Emulysian Fields

College frustrating me

MomochanAi — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:08:08 GMT

So...I was looking at colleges near my house. I found this great one and so I signed up online to get information. Within 5 minutes, and I kid you not.......They called me. I was in shock o.o It was kind of cool. The first person wanted to make sure I got the information correct. He especially questioned me about my house phone and I couldn't help but think, didn't you just call me? Of course it's the right one then, stop asking me...So then I got transfered to this other man who questioned me (to the point it felt like an interrogation) about WHY I wanted to choose this college and WHY the paralegal studies. And they kept asking me to the point I didn't even know why anymore....Then he said he would transfer me to the person that schedules tours of the college so I waited then got an error beep and a recorded voice that said "Scheduling tours has ended (insert a date about 2-3 weeks ago). Scheduling a tour won't be possible until spring term" So, I hung up, a bit frustrated but glad that was over with....Or so I thought!! D:

They...call....EVERYday. And EVERYDAY it's the same.....They MAKE SURE they got the right PHONE number, despite having called DOZENS of times. Then they transfer me to someone who interrogates me. And of course I told that person that scheduling has ended and he told me I had it wrong and transfered me and I got the error message :lawd:.............:facepalm:

So...the third time I asked them to not call me anymore and they transfered me to talk to someone who would take me off the calling list but it lead to an error message....

So...they keep calling, and I keep ignoring, and I can tell it's them before they even tell me cause it's always the same woman or man and both have quiet hardly audible voices but honestly....I just want to go there and tell them to quit it but god knows what will happen if I go there D: I'll probably be told to see 3 people and then find a fudging 404 error sign I swear!!! D: That'll happen I bet...

Bah, colleges.

Golfer's swing sparks 25-acre California blaze

Aithere — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:02:43 GMT

You know your life sucks when this happens.

Source

You can use a golf club for all kinds of non-golfy purposes -- walking stick, fishing rod, club, to name three. And now we can add to that list -- firestarter.

Over the weekend, a golfer's routine swing in the rough at the Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine, Calif., struck a rock. Not so different from the way you play, right? Only this time, the impact caused a spark, and the spark set off a blaze that eventually covered 25 acres, according to the Steven Buck, General Manager of Shady Canyon Golf Course, and required the efforts of 150 Orange County firefighters, writes the Associated Press.

Wow. And I felt bad the time I shanked a ball through the window of a house too close to the fairway. That was nothing compared to this!

The golfer's name is being withheld, which is probably for the best, and no charges are going to be filed. Fortunately, it all could have been much worse. As it was, the blaze required both helicopters and on-the-ground crews.

The conditions were ripe for a blaze, with dry brush from a recent heat wave just waiting for the right spark. Like, say, one caused by metal on rock.

And now, your turn. This is going to inspire a raft of bad Sportscenter-esque "When we say he set the course on fire, he really set the course on fire!" jokes. So let's get ahead of the curve. Best bad golf-and-fire-related pun in the comments wins a round of applause. Go!

Paul Allen VS several tech companies over "Patents"

Stroh — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:51:22 GMT

Quote:

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen fired a patent shot across the bow of several prominent technology companies Friday, suing Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and others over patent claims.

Allen's firm Interval Licensing filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the above companies, as well as AOL, eBay, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Staples, are violating patents he received for several Internet technologies while leading Interval Research, now out of business. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, based in Seattle.
Interval said in a press release that "the patents in the lawsuit cover fundamental web technologies first developed at Interval Research in the 1990s, which the company believes are being infringed by major e-commerce and web search companies." David Postman, a spokesman for Allen, said this is the first time that patents related to Interval Research's work have been litigated.
Postman wouldn't comment on whether licensing discussions had taken place with the defendants prior to the filing of the lawsuit, but did say that all companies were informed that Interval held "patents of interest." The companies targeted were done so because of their work in e-commerce and search, Postman said. For example, Interval included as an exhibit in its lawsuit a screen grab of a very early "About Google" Web page from 1998 that lists Interval Research Corporation as an outside collaborator.
One may wonder why Allen's former company--Microsoft, which operates the third-leading search engine in the U.S. and now provides search technology to Yahoo--was not cited in the complaint. Postman said he would not discuss litigation strategies but emphasized that Interval is not necessarily done with these patents; in that, it might seek to widen the circle of defendants at a later date.
Representatives for Apple and Google did not immediately return requests for comment. However, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said "We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously."

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20...#ixzz0yF3ha86r

� No. 6,263,507, "Browser for Use in Navigating a Body of Information, With Particular Application to Browsing Information Represented By Audiovisual Data."
� No. 6,034,652, "Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device."
� No. 6,788,314, "Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device."
� No. 6,757,682, "Alerting Users to Items of Current Interest."

