unwashed dishes and toilet paper tubes

[Armadillo Al]

Eh, it really straddles both - 1987-1994 is tough to shoehorn into one 'decade', as pop culture defines it.

EDIT: Woot, ST goaded me into a pagetopper! I feel special.

[bigglesworth]

1987-1994 seems fair enough to call 'the 80s' under my personal paradigm that each decade takes 5 years getting over the previous one, culturally speaking.

[SecondTalon]

EDIT: Woot, ST goaded me into a pagetopper! I feel special.

Mods (and people who have self-deleted their posts in this thread) have no idea what you're talking about.

... huh. How many pages are in your Fleeting Thoughts thread...?

*edit* Yeah, I just checked... same number here, so at least it's not like I'm a page ahead.

[meridian]

Good gravy, the essay about Zelda is an 8 page wanking love song to the original Zelda/Zelda II.

I get it, I get it, the original 2 had a level of severity that none of the other games can rival, but part of that was born out of the constraints of that era. The limitations made it harder and gave the player a keener sense of accomplishment from figuring it out. Whoop di doo. It's the internet age and Zelda has been reclassified into a kids game, given it's low level of blood and horror. No one values checking every nook and cranny anymore. People turn to walkthroughs for that*. Game creators now build in walkthroughs and let you dabble in sidequests on your own. This concession doesn't work for the author. That's sort of the crux of the complaint. The author is infuriating as ze gets to the end and still does not PROVIDE A SOLUTION. (No, I don't believe 'make it like Demon's Souls' is an actual solution.) I kind of wish to tell hir to go play Pong or something.

That said, I would be happier if there were an adult version of the Legend of Zelda, that it was a game of skill again, instead of just a fast paced romp through an adventure landscape. I rarely use potions anymore. I barely look up things online (aside from the fifty millionth partial heart container, and wtf, poe souls). The horrors of MM were mitigated by the age of Link and the silliness of the game over all. I'm a tried and true Zelda fan, but this definitely helps me figure out some of the reasons why my other favorite game series is Silent Hill.


*Remember when gamer magazines contained helpful with hints and there were published game guides? Is this still a thing?

[philsov]

*Remember when gamer magazines contained helpful with hints and there were published game guides? Is this still a thing?

Ooooh, yes. I used to have one of the first nintendo powers, which had a fold-out map of the Legend of Zelda, with markers for gambling spots and bitter old men who'd charge you cash just for breaking through their wall and dungeon entrances and everything. The markers were for the 2nd quest, but its application towards the normal quest were MARVELOUS on a game that had a giant, detail-less brown box to serve as a minimap.

It's... still a thing to a small degree. I'm pretty sure most magazines have dried up or severely cut costs, but guides are still flourishing enough to warrant further printing. I think the target audience is more as gifts from friends/parents or whomever who want to be nice toward their gamer friend/family while being oblivious that there's a plethora of information available online. Some people still prefer them since they're ready-printed instead of constantly alt-tabbing too. The Skyrim guide, for example, is a tome to the tune of.... *looks up* 656 pages.

Edit: Holy balls my mind just blew up.

[Menacing Spike]

... huh. How many pages are in your Fleeting Thoughts thread?

1915! Time for trench warfare!

[OBrien]

I basically agree with what OBrien said, but I did actually read the whole thing.

Nice to know that I saved myself a lot of effort and rage by giving up on the fucker.

1915! Time for trench warfare!

1914, surely?

[e^iπ+1=0]

Everyone knows WWI didn't start till 1917.

[emceng]

*Remember when gamer magazines contained helpful with hints and there were published game guides? Is this still a thing?

Ooooh, yes. I used to have one of the first nintendo powers, which had a fold-out map of the Legend of Zelda, with markers for gambling spots and bitter old men who'd charge you cash just for breaking through their wall and dungeon entrances and everything. The markers were for the 2nd quest, but its application towards the normal quest were MARVELOUS on a game that had a giant, detail-less brown box to serve as a minimap.

