Open Thread

Open Thread #369

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63 thoughts on “Open Thread #369

  1. It will be a while before the stranded US astronauts will return from their one-week mission. It is another win for diversity at Boeing:
    https://archive.ph/Tnvaj
    These two astronauts might die up there and, of course, asking the Russians to bring them back to earth is not an option either. For the male astronaut, this must be hell in outer space, being stuck with that unimaginably ugly woman. I would not be surprised if he decided to go on a space walk to never return.

    1. Lmao at the space walk.
      Holy moley … that is one fugggly bitch!😲😲😲
      She looks like a mutant.
      Jay Leno eat ur heart out.
      Poor bastard. Hope he has access to ‘XNXX.com’in space. He’s gonna need it.

      She’s a “triple-bagger” for sure.

    2. Wow. I don’t know these people at all, but I actually feel for them. To be stuck in outer space because of someone else’s incompetence? That has to be profoundly difficult to accept.

  2. A bunch of pale, stale males are in the process of porting GTA III to Dreamcast. The status quo already looks pretty impressive. More impressive is that, based on what I have read, they have not even explored performance optimizations. I would not be surprised if this game ends up running better on DC than PS2.

    1. Downloaded it for PC recently. Playing it with my Xbox controller. Doesn’t look or feel right. I’ve seen YouTube vids of this game that look way better. The map also renders drastically differently and is easier to look at. Downloaded from rockstar website. I don’t have some souped up gaming machine, but I have a laptop that’s not too dated. Purchased in 2022. Idk what the deal is

    2. Are you referring to the GTA Trilogy release? That one is infamous for the low effort Rockstar put into it. They took the existing mobile releases and contracted some third-rate studio to port them to other platforms. I would not be surprised if GTA III looked better on PCSX2 with a decent filter/shade on top. As a caveat, though, the game is pretty dated. I played it when it came out. Towards the end, it becomes less and less fun due to clunky controls and the game putting you in a permanent “wanted” state, meaning that you constantly have the police in your neck. I did not bother to finish it.

      The next GTA I played was GTA IV, which also suffers from poor controls. The last mission has horrible check points, so I watched that mission and the ending on YouTube. The two DLCs were very good, though. GTA V I played through in the course of a few days. This was the last time I binged on a game. There are still a few missions with poor controls but the game allows you to skip them. These games tend to put style over substance but some parts are quite entertaining.

    3. Yeah. You nailed it. If only I’d posted here to get a recommendation. In that case, I won’t bother with vice city or San Andreas either.

      I went into it knowing it was dated. It was after having to aim the gun. The aiming just felt wrong. Then, I played a racing mission, which felt close to impossible, and this was the first racing mission. I then looked up YT vids of GTA 3 only to see enhanced graphics with a far superior map (referring to the in-game map in the corner)

      Done with it.

      Played all 3 max Payne games, which I loved. Far Cry 5, which blew me away. Now, I am playing Skyrim, which I’m frankly not feeling as much. There is some sort of paid update on the Xbox store. There are also mods on the Bethesda website. Maybe those would address my issues with it?

    4. I have not played Skyrim myself, apart from half an hour or so on the PS3 many years ago. I thought it was not bad, but I simply was not willing to commit dozens of hours. There are a few “total conversion mods”, some of which are allegedly better than the base game. I am not sure how true these claims are. For what it is worth, Endereal, which you can get for free on Steam, seems to be the best one.

    5. For Skyrim, I would definitely recommend going to nexusmods and sorting by most popular/downloaded and getting a few. At minimum, the UI/inventory overhaul is necessary to retain your sanity. There are also upgrades for the weather, scenery, houses, etc. If you really want to go down a deranged rabbit hole, check out Skyrim Sexlab.

    6. I’m on Xbox one. If I can get some mods for that version going, i might give it a whirl.

      I’m playing as a thief.

      The stealth mechanics in this game are a bit of a joke compared to Splinter Cell, Far Cry, and Metal Gear (i don’t think I’ve played any other stealth games)

      Anyway, if the mods would improve play through as a thief, I’d probably go for it.

