jayseven

Well I met Shorty, Nami, Dan Dare and Emma and I only needed one day!

I missed EEVIL's OP - thanks for everyone's kind words (I get that EEVIL isn't being mean :P) here's hoping things go to plan, otherwise I'll be looking at relocating to either Sheff or NZ...!

You never see it coming.

@dan\-likes\-trees his Sci-Fi comes in two forms; the 'culture' series (all in the same universe, and generally speaking each book is standalone, with no recurring characters) and the other sci-fi, of which there are few books. Culture novels; Consider Phlebas Player of Games Use of Weapons Excession Inversions Look to Windward Matter Surface Detail The Hydrogen Sonata I can say fairly comfortably that you can skip Consider Phlebas and start from Player of Games, which is short and a good introduction to the Culture's ways. Use of Weapons was drafted 20 years before it was published and you can read how much of a baby it was to Banks. Excession posed a fantastic situation to the Culture. As the books progress chronologically you experience more to do with immortality and morality, with the reality of the physical world and the surreality of the technological abilities available to the different sentiences. Matter, Surface Detail and The Hydrogen Sonata all increase in complexity but are all just astoundingly interesting to read. Feersum Endjinn and The Algebraist are fantastical sci-fi non-culture books he wrote that you can consider reading too... but honestly I say start with Player of Games then Use of Weapons. If you start reading them then I'll re-read them at the same time, in teh same order!

@Daft no matter how awesome the person, if there's no external appreciation it can feel like it's all for nothing, right? If you expand your timescale, though, you'll maybe see that this is just a(nother) rut, eh? Apathy isn't real! I'm sure none of this was helpful. It's really just a placeholder. Consider how long it took me to post this (four minutes so far! I'm so comfortably hesitant.) and... yeah. This is one of those talk-over-gin sorta vibes, I'm feeling. Just be you?

Honestly? I still prefer ps4 but these were the key points that made me look to jump ship. I'd be interested now to see how they shape Gold. If they continue to realise that sony are the leaders then they may well continue to make amends. They know they're digging upwards now so perhaps it's possible we'll see some very aggressive "we so sorry" campaigns. There is still scope for making the system more attractive now, but they would have to give a lot more. I wouldn't put it past them to further sweeten the deal, considering so far the best moments we've had for both PS4 and Xbone are "we're going to do this thing the same as it was last generation". For me, if PS+ offers a more comprehensive and appealing package than Gold then the decision is made. If microsoft can pull together a better benefits package then I can see things swaying.

what up dog?

I love you gaggle. Be less sad

Things at work are going well. It's basically all I do now. Essentially I'm being fought over by two departments. One is on the phones, the other is office admin stuff. They've both been impressed with me, and I've had it said that I may be offered a permanent full-time job on the admin side. If so, I'll try to negotiate a £15k salary... may be pushing it but currently I'm earning like £375 a week, plus commission with phones and admin stuff combined. I'd accept £14k really, but I think I can wrangle £14.5k... anyway I shouldn't really be thinking about this that much just yet as it's all pipeline stuff. I was also told that I may see a cut of the admin-side commission. They have a monthly target of £200k and they broke that halfway through week 2 of this month. I don't expect it to be too much coming down to me but it's really nice that they are talking about giving me a cut. Shows they appreciate my efforts. I do the longest shifts out of anyone in the four companies that work in the building and it's really motivating to have my commitment recognised. If I can get a full-time job on the admin side I'll be able to keep my soul, plus I'll be able to properly build a 'career' with future prospects - something phone work rarely offers. While I could've been on this path 5 years ago if I hadn't gone to Uni, the jobs I've had along the way have altered my perception of work life. I would also say that it is SOOO vital to ask for benefits/pay rises. If I had just kept quiet when i started with 3 hours a day I'd probably be unemployed right now. Instead I was badgering, laying hints, asking about job vacancies. I got heads of three departments talking to me for chats and I let them all know I want more. And I've been getting it. Just generally pleased with myself for now! We'll see if a month passes and I'm still doing 50+ hour weeks... these rumours are good motivators for keeping at it, at least. If that door closes then I'll have to move on, but.. yeah ramble ramble.

I've burned through seasons of Mad Men and I do think watching an episode a week is beneficial. I think the last ep I saw was e11 and essentially the Don/Sally situation has been in my mind all week. Before when I've just watched one episode after another I've not been able to allow the show to simmer in my head. Much prefer it. Proper post another time.

