Recent Posts

9326

Living Room / Re: Solid Potato Salad

« Last post by Deozaan on October 21, 2006, 04:46 PM »

That's kind of. . . well actually totally gross!

9327

Living Room / Re: Xara X1 Massive discount (expires 28th September)

« Last post by Deozaan on October 21, 2006, 12:37 AM »

Don't recall seeing one, but I'll look more closely the next time I get an ad from them.

-mrainey (October 20, 2006, 06:24 AM)

You can send an e-mail to [email protected] with "remove" in the subject line (no quotes) and it should remove you.

I had to go onto the website to unsubscribe because I used Gmail's nifty [myemail][email protected] so that I could filter out spam if they wouldn't stop sending it, so when I sent them the remove e-mail, it didn't match up because it wasn't being registered with the +xara part in it.

9328

Living Room / Re: Gateway - Control a Robot in Today's Very Cool Flash Game of the Day

« Last post by Deozaan on October 21, 2006, 12:34 AM »

how do you get past the level with the tv? im stuck:S

-poopoo (October 20, 2006, 11:37 PM)

Spoiler

The secret code on the doorway is the order of channels in which you see the robot doing things, starting with the car in the driveway

9329

Living Room / Re: Ms Dewey: the search engine with a face & personality

« Last post by Deozaan on October 20, 2006, 12:29 PM »

My search for 'cool flash games' returned as the #1 result a site I have been trying to find in my huge list of bookmarks for quite some time:

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/  (the games are very sweet and pretty)

-app103 (October 19, 2006, 03:22 AM)

You can also get to this from http://www.orisinal.com/. This one takes you to the link above, but it's easier to remember. It's just like "Original" but with an "S" in place of the "G."

Oh, and I'm not even going to do a Ms. Dewey search. . .

9330

General Software Discussion / Re: Internet Explorer 7.0 Final is out

« Last post by Deozaan on October 19, 2006, 08:35 PM »

Oh, and not having downloaded it yet, did they finally get png alpha transparency to work properly?

9331

General Software Discussion / Re: Internet Explorer 7.0 Final is out

« Last post by Deozaan on October 19, 2006, 08:34 PM »

For a person who happily uses Firefox 99% of the time, is there any compelling reason to install IE7? 

-mrainey (October 19, 2006, 04:36 PM)

Because of that 1% of the time you end up using IE and you don't have tabbed browsing. That's reason enough for me.

9332

Living Room / Re: Xara X1 Massive discount (expires 28th September)

« Last post by Deozaan on October 19, 2006, 07:35 PM »

I got my Xara CD in the mail this week. It comes surrounded by a folded piece of paper--giving me support information--in a nifty transparent sleeve. My serial number is on the transparent sleeve.

Oh, and it also comes with trial versions of Webstyle, Xara3D, Menu Maker, and ScreenMaker 3D.

Woo!

9333

Living Room / Re: MouserMon - a silly tool that lets you know when the Boss is/not on the foru

« Last post by Deozaan on October 19, 2006, 07:30 PM »

I think mouser got really paranoid and cut his ethernet cable. I haven't seen him online for most of the day since this post! He's probably got his tinfoil cap on right now.

See that mouser? I can still read your thoughts! That cap does nothing but make you look silly and provides an excellent lightning rod!

 

9334

Site/Forum Features / Re: forum search improvement

« Last post by Deozaan on October 19, 2006, 07:23 PM »

Deozaan: Notice that google results have a problem: the new posts aren't listed, since they still haven't been indexed by google.

-jgpaiva (October 19, 2006, 07:01 PM)

I hadn't thought of that. Sound like Google will be as accurate at finding new posts as the current search is at finding any posts. 

9335

Site/Forum Features / Re: forum search improvement

« Last post by Deozaan on October 19, 2006, 06:41 PM »

I have a good idea for improving the forum search.

Just use the information used to make the Firefox search plugin so that the forum search uses google to search itself. I get much better results from Google, which says the forum search is really pathetic.