  3. Just wanted to update and say that I plan on replying to several threads and making new ones soon. I’ve been working OT and gather documents and what not for a work contract in addition to everyday responsibilities. When I do get a little free time I’ve been vegging out, too tired to even game much but instead just watching a series. Which, btw, can easily allow you to lose track of time.

    1. I know how this is. Sometimes, I also veg out with a movie or TV show. It is also important to relax a little.

    2. Here are some more shmups for you to bookmark: Both Under Defeat and Mamoru-kun will get a release on Steam and Switch. The former is very good, I played it on PS3 quite a bit. It was originally a Dreamcast title. The latter is more of an acquired taste. I bought it for a few euros on the PlayStation store a decade ago and played it for a few hours. It is not bad, so if you see it at a deep discount, it is probably worth getting. I would not pay more than five bucks for it.

    3. Thanks for the recommendations, I will check them out! I’ve collected quite a few shmups I must say, and I haven’t gotten deep into over 90% of them lol.

      I wanted to give an update on my contract situation. It’s been a nightmare.

      It all started when the third-party company assigned me a “credentials specialist” to help me transition into my new role, and at the bottom of the e-mail she sent me it listed her pronouns. This chick is based out of So Cal as well, so no big surprise. Anyways, I’ve been assigned module courses and education streams that total to around 12-15 hours of effort to complete. The kicker to this is that some of them assigned to me weren’t even related to my profession, so I had to get in contact with her to get those knocked off. That was the first straw.

      The second was that she informed me that I needed to acquire a $250 certificate (it would at least be reimbursed [hopefully]), and the only institution close by was 60 miles away. I indeed got that dropped as well. However, for the education streams, which are completed through another third-party website, she sent me 3 pages of login instructions, and gave me the incorrect user/password information! So, I’ve had to send an e-mail to her and the third-party website’s tech support to try and get it resolved before the deadline (which, btw, is two weeks before my start date).

      At this point I’m considering abandoning the middleman. I sense that it’s only a matter of time before their oversights end up really inconveniencing me. For example, I can imagine a scenario where I’m with the new contractor and suddenly I’m told that I’m missing some sort of vital prerequisite and get my job put on hold suddenly.

    4. My experience with women in a professional setting has not been the best, to put it mildly. I grant them only one strike. In your situation, I think your best course of action would be to look for another third-party company to work with, as you mentioned. At this point, you probably second guess anything that ditz sends you and do not trust her at all, and you probably also question that company’s management considering they hired such a dolt.

      I once had a very unpleasant female manager. At some point, I got so fed up with her bullshit, which primarily consisted of giving unclear instructions, changing her mind when a task was already underway, or expecting you to read her mind, that I began summarizing conversations I had with her in an email, asking he to confirm her requests. She was not happy about this at all. Despite her utter incompetency, she quickly figured out that this would lead to a paper trail that provided evidence of her being a poor manager. At that point I was already interviewing for a new job anyway.

  4. Monster Hunter Wilds is looking good. I never got into this series. It is not even particularly high on my backlog, but I can see why these games are so popular.

    1. Ultra-witch Susan Wojcicki moving on to the afterlife put a smile on my face. My favorite hypothesis is also that she got turbo cancer thanks to the vaxx. Well, better late than never.

    2. Her sister founded “23 and me”, a DNA collection company (under the guise of helping you understand your ancestry and lineage)

      Hmm, acc to wikipedia for the sister, that sister was married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. ( https://archive.is/wip/xXY1y )

  5. Ubisoft does not seem to have a lot of trust in their upcoming steaming pile of woke garbage called Star Wars Outlaws, considering their heavy use of bots on social media for the purposes of promotion:
    https://x.com/Pirat_Nation/status/1820571143348093065
    The protagonist is a top contender in the category “ugliest female protagonist” in this year’s Game Awards event.

  6. Have you guys listened to Mozart’s Mass in C minor, “Kyrie Eleison”.

    I have always known him as a unique genius, but this piece cements his reputation as the greatest composer in Osterreich at the time.