It's... still a thing to a small degree. I'm pretty sure most magazines have dried up or severely cut costs, but guides are still flourishing enough to warrant further printing. I think the target audience is more as gifts from friends/parents or whomever who want to be nice toward their gamer friend/family while being oblivious that there's a plethora of information available online. Some people still prefer them since they're ready-printed instead of constantly alt-tabbing too. The Skyrim guide, for example, is a tome to the tune of.... *looks up* 656 pages.

Edit: Holy balls my mind just blew up.

What is that from? It looks like a Dragon Warrior map.

[OBrien]

It's the Zelda II: The Adventure of Link world map.

On a completely different note (but hey, this is the random thread, after all), can anyone help me identify a coat I have? It's a green, cotton military greatcoat with two pairs of main buttons on the front and an optional pair to button down the lapels and make it into a collared coat. It has epaulettes with a single button each, and button down straps round the cuffs with two buttons (not sure if "straps" is the right word for it, but it's the best I can come up with). The pockets are deep enough to easily fit a standard-sized bottle of wine each, and are accessible from the inside as well as the out. There is a detachable fleece vest lining secured by a zip, and a belt that is meant to do up between the first and second pair of buttons (not pictured: I do it up round the back).

Unfortunately, this is the best picture of it I have:



As a side note, Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses has one exactly the same, but I've only seen it in a few episodes and can't find any pictures of it online, so I know that's not exactly a great help...

EDIT: The materials and cuff fastenings are different, and mine doesn't have button fastenings for the vents and the pockets can be accessed from the inside and out, but this one is very similar.

[Xeio]

It's the Zelda II: The Adventure of Link world map.

You sure that's not from the original? Because the inlet definitely is, unless it's just superimposed upon a Zelda II map for some reason.

[OBrien]

Pretty sure.

EDIT: Sorry, misread your post. Yeah, I think it's a map to show how the two maps fit together, so it'd be both. My bad.

[philsov]

It's the Zelda II: The Adventure of Link world map.

You sure that's not from the original? Because the inlet definitely is, unless it's just superimposed upon a Zelda II map for some reason.

It's both, which is what made my mind melt.

The inlet is from the original, and the implication is that the final stage of Zelda II (Death Mountain Area) is the location of Zelda I.

[Xeio]

Ah, ok, that was my confusion then.

[RollingHead]

Random question that doesn't need its own thread: do most people kiss their pet cats? I was recently told that I'm an exception for not doing this, but the guy who I had this conversation with is allergic to cats so I'm not sure where that observation came from.

[OBrien]

One of my housemates does, the other doesn't. They're the only people I've seen with their cats for an extended period of time, so my personal experience is 50/50 (even if my sample size is ridiculously small).

[Deva]

Never kissed a cat. Experiences allergic reactions to cats also.

[TimelordSimone]

I don't think I ever kissed my cats, so much as mashed my face into their head and went 'om nom nom'.
Is that weird?

[OBrien]

For the cats, yeah.

[Ptolom]

I have never kissed my cat, partly because of ocd and partly because she finds clawing people so fun.

[pseudoidiot]

I kiss both my cats. One of them barely tolerates it, the other doesn't care. Any attention is good attention.

[PictureSarah]

I kiss my cats on the tops of their heads, not on their faces. I also nom their heads, and squish my face into their sides/stomachs when they are curled up on my bed.

[pseudoidiot]

Oh, yeah. Tops of heads. Same for me. I didn't think to clarify.

[Dthen]

Of course I do! Tops of heads.

[You, sir, name?]

I was watching a battle scene in "Braveheart". There appeared that for every combatant, there was about one kill a second. So the half life of the battlefield would be about a second. The fighting scene was about 150 seconds long. Which means that there was initially some 10⁴⁵ combatants. Must have been crowded.

[RollingHead]

It just doesn't seem hygenic to me to kiss cats, and it might have been a problem for my allergic friend.

[UniqueScreenname]

I love animals, so it is not a problem for me. But I understand why people wouldn't do it. However, I am also a strong believer that exposure to more germs will make you healthier in the end, as you develop more resistance. My OCD sister is always sick, has the worst allergies out of my whole family, and I work in a microbiology lab breathing in E. coli and Staph every day. I'm not sick.