Lawsuit Copy:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/36520999/P...patent-lawsuit

What a stupid lawsuit. I hope the judge throws it out before he even gets a chance to say anything. That'd be hillarious!

Japanese Single Men Dating their DSes

Mopquill — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:08:41 GMT

Quote:

Originally Posted by online.wsj.com

ATAMI, Japan�This resort town, once popular with honeymooners, is turning to a new breed of romance seekers�virtual sweethearts.

Since the marriage rate among Japan's shrinking population is falling and with many of the country's remaining lovebirds heading for Hawaii or Australia's Gold Coast, Atami had to do something. It is trying to attract single men�and their handheld devices.

In the first month of the city's promotional campaign launched July 10, more than 1,500 male fans of the Japanese dating-simulation game LovePlus+ have flocked to Atami for a romantic date with their videogame character girlfriends.

The men are real. The girls are cartoon characters on a screen. The trips are actual, can be expensive and aim to re-create the virtual weekend outing featured in the game, a product of Konami Corp. played on Nintendo Co.'s DS videogame system.

"Atami has always been a romantic place, but it is now a romantic place for a modern generation," says Sakae Saito, Atami's mayor.

Love Plus+ re-creates the experience of an adolescent romance. The goal isn't just to get the girl but to maintain a relationship with her.

After choosing one of three female characters�goodie-goodie Manaka, sassy Rinko or big-sister type Nene�to be a steady girlfriend, the player taps a stylus on the DS touch-screen in order to walk hand-in-hand to school, exchange flirtatious text messages and even meet in the school courtyard for a little afternoon kiss. Using the device's built-in microphone, the player can carry on sweet, albeit mundane, conversations.

Vanquish

Bigburito — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:37:30 GMT

okay, how the hell did I not hear about this game until i noticed a demo was available on xboxlive?!? this game is fucking amazing! from the controls to the graphics, to the sound, to the beastly boss battle it's fucking perfect!

here look at this:

those are in-game, I actually got to play the level in the first two so I can confirm that it does look that pretty. and it looks even better in motion. I wish I could find a suitable picture of the slow motion, it's just WOW. seriously the first time I did it in the tutorial my jaw dropped. walking around bullets and taking out enemies in slow motion is soo satisfying! you also get this jet booster thing that lets you slide across the floor like a slip n slide! while shooting! :D

this officially is going on my want list for this Christmas! XD

How many Justin Biebers could you take in a fight?

Bigburito — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:17:33 GMT

This quiz is fucking hilarious! XD

How many can you take on?

Recycling, Upcycling, and Revolution

Shels — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:52:06 GMT

TerraCycle is a fabulous idea, based upon the worm (no really, watch the videos). They take trash that cannot be recycled, and they upcycle it into something new. While I'm skeptical of some of their products, the general idea is off to a fantastic start.

(Rather than watching this video alone, I would recommend clicking the link so you can explore more of their site).
[Flash]

Net Neutrality

Bl1zzard — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:49:28 GMT

Well, it seems like net neutrality's at risk, according to Wired and Daily Finance.

Basically, what's going down is that Google and Verizon want to split the internet into "public" and "private" zones, thus effectively destroying free, world-wide communication, expression, and innovation.

What are you views on all this?

Personally, I believe that this could kill the internet as a tool for creativity, innovation, ingenuity, and free speech, and the internet's a powerful tool at that. It's bad enough that the big names are using almost every way imaginable to make their name well-known - and possibly hated. I will tolerate it as long as it doesn't kill my platform of creativity and innovation, but killing off the part of the internet where our individuality shines through...that's crossing the line for me.

I do respect the corporations for bringing us what we have, but if they're about to destroy our platforms of creativity and innovation, that would seriously suck.

Satoshi Kon is dead.

cherko — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:13:53 GMT

Quote:

This is breaking news just coming in as I type this, emanating from the Twitter account of GAINAX's Yasuhiro Takeda and later confirmed by Madhouse's Masao Maruyama via the Otakon committee, but the renowned and much-admired anime director Satoshi Kon passed away yesterday at the age of 47.

During his life, Kon was responsible for a numer of high-profile animated efforts featuring his distinctive themes and styles, not least the movies Perfect Blue and Paprika, as well as the Paranoia Agent television series.

I'm sure it goes without saying that Satoshi Kon's influence will be immensely missed by anime fans around the world, and our thoughts go out to his friends and family with this tragic news.

Source

No cause of death has yet been given.

This is very, very sad. Perfect Blue is one of my favourite movies of all time.

Edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guy on another forum

By all accounts I've read it was cancer, though no one was specific as to what cancer

The Misadventures of Darth Vader

Koopa64 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:12:05 GMT

[Flash]

I don't know what this kind of video can be compared to, so I shall simply say it's similar to Stupid Mario Brothers (or should I say Serious Mario Brothers).

PS3 Jailbreak - Exciting days ahead.