9336

Living Room / Re: MouserMon - a silly tool that lets you know when the Boss is/not on the forum

« Last post by Deozaan on October 19, 2006, 02:26 PM »

At risk of making it more useful, what if you made it possible to add a list of friends to it, monitoring all my buddies via it.  Maybe even list all online users

-allen (October 18, 2006, 07:58 PM)

Exactly what I was going to say! Word for word!

9337

General Software Discussion / Re: Need help with Google Talk!

« Last post by Deozaan on October 19, 2006, 02:16 PM »

I like the simplicity of Gtalk. I don't need all that extra garbage found in MSN, Y!IM, or AIM. They've been slowly adding features, which is making me wary, but as of now it still has minimal bloat and it isn't all cluttered (wasted screen space!!!!) and complicated like the other IM clients.

Also, it lets me know when I am disconnected, unlike MSN which will let me keep typing for however long I do before I wonder why the person I'm talking to isn't responding.

AND, perhaps the most important, switching to Gtalk from MSN let me clear my contacts list from all those people I stopped talking to (or wanted to stop talking to) years ago without having to feel guilty of removing them and/or blocking them. 

9338

Developer's Corner / Re: Let's Make us some Games!

« Last post by Deozaan on October 18, 2006, 11:59 PM »

If you think of an RTS, each faction needs resources. The castle would be akin to the main headquarters for your faction. Naturally there could be cities elsewhere that your faction controls.

This idea is starting to get very complicated, but I think it's worth mentioning just as an idea and not necessarily a mandatory feature. In fact this is probably best suited for something much more advanced than what we'd want to start with.

How about, like an RTS, when the faction had the resources to train/buy new units, what would happen in this particular setting is that new players joining in could only join the faction that had allocated the resources to train new units. So if your castle or main base was damaged or destroyed and you didn't have the resources, you couldn't "hire" more people to join the faction. It would be almost as if the game took place on another world and everyone who joined was basically a freelancer/mercenary getting into a contract to join the faction and be shipped off to the planet.

9339

Developer's Corner / Re: Let's Make us some Games!

« Last post by Deozaan on October 18, 2006, 09:53 PM »

I said it was a bad comparison.

Still, I think if it was done right, it could be like a 2D RTS, where you control only one character. When the game starts, you can stick around the castle to build it up and work on defenses and homes and things, and when you get bored with that or if you need to, you can go with your army (or solo, I guess) and go explore and try to find the other people and fight them if you want.

Or perhaps a better example would be something with the character control and visual design of Diablo II but where the city can be attacked and destroyed or built up.

I don't think it necessarily needs to be PvP, or that different factions need to be at war all the time.

But again this is getting too complex. I think it would be nice, and along with Mizraim's idea of something that we start small with and add more to it as time goes on to make it a more full game.

This project is very ambitious, and would almost certainly take longer than a month, but could be playable in various stages throughout time.

9340

Developer's Corner / Re: Let's Make us some Games!

« Last post by Deozaan on October 18, 2006, 09:33 PM »

I envision something more real-time. Like an RTS where you can move your character around and build things, but also go off to fight. Except with one person instead of many units. I guess the best (yet still very, very terrible) comparison I can come up with is something like an MMORPG but with building aspects that appear in Second Life.

9341

Living Room / Re: Forum Discrimination....

« Last post by Deozaan on October 18, 2006, 07:02 PM »

Forums are a different kind of world.  People act very differently when they are masked behind anonymity.  A lot of the people who are very aggressive and short-tempered on forums may be very shy and meek in the real world.  Some people who write a lot in posts may seem to be not that sociable in person.  It's just a different world.

This DC forum is the only forum I've been on that has remained civil from day one until now.  I can't put my finger on why, but it's a testament to mouser and the people here.  When I write on forums, I try to word things the way I would actually speak in real life because I am personally self-conscious about these things and I don't want someone who meets me in person thinking I'm a totally different personality online.

In my attempt to reduce my time online, I've stopped posting in forums, except this one.  I used to post on this Lakers forum before, but I've stopped because every thread would eventually get hijacked by a wiseass or juevenile comments.