    How many female composers could match this level of power, elegance and beauty? They like to trumpet Klara Schumann as a great composer, yet no pieces of her escape oblivion. Her portrait was even on the old 100 Deutschmark.

    Men has held and even still hold the absolute throne in both art and science.

    1. Yes, I am familiar with this piece. Of the better-known composers, I have probably listened to easily 80% of their works throughout the years. Of some composers I have repeatedly listened to their entire oeuvre. I would have a hard time recalling a single composition of Clara Schumann. It seems also safe to say that without her husband, the reasonably well-known composer Richard Schumann, she would have amounted to absolutely nothing. I cannot even name three female composers off the top of my head. There is Hildegard von Bingen and after that I am drawing blanks.

    2. You might like to check out Salieri and Sinfonia Veneziana. He is not in the same caliber as Mozart (who can?). His music is very well-organised.

    3. Yea but also, in fairness you must remember back in those times …

      Women were most likely, forbidden by law to play the piano. .. !

      Let alone score music or make their own.
      Not saying they could have matched the genius of the Classical composers.

      But there are plenty of female virtuosos as well as male .. since whenever it they got permission to have a crack. 🤷🏻‍♂️

    4. Music was one of the areas women were heavily encouraged to go into. The others were arts (drawing) and poetry. Acting was for harlots.

    5. I think you are right. Female performers can be dexterously competent just like men. But when it comes to create music, as with creating any other new things in different disciplines, females pale in comparison to males.

      They say women are highly sensitive creatures, but I find their sensitivity bordering instability. Men are just as sensitive, and are more competent in turning their sensitivity into art.

    6. @CQV – hmm not quite. It’s a case of preferences with music. Most males just don’t listen to female artists and perhaps vice versa (for some artists). Due to the content.

      For example Whitney Houston had a 5 octave range voice so she’s a virtuoso singer for sure. Her fan base would be majority women and the gays.
      Pretty sure she’s done well turning her sensitivity into art at 220 million records sold. It’s just not for men.

      But yes agreed they are highly unstable. . All of them.

      Led Zeppelins fan base would be mostly men as it’s male emotions in the lyrics and testosterone and adrenaline, bombast and big dick swagger in the music. 👍

    7. Well, I’ve posted on here that I’m a fan of Gwen Stefani. But it might be partially due to looks (in the past) and her feminity. Also I’m originally from Orange County like she is. But yeah, in general I like the male artists music.

      Elvis was/is very popular with women. Watch his live performances and you can hear the women going wild in the crowd. But that too could be because of sex appeal. His looks, his dance moves, charisma etc.

      Composers are on a whole different level. When it comes to elites in anything men always dominate.

    8. Women could not / never will create music like that due to it being too technical and detailed for them. They don’t have the capacity to do ‘technical’ to that level. Different brain.
      But they can for sure emote. just about shit we can’t understand or don’t care about.

      As an aside Beethovens Moonlight Sonata is a masterpiece of minor chords and melancholy. No woman could ever write that. It’s pure male anxiety /hopelessness/ yearning etc imo.

      Another example would be Rachmaninoff.
      One of the most famous, and nearly impossible to play, the Piano Concerto No. 3 (quick google)

      Women just couldn’t be bothered with that level of detail and technicality . That’s male challenge/ accomplishment /strength /dexterity/ competitiveness etc. basically Testostorone expressed in piano form I suppose.

      All of these really-
      https://prodigies.com/top-10-most-difficult-classical-piano-pieces/#:~:text=Sergei%20Rachmaninoff%20was%20a%20Russian,play%2C%20the%20Piano%20Concerto%20No.

    9. @GL&S – yeah I switched Elvis to Zeppelin for that example. I think The King was loved by the ladies for being a sex symbol primarily. His music was pop also .Gwen was hot, can’t believe her hubby Gavin Rossdale from Bush fucked the babysitter 🤦🏻‍♂️ wtf is wrong w that guy haha.

