Riddick films... I have both on DVD, and I even have the animated short somewhere. But they're... hah... Riddickulous.

Sorry. Bad pun.

 

[Neksja]

I hear you Pijus, just enjoy the movie!

Like I do that Always having those thoughts "that's is just impossible!", but hey, everyone watches movies way the do. I'd love to be able to see movies like that but no. It's just impossible for me, but I still like quite a lot of science fiction movies with action (don't enjoy so much pure scifi). By the way, do we have a thread "OT: Movie thread" here? We could use a one, because it seems there a lot of people who enjoys (good) movies, so maybe some of you more active forumites starts a thread where we can discuss about movies and give some tips, what to people should check?

Give me a hot chocolate to go. It's going to be a loooooooong night walking around the city figuring out what my life is...

 

[jamesixgun]

@Esso: I did indeed spend the morning with the Gentleman's Final at Wimbledon. Friggen awesome. Roddick Rocked, but Fed ROX SOX, so you know. I wasn't particularly surprised at the outcome, but did enjoy the lengthy suspense.

Ok. Well, I want to play around with the envious sinner, but I've been tapped to roast a couple of ducks later on, and need to do a good deal of prep. Oh well. So I'll have a Longhammer to get myself ready. Maybe I'll have a chance to play after dinner, if I'm not too drunk.

@Neksja: have fun with that walk! I hope it all comes to you, for sure!

 

[Swiller]

@Swiller : have you seen Cronicles of Riddick?

No, I have not. I watched parts of Pitch Black some time ago, and it was pretty decent. The Chronicles of Riddick is one of those movies that I wouldn't mind to watch, yet I won't pay to see in theaters or rent. You like it?

JayGun, did you watch A-Rod vs. R-Fed?

Spoiler

Roddick did pretty well, but the Federer win seemed inevitable

Ah, we have tennis fans here? Capital! I myself caught just the last few minutes. Like others, I'm not too surprised at the outcome. Federer is just...insanely good.

Major congrats go to him for surpassing Pete Sampras' record!

By the way, do we have a thread "OT: Movie thread" here? We could use a one, because it seems there a lot of people who enjoys (good) movies, so maybe some of you more active forumites starts a thread where we can discuss about movies and give some tips, what to people should check?

I personally like the idea, but since there's already one on the OT forum, the moderators might argue that the SPF doesn't need its own. Still, it's worth asking!