Well, there's my vent.

-superboyac (October 18, 2006, 09:29 AM)

That's true. I forgot to mention that it also depends on the people at the forum and what kind of forum it is.

When I was a teenager I joined a Yahoo! Group that was also filled mainly with teenagers. Of all the members there, I could only count on about seven others to keep the discussion civil and not resort to flaming. It was an, uh, "art" group, so there was plenty of criticizing when there should have been critiquing and most people were very sensitive about their own work while being insensitive to just about everyone else's.

9342

Developer's Corner / Re: Let's Make us some Games!

« Last post by Deozaan on October 18, 2006, 06:47 PM »

So who has experience with Flash enough to be able to organize something so that it will be modular and easily expandible?

I've been using Flash for many years now but I've never become familiar with things like multiplayer or modular expansion. I suspect it has to do something with OOP classes (which I'm still trying to figure out) but I'm not sure.

And if we were to get started on this project, what is one of the areas we should work on first?

9343

Living Room / Re: (Defend the) Final Fortress - Flash Game of the Day

« Last post by Deozaan on October 18, 2006, 07:52 AM »

freudian shit >_<

-f0dder (October 17, 2006, 05:13 PM)

You mean Freudian Slip, right? 

9344

Living Room / Re: Forum Discrimination....

« Last post by Deozaan on October 18, 2006, 07:49 AM »

Do you guys have any experience?
The latest one I have blew me off.

I made a suggestion to have a FAQ sticky at one forum. No replies from any moderators. A few weeks later, someone made the same suggestion and wham! instantly(or a few hours later) 2 moderators replied. The FAQ is created.

The only difference is my post count is lower. I have 70+ and he has 250. I don't know why so many forums give priority to high post count users. Doesn't anyone start with 0 post count?

-AdIyhc (October 18, 2006, 06:22 AM)

Don't think the world is out to get you. While it certainly is possible for this discrimination to exist, it is just as possible, and perhaps even more likely that it was just an oversight. The thing about jumping to conclusions is that there are millions of reasons why something could have happened. It's unhealthy and perhaps even conceited to choose the one that implies personal insult.

I like to give people and situations the benefit of the doubt. I've found that I'm less stressed and more happy, and (I think) equally important, it keeps me out of unnecessary arguments based on misunderstandings. Sounds like a win-win to me.

9345

Living Room / Re: Blog Article: 100+ Ways to Rejuvenate the Games You Already Own

« Last post by Deozaan on October 17, 2006, 03:40 PM »

I was hoping there were 100+ ways I could rejuvenate Mario Bros. or Doom or Stars! or Super Mario Kart. . . But board games?

Bummer . . .

9346

Living Room / Re: What a bunch of MacMuffins ...

« Last post by Deozaan on October 17, 2006, 03:37 PM »

Yes I saw that but I didn't write the page

-Carol Haynes (October 17, 2006, 03:21 PM)

I know that. I just thought it was funny that the news company rags on McDonald's for handing out tainted merchandise and also saves the entry (inadvertantly I'm sure) as something someone could take as being much worse than it is. I mean look at it. It's only three words that don't even describe the article at all. "McDonald's Hands Maleware." Even if Malware was spelled correctly it doesn't give you much of an idea of the article. Maybe if it was "McDonald's Hands Out Malware."

But who am I to critique a news website?

9347

Living Room / Re: Mike-O-Matic on GooTube and The Power of Branding

« Last post by Deozaan on October 17, 2006, 03:22 PM »

I think that several of these items in the list are actually named what they are normally called.

A lava lamp is a lava lamp, isn't it? I mean, I know it's a brand, but it's also the name of the light that heats up the stuff inside and it kind of looks like lava, right?

I use Q-Tip for cotton swaps on a stick, Kleenex for facial tissue, and Saran Wrap for plastic wrap.

And I don't think I've ever heard of a Yo-Yo called anything else, or a Hula Hoop. Isn't an escalator an escalator? The flat ones I've heard are called moving sidewalks. And what about SPAM? For one thing, I've only heard people say SPAM when referring to the canned pork stuff (or junk e-mail, which shouldn't be capitalized--this differentiates it from the branded meat product). I never really thought about it, but I suppose other brands make SPAM-like products. I can't recall seeing them on the shelf at the grocery store, though.