      Yeah the elites .. that is a fact , but also for many reasons. In the technical realms men rule . Women don’t have the brain for technical and deep level of detail..the patience and focus for it.

      But there may be other reasons men excel in some particular fields .Would be controversial for me to state on this Blog tho 😉 haha.

      But yeah, we are better basically 😆
      Another area of Elite-ness would be Stand-Up Comedy. That’s a clear male dominated segment.

    10. Yeah man I agree across the board. I could never understand why Gwen kept getting her heart broken (Tragic Kingdom was all about her break up with the bass player).

      The best of the best are always men. Even in cooking and fashion.

      I agree about comedy too. No woman ever made me laugh like George Carlin did. Even shock jocks are all men.

    11. At first I thought Cheeky had gone back to his old habit of being intentionally obtuse.

      I mean, CQV’s point was about composing music and writing songs, not about singing per se. Beautiful female voices have always been appreciated, so much so the barbaric tradition of castrati came to exist, in which a few guys were “transitioned”, to use the modern term, before puberty so they could learn to reach registers naturally reserved only for women.

      Composing great music and performing great music are two separate things that don’t always overlap.

    12. @ Manuel – not intentional just ADHD flaring up at times 😬
      Re classical composition on piano, I pointed out that women would have had restrictions to do so in the time of Mozart.
      Some of quick googling;

      Did women play instruments in the 1800s?
      In the 1800s, upper-class women often were expected to learn an instrument, often the harp, piano, guitar, or violin, or to learn to sing. It is only in recent years that women have performed in the soloist setting more frequently.
      https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › W…
      Women in classical music – Wikipedia

      Were women allowed to be composers?
      Throughout the 18th century and into the 19th century, many women composers were confined to the private sphere. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) and Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1897) were two notable exceptions, although their work was overshadowed by the men in their lives

      Women would have been restricted to learning to play piano for social gatherings to please to men and look pretty or demonstrate their suitability for marriage etc.

      I very much doubt they were allowed to compose at all. Maybe in the super elite class in specific exceptions as above.

      Re the Modern example. WH would have had plenty of song /melodies/hooks of her own when she was discovered. 100%. That’s music composition. She didn’t the lyrics to her most famous songs but would have had her own to begin with im sure and then had a legendary (?) male producer/ songwriters . But she could have sang the phone book with The Voice. They say her voice changed the music industry.

      This is a description
      “She had “the perfect vibrato” and an “incomparable timbre”; her voice was at times operatic, incredibly emotive, it was strong and full and powerful; she had nearly superhuman vocal stamina, she had the musicianship (thanks to mother CeCe Houston) to back it all up. And, at her peak, she made it look so effortless.“

      That’s a pretty elite musician.
      Same for Mariah Carey ( “ elastic voice”)

      Interesting The GWR holder is male with a 10 octave range. But he is not successful.
      Another shocker for me is Mike Patton from Faith No More he has a 6 Octave range 😯 which I didn’t know. I saw a FNM tribute band the other nite and thought the singer was amazing. That is why.
      I’m an amateur muso so keen interest.

    13. Music and arts are activities only the well-off engage in. We are talking at least about upper-middle class in modern terms. There was not much of a middle-class in the 1800s either. Thus, you needed to have a certain level of economic comfort to even just lean how to play an instrument like the piano. Some composers had a day job that kept them afloat, others had rich donors. Surely, some were independently wealthy.

      Today, access to music has been somewhat democratized. You can get good digital pianos for about $1k, but tuition is still expensive. People may also have space restrictions, in particular in large cities, due to living in small apartments.

    14. CQV and Manuel.
      Re make elites and men holding the thrones in Art and Science.

      Consider the possibility that Mozart was actually an Autistic Savant in his time. One born into wealth (?I do not know) and whose talents nurtured and allowed develop since very young.
      That level of technicality /passion / focus/ detail/ genius.
      According to his Biographers this may have been likely as he possessed a lot of traits of this.

      And given that ASD presents 4x in Men Vs, Women that’s a rational and logical explanation imo of this phenomenon of males holding the throne in certain realms. Even stand up comedy.
      Food for (rational) thought and discussion.