Ace — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:26:33 GMT

Confirmed.

Some of you may have trouble reaching the site, as it's being hammered into submission. Just wait a few moments and give it another go.

EDIT: And yes, because this is essentially a softmod, it's could be cracked and released for free onto the interwebs at any time. :D Nevermind, it's more than a softmod.

Operation Iraqi Freedom ends as last combat soldiers leave Baghdad

Vladimir — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:40:56 GMT

Quote:

Lt. Col. Mark Bieger huddled his infantrymen in a darkened parking lot minutes before they were to depart Baghdad for the last time.
"This is a historic mission!" he bellowed, struggling to be heard over the zoom of fighter jets and unmanned drones deployed to watch over the brigade's convoy to Kuwait. "A truly historic end to seven years of war."

The 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which left Iraq this week, was the final U.S. combat brigade to be pulled out of the country, fulfilling the Obama administration's pledge to end the U.S. combat mission by the end of August. About 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in Iraq, mainly as a training force.

"Operation Iraqi Freedom ends on your watch!" exclaimed Col. John Norris, the head of the brigade.

"Hooah!" the soldiers roared, using an Army battle cry.

Shortly before midnight Saturday, a group of infantrymen boarded Stryker fighting vehicles, left an increasingly sparse base behind and began scanning the sides of a desolate highway for bombs. For many veterans, including some who made the same trip in the opposite direction years ago under fire, it was a fitting way to exit.

"They're leaving as heroes," Norris said of his soldiers.

"I want them to walk home with pride in their hearts."Besides pride, the soldiers will carry with them the hidden costs of war: hardened glares; tales of comrades' deaths relayed in monotone sentences devoid of emotion; young faces rendered incongruously old.

There might never be an acknowledged end to the Iraq war -- a moment where it ceases being America's conflict. U.S. commanders acknowledge that the months-long political impasse over the disputed March 7 elections and a flurry of other unresolved disputes in Iraq have the potential to erode hard-won security gains.

But U.S. commanders also seem to be stressing that this is no longer America's war to lose. "I will let history judge whether we reached irreversible momentum," Norris said. "That's not my call."

By the end of this month, the United States will have six brigades in Iraq, by far its smallest footprint since the 2003 invasion. Those that remain are conventional combat brigades reconfigured slightly and rebranded "advise and assist brigades." The primary mission of those units and the roughly 4,500 U.S. special operations forces that will stay behind will be to train Iraqi troops. Under a bilateral agreement, all U.S. troops must be out of Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.

Full story and source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...T2010081805662

It's taken a lot less time than I thought it would. Hooah!

Metroid: Other M Trailer - "Retrospective"

Aithere — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:24:06 GMT

Narrated by Jessica Martin, the VA for Samus Aran in Metroid: Other M.

[Flash]

Computer Repairs

MomochanAi — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:40:55 GMT

As some of you know my computer screen is pretty much torn, few wires sticking out and broken, the keyboard is sort of ripped and the fan hasn't been working in ages, among with other problems.

So, my computer is off to be fixed while I'm still at home I might as well take the opportunity to do this in case I won't have another chance.

Anyways I got the warranty I made with staples so it will be 100% free for me....YAY :) But....it will be gone for a while. I got no clue how long and I won't have any way to let you know how long after I hand it over today, in about less than 2 hours.

So....days, weeks, whenever, I'll see you guys then.

EF Minecraft Server

Mopquill — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:18:50 GMT

We currently have both a Classic (Creative) and Survival MultiPlayer Server for EF, the latter obsoleting the former (at least in my opinion, but Creative can be put up if there's demand for it), but both are currently down. Creative was taken down for SMP, and SMP was taken down because it's a bitch to run, and there's no sense burning up the resources as it's just barely unplayable.

However, the main bug, inventories being unusable, is likely to be fixed (either tomorrow, or very soon), and we can all play. So, discuss how excited you are to play until we can all play with each other, and then server discussion will go here, and this post will be updated with relevant information. Other bug fixes for stability and such have been rolling out (because Notch is awesome, and quite frankly, very dedicated) and everything should be up and running quite soon.

The things that bug me the most are:

inventories/chests
forges not working, and just eating your shit
boats (and minecarts?) being client-side
fake drops
the lack of flowing water
The random desynching/server lag (has been fixed?)
The non-functionality of levers/the stuff that goes with that (I forget the name that encompasses levers, buttons, wires, switches, pressure-plates, and all that jazz)

Also, whatever other crafting transactions just don't work.

The biggest problem though (and incidentally the ones that makes it unplayable), is inventories/chests not working, and the rest should come shortly, so, we should be playing quite a bit. :D

Also, as an admin, I'd prefer a command that was like:

/give RydenXIII cobblestone 10

as opposed to:

/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4
/give RydenXIII 4

(4 being the item code for cobblestone).