I thought Kitty Litter was the generic term. Brands would be Tidy Cat or. . . something else (I haven't bought kitty litter for about ten years).

I don't think I've ever seen another brand of Zamboni than Zamboni. Of course, I haven't been to many ice rinks in my life.

Also, duct tape is duct tape. People just don't pronounce the T so they think it is Duck Tape. Of course, as was mentioned, there is now a brand called Duck Tape, and I also agree that it was branded such because of the mispronunciation.

Oreos mean Oreos to me. Any other chocolate/white cream sandwich cookie just isn't an Oreo.

I think most people call pain relievers whatever brand they usually use. "Have you got a Tylenol?" Most of the time I just use the chemical/drug name, Acetominophen. Did you know that some Tylenol actually has aspirin in it?  If aspirin can kill you, it's important that you get acetominophen instead of just asking for Tylenol. But hopefully you already knew that if aspirin can kill you.

Novocaine is a specific drug and I've never heard it a general anesthetic called Novocaine.

Also, what is the correct name for a phillips screwdriver? It's certainly a lot easier to ask for a phillips than a screwdriver with a pointy cross shaped head.

shortened list

How many times do you tell someone to "Google it"?

• Q-tips = cotton tipped swabs.
• Kitty Litter = cat box filler
• Band-Aid = plastic adhesive bandage
• Velcro = hook & loop tape
• Duck Tape = duct tape
• Oreos = chocolate sandwich cookies with white cream
• Saran Wrap = plastic wrap
• Escalator = moving staircase
• Allen wrench = hexagonal screwdriver
• Hula Hoop - toy ring
• Yo-Yo = toy
• Lava lamp = decorative light
• Novocaine = local anesthetic
• Tylenol = pain reliever
• Advil = pain reliever
• Jaws of Life = a rescue tool
• Jell-O = gelatin dessert
• Kleenex = packaged folded facial tissue paper
• Phillips Screwdriver = screwdriver with a cross-pointed drive hole
• Pop Tart = breakfast toaster pastry
• Rollerblade = inline skates
• Swiss Army Knife = a clasp-knife with multi-functional blades
• Thermos = vacuum flask
• Zamboni = ice resurfacing machine

-app103 (October 17, 2006, 08:02 AM)

9348

Living Room / Re: What a bunch of MacMuffins ...

« Last post by Deozaan on October 17, 2006, 02:59 PM »

...mcdonalds-hands-maleware

-Carol Haynes (October 17, 2006, 01:57 PM)

[emphasis added]

I was thinking, "What the heck is maleware? Is this NSFW?"

9349

Living Room / Re: The Good Ghost: Flash Game of the Day

« Last post by Deozaan on October 17, 2006, 02:46 PM »

This one also sounds slightly familiar, but I like the death song better.

What is the death song? I must know!

9350

General Software Discussion / Re: CNET: Last hurrah for PC-based software?

« Last post by Deozaan on October 17, 2006, 02:13 PM »

For someone who has gone several months without internet access at home in just the past year, I would absolutely hate to have to sign onto the internet just to create or edit a Word document or get access to any of my data. I don't think we'll ever see the end of a local hard drive and local apps for this very reason. The laptop going through a tunnel or on an airplane was also a great example. Although in the sci-fi future, I suppose internet could be transmitted up in airplanes and WiFi signals broadcasted through all train tunnels.

How the media (apps, music, games, movies, etc.) is distributed might very well become download only, but I suspect it will then be installed or stored on the hard drive thereafter.

Web 2.0 is nice for data on the go if you don't have a laptop or are sure you will always have internet access while traveling. That's one reason why I store some of my files online or e-mail myself some files or information--so I can always access it when I am away from my PC--but I think it will take me at least a few more decades and giant leaps in technology (which is expected) before I would trust (as completely as I ever will) the security of all my data being online.