      I suspect I may be now banned once more but this should be posted Aaron as it’s rational & logical analysis based on facts and available data.

    15. Autistic individuals have problems with communicating their feelings and thoughts to others. That is the primary criteria of diagnosing if kid or an adult being autistic. Speech delay is one of the symptoms of that. They also react abnormally to sensory stimuli.

      A lot of members here think that just because someone is obsessively into something, they ought to be autistic or Asperger. Nothing can be further from the truth than that.

      Even highly functional autists look very different compared to normal individuals.

    16. A matured autist will have a hard time to make and hold eye-contact, because to them, all emotions expressed by others are just too much to process. Autists have a hard time expressing joys by smiling, let alone other more complex facial expressions.

      If they were kept from intervention by specialists, autists would go on to totally cut themselves off from society and are only comfortable with being withdrawn into their private quarter.

      Only 1% autists can be classified as “highly functional”. It is not a blessing in disguise, but a curse on display.

    17. CVQ- hmm yes and no. I’m talking Savants.
      quick google search was where I got that theory based on this ; but they say Asbergers actually not Savant-ism. Not sure the difference

      This re his biographies
      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24585598/#:~:text=The%20most%20reliable%20biographies%20of,stereotyped%20and%20repetitive%20motor%20mannerisms.

      And this re Savants

      (Key words are“ super-power” abilities re memory)
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndrome

      A plausible theory.

      Another thing to consider is that “ being the best” at anything is actually a masculine thing !
      Due to the action of testosterone.
      So saying “Men are hold the thrones/ are the elites in XYZ areas across the board “ is basically saying

      “ men are the best at being masculine”

      Yeah no shit! Haha. That’s a circular argument right?

      Women don’t compete like men mate, they compete with social tools /manipulation to get ahead in their species. That’s why they love to gossip, bitch and backstab. It’s their thing.

    18. There is the “extreme male brain” theory of autism according to which highly functional autism is simply an expression of typically male intellectual strengths (and supposed weaknesses). It is also the case that males are heavily overrepresented among autism diagnoses, highly functional and otherwise.

    19. And given that ASD presents 4x in Men Vs, Women

      James, you have to be specific, because ASD can stand for Anti Slut Defence, and men certainly have much less of that than women 🙂

    20. I meant Autism Spectrum Disorder.
      Anti Slut Defence was a term coined once upon a time by an possibly autistic ‘pickup artist ‘ 😆

      If you didn’t read the article re ‘Did Mozart suffer from Asperger Syndrome’ this is first paragraph.

      “Abstract

      The most reliable biographies of Mozart highlight elements that are compatible with current diagnostic criteria for Asperger syndrome including qualitative impairment in social interaction and stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms. Furthermore, numerous features are documented including difficulty in communicating his emotional state and in inferring the mental state of his interlocutors, motor clumsiness, specific skills and genius, left-handedness, special sense of humour, physical developmental abnormalities, bizarre thinking, overvalued ideas and delusions.“

      The evidence is there.
      Autism was not known about until …when? 1911 or so (in the USA anyways)

    21. @Cheeky: there are also Minnie Ripperton and, especially, Nina Hagen in her prime, speaking of pop artists. But what’s your point? Male singers even conserve their voice better as they age.

    22. I don’t like to argue whether Mozart was autistic or not.

      I would just end the discussion by stating that diagnosing a dead genius 300 years ago based on secondary or even tertiary literature assures no confidence in accuracy.

      It is already hard to diagnose a child of 6 years old sitting right in front of the examiners.

    23. @Manuel –
      CQV ended his OP with a wider statement than just Mozart /classical music creation

      1. “ Men have held / still hold the absolute throne in both Art and Science.”

      I made a point in response

      1. In the realm of Art >music creation > singing that particular Throne is actually held by a woman virtuoso. Whitney Houston, not a man.

      I took what he said re Art as a wider statement so…

    24. I would not put the performative act of singing at the same level of composing. Besides, arguably eunuchs were better singers than the best women, but this cultural practice has long since been abandoned.