[SecondTalon]

Random question that doesn't need its own thread: do most people kiss their pet cats? I was recently told that I'm an exception for not doing this, but the guy who I had this conversation with is allergic to cats so I'm not sure where that observation came from.

Kiss tops of heads, touch nose to nose, headbutt, smash face to side of cat head.

And sometimes nom heads. Always keep the pointy bits pointed away from face.

[Isaac Hill]

A lock is not only something opened with a silver key. A grapple point is a lock; a hookshot is the key. A cracked rock wall is a lock; a bomb is the key. That wondrous array of items you collect is little more than a building manager’s jangly keyring.

That's a pretty weird complaint from someone who loves Zelda II, since most of its items have no other use. The boots and raft just let you cross water, the flute moves a monster and opens a dungeon, the hammer destroys path-blocking boulders and the magic key doesn't even pretend to be anything else. You might be able to use the glove to make a pit and trap enemies, but other than that, it's a key to block locks. The only other items are the candle and cross, which just let you see things in the video game.

At least the bombs and hookshot from other games can be used to fight enemies, so the combat isn't so monotonous. Almost every Zelda II boss is beaten by stabbing it in the face, except for the one you beat by crouching. Sometimes you have to use the jump spell to reach the face, but that's about it for variety. On the off chance I ever feel like playing Zelda II again, I'll probably stop after the first dungeon, since it's just more of the same after that.

*Remember when gamer magazines contained helpful with hints and there were published game guides? Is this still a thing?

I've seen game guides in bookstores fairly recently. Guides from the creators may have more info than on-line walkthroughs, since they put the info in the game in the first place. Plus, they're more convenient for people who don't have a computer in the same room as the console. I don't know about game magazines, though. They can only dedicate a few pages to a game, and I don't imagine that satisfying anyone wanting hints. Maybe they're more focused on previews now, so you can decide what games look interesting enough to buy.

[Magnanimous]

I never really understood the whole item craze in Zelda... I'd rather have, like, 5-6 things. Sword, shield, bow or boomerang, hookshot, probably an instrument, maybe bombs. You start with all of these things, and dungeons are about using them differently rather than utilizing a brand new arbitrary item.

[Dthen]

Do the forums have a parkour/freerunning/tricking thread? I'm too lazy to search.

[Dason]

Do the forums have a parkour/freerunning/tricking thread? I'm too lazy to search.

I found a parkour thread and then got bored. Here you go - viewtopic.php?f=43&t=21490

[Dthen]

Thanks.

[roband]

On a similar but slightly different note, I don't kiss my gf's dogs. Unless I'm drunk.

I don't think I would kiss a cat, but I've never been a cat person, so it may be hard for me to judge.

[Angua]

I kiss my cats. I don't think I'd ever kiss dogs because they're too slobbery when they kiss back. Even when a cat licks you it generally isn't slobbery.

[roband]

Wait, some people kiss dogs in a manner that they can kiss back? I was not aware of this.

I have only ever kissed the top of the nose (snout? ) or between the ears at the top of the head.

[OBrien]

Usually a kiss from a dog just means a lick, I think.

[roband]

Oh yeah, I got that. I just hate being licked by dogs.

When my gf's family rehomed a golden retriever, he was very licky. No-one else minded, but I trained him not to lick me. To this day, he rarely does it to me, but continues as he used to with everyone else.

[Van]

I offered to take a go at fixing a friend's horridly malwared computer. I managed to get the malware out, but there was still a crashing problem that only happened when Services were enabled.

Fast forward like two weeks where I haven't had time to work on it due to work and my apartment flooding with sewage and.. everything is working now. Even with services. Previously it would just hang after a couple minutes, period. I've left it running for two days with no crashes, wasted some time browsing the 'net and doing random games, and still no issues.

I just can't decide if I want to dig in and start fiddling around with services again or just gingerly give it back and hope I don't break the mojo. Either what: what. the. hell.

[pseudoidiot]

Gremlins.