    25. CQV – that was just an interesting aside imo.
      It’s makes sense to me that some special technical genius could be due to spectrum personality / obsessive or hyper focus and dedication. Just something I happened to come across in a google search.

      My point was more re your Men hold the absolute throne in Art & Science comment.

    26. This is all very interesting tbh
      The evidence is based on letters between Mozart and his family at the time.

      Just from some basic googling ;
      (quote)
      “Mozart was a child prodigy, to say the least, possessing a *perfect musical memory* and an almost *god-given ability to read music*. *His hearing was so delicate that loud sounds would make him physically ill*– a telltale indicator of autism spectrum disorder. Mozart was known for his incredible musical talent, composing over 600 works in his lifetime.”

      Lots more detail here:
      https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org/5-famous-musicians-with-autism-spectrum-disorder/#:~:text=Mozart%20was%20a%20child%20prodigy,indicator%20of%20autism%20spectrum%20disorder.

      Case closed for me.

      Others likely also

      “Many famous composers may have fended off madness through music. Robert Schumann, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Ludwig van Beethoven all suffered from psychiatric illness, but they were also some of the most talented legends of all time. There is a long history of mental illness in poets, performers and artists.”

      So CQV your general point is correct I agree no woman could match Mozart – Men are Elite and hold most of the thrones, but not for the reasons you think. ( we are generally a smarter/better species I presume was the subtext?) It may be moreso that ASD is 4:1 in males Vs females accounting for so odds are stacked in Art and Science.
      I would say in Art -> Fashion the throne holders are men but are also mostly Gay. So basically women on the throne there too tbh.

      Also either publicly confirmed or suspected are

      Mark Zuckerberg (Aspie)
      Elon Musk. (Aspie)
      Albert Einstein. …
      Isaac Newton. …
      Charles Darwin. …
      Nikola Tesla. …
      Thomas Jefferson. …
      Michelangelo. …
      Steve Jobs.

      … Neil Strauss (! haha)

      Etc etc
      So there ya go hope that clears it up 😆

    27. @Aaron-
      Re” I would not put the performative act of singing at the same level of composing. Besides, arguably eunuchs were better singers than the best women, but this cultural practice has long since been abandoned.”

      Well that’s a tough one imo..,a virtuoso is a virtuoso. Quite hard to evaluate one against another. What would be the basis to compare..?

      Interesting stuff here on Mozarts process I also had the impression he composed “in his head” as myth had it but not so;
      https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/mozart-creative-success/#:~:text=Mozart%20even%20used%20a%20type,notes%20as%20he%20was%20working.

      And this re his father and upbringing
      https://www.eno.org/composers/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/

      I would merely argue counter to CQVs statement that in “Art” the throne of a few subcategories such as singing would actually be held by women…not men.
      And that women are very well known for turning sensitivity into Art in that realm.

      Btw how do you evaluate what the “Throne of thrones “ would be in Art if that is his meaning.

  7. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/manners-are-glue-binds-society

    Interesting piece!
    I have noticed that formal English expressions have gradually disappeared from daily English vocabulary. I was taught to speak properly to the elders in English such as: “May I talk to you for a minute?” “Do you have some spare times at this moment, I would like to talk to you privately?”

    Instead you have girls having no qualms to shout “Fucking this”, “Fucking that”, etc.
    Guys are the same, or are even worse.

    Western students nowadays cannot even score high in an English 101 class. I understand Humanities is now so polluted that no one care to take these classes seriously. But how hard it is to educate oneself in the art of speaking and writing elegantly? During colonial period, most English settlers taught themselves proper grammar and syntax.

    1. I think social media is the culprit. Face to face communication is becoming rare. It has given social outcasts a podium. They are letting loose their pent up anger. Socially healthy people are unprepared for it. Giving these weirdos a sense of power.

      In short: revenge of the nerds.

  8. I have one comment waiting in moderation.
    It contains a link to Zero Hedge. Nothing serious, just lamenting at the death of mannerism in the West.

    1. I did not expect PA to come out and announce that they will have to check how many fake ballots they need to find in warehouses and therefore cannot announce election results in a timely manner.

    2. In 2016 I knew Trump had PA once he took the lead because urban areas, which vote blue, are counted first, and rural areas, which vote red, are counted last. This is a predictable pattern to anyone who has watched a few pre-2020 elections.

      In 2020 the left pulled this exact same thing in October – warning people ahead of time that we somehow might not know the election results for several *days*, never mind that such a scenario has probably not happened since the 19th century. The so-called conspiracy theorists immediately recognized this meant a steal was in the works.

    3. @aj: everyone who was raised in a 3rd world country saw the steal during that night, the playbook for leftist-style election fraud only varies in this case because it had to be done in selected swing states, not for a general population or for the capital city, as is the case for most countries with heavily centralized populations.

      Only wokified normies like my sister couldn’t see it. More like denial, I would say.

  9. Some interesting tidbits on gaming I learned on shmuplations.com, a site publishing translations of interviews with Japanese developers:
    – Miyamoto remarked that arcade games were designed to earn 100 yen every two to three minutes
    – A Capcom developer said that their goal was to bat .300, i.e. about every third game was expected to be a success
    – Final Fight was made for the US market
    – People at Capcom did not expect Street Fighter II to keep going the way it did
    – Capcom was miffed that arcade operators no longer wanted to buy their PCBs in the mid-1990s, when arcades had switched to big racing and light gun cabinets
    – Sega and Namco had a huge leg up in the arcade market because they operated their own arcades. In contrast, other game developers often had a hard time finding buyers for their products.
    – Developers referred to the “100-yen democracy” of the arcades, i.e. players literally choosing with their wallet whether a game would succeed. Unlike with console games, 100-yen is a fairly modest expense. There was also an interesting comment on a game needing to earn not just earn its first 100 yen, i.e. games needed to have some substance to make people come back.
    – Already in the late 1990s there were comments about the business being unstable, with arcade games requiring multi-million dollar investments and companies no longer being able to experiment as one failed game could put their future at risk.

  10. Aaron,
    Earlier today I took my mom to Costco. As we were walking through the store my mom decided to check out the clothing aisle for any items that were on clearance. While my mom was checking out which items were on clearance this old lady happened to be right a crossed us. A few minutes later, this old lady started friendly conversation with mom. She began telling us how she recently became a grandma that her daughter had her first child at 40. She continue to tell my mom how the dating market has changed so much that it has become very difficult to find a partner for us young folks. So, then this old lady started to inquire about my status whether I was single, married, or if I had kids. My mom was quick to say that I was single with no kids. At that moment the old lady looked at me and told me that she has another daughter who is single with no kids and is looking for a husband. She told me that her daughter was 40. I looked at the old lady and said “dammm she’s fucken old. I like young women in their 20s who still have eggs.” My mom burst into laughter and the old lady remained silent. I guess this old lady was playing Cupid. Have you ever experienced something like this?

    About three weeks ago I went to my local bank to deposit my paycheck. I’m waiting in line and after a minute or two I finally get called by one of the bank tellers (a girl in her late 20s) who happens to recognize me since I go there pretty often to deposit my paychecks. This was my third time interacting with her. I walked up to the teller and she immediately said “OMG!!! I haven’t seen you for a while. How you been? It’s good to see you!” I said “ok” and gave her the cold shoulder. I honestly didn’t feel like talking to her. I just wanted to deposit my paycheck and get out. She tried establishing small talk and tried building rapport with me, but I kept giving her the cold shoulder. She made every attempt to get me to talk to her. So, then she said, “I like your sun glasses I have glasses similar to yours.” I didn’t say anything, and I just rolled my eyes at her. I was kind off annoyed. I figured that this girl was only excited to see me because of my pay check. She seemed to have some good chemistry with my paycheck – that was my train of thought. I wasn’t too sure what to make of this experience because there are other men she comes across who have bigger paychecks than me and there’s always a younger Chad with a nice paycheck as well.

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