Hypothetical situation; I buy a PS3 near the launch of the PS4. I get a PS+ subscription. How long will the console be supported for, in terms of new free games monthly, etc? If the same subscription works for PS3 and PS4, does it mean I could log on to a PS4 and access the console-specific content? Just wondering, because I won't be able to afford a PS4 for a fair old while and figure it could be a good time to access a new set of games. I know the PS3 will continue to be supported for ages in terms of new games but that's irrelevant to me. I'm just curious about what the PS+ service would offer for both consoles whilst they're both running at the same time.

For me, it's Magnets and gravity. I don't reaaally get why they do what they do.

I'm trying to be positive and think about good stuff. Finished another week of work. Colleagues have proven to be really, really, really nice and supportive and just generally decent people - it makes a huge difference when you know you're facing a day of interacting with decent human beings. Worth getting up for. Bank balance was £500 better than I thought! I went to get out £200 for two weeks rent and was really seriously dreading the potential of having nothing in there (I never get a receipt when i get cash out...) so it's great to know I have security in my situation. ... These aren't really "good news" things, more just "life isn't bad" things - but honestly I've had a rocky few months and I'm so, so grateful to find myself in this standard position. I've got very little stress in life at the moment and I have been able to genuinely laugh every day. It's silly to say, but I just feel like a decent human being, and that's all I ask for... :P p.s. weeklytargetatworkis40becauseimnewbutIgot90thisweeksoalliswell!

If games end up cheaper they yay. If not? I guess I give up on 'next gen' gaming and just read more books instead. Even if that just seems like spoiling the vote card and thus having no say at all... But ultimately we are dealing with companies, and companies want to make money. So long as there are paying customers they will continue. The article a few pages back that discussed art in relation to gaming struck a chord with me. For decades -- for generations games have strived to be treated akin to novels and movies, to be treated as if they are an art form, able to manipulate our emotions and provide new and stirring experiences... but this coming generation is firmly stanced in the business arena. What is interesting is, comparing to previous generations, there is absolutely no bother about graphics or loading times or processing power. We are talking about consumer rights, social issues and privacy conditions. For a pastime/hobbie/interest, these are remarkably serious topics to have to deal with. The power is shifting far too much, in a time where we are looking at a triple-dip recession, where corporations are making profits while the price of bread is rising and minimum wage stagnating... I just have to take a step back and think. Is experiencing a 'new generation' of gaming really worth it? Just because the novelty of it all is repeatedly blasted at us... just because we are told that things will change soon... do we need to accept it? Can't we just... enjoy something else instead? ... Sorry, but man, life is too short. Fuck games, I'm gonna go do something productive instead. Seriously. Save your money. Buy cigarettes instead.

I think it's wrong to think a girl who reacts weird to being asked out is therefore a rubbish candidate for a girlfriend. I once worked with a girl who was in a different department, and I asked her out after a couple of weeks of very brief interactions. She declined and was all weird with me. I, personally, was totally chill and felt great that I'd had the guts to ask her out. I did get to know her better and have a couple of kinda-dates, but I had her phone number and was a fb friend before I asked her out so it was different to some stranger you don't even know the name of. I just think that if you have a lot of exposure with the girl (i.e. see her lots and know when!) then working up a rapport, getting her number or fb and chatting a bit first makes sense. A girl (or a guy) not expecting to be asked out may react wrongly, and later feel ashamed and keep their distance, which can come across as if they don't like the person who asked them out but really they're just not sure how to be... Ok so this is a lot of ifs, buts and maybes. Think of it in a different light. You know nothing about her, yet you ask her out. She says yes! Turns out she's into kittens. Big time. She has 30. She also is a bit of a kleptomaniac and during the date she takes out a pair of scissors and lops off a lock of your hair. She starts spouting about how much the pakis and blacks are stealing all the jobs. Starts saying old people should be put down. You politely draw the evening to a close, say goodbye, and decline her lift home. Now you have a forever of bus journeys where this crazy bitch sits next to you and loudly talks about being a xenophobic supporter of geriatricide. She follows you to work. She follows you home. ... Extreme, yes, but the point remains. You know nothing about a girl except you like how she looks? Make sure she ticks a few more boxes. In this instance time is on your side. ... is what I think.

Well I mean I see it as more of a long game. Why ask a girl out you don't know when you know you have umpteen million more interactions with her? You may not be close but if there's a chance to get to know her a bit first then why not take it? I mean if you're seeing her every morning then you can at least find out if she has a boyfriend. Perfect chance is on a friday ask if she has any weekend plans, or on mondays ask if she had a nice weekend. Use the chance to give a brief joke-ish anecdote about your own weekend. Do that a few weeks in a row (I.E. get her laughing) and you'll either know she's taken (and have a new friend) or know she likes you. this way you don't scare her off and lose the potential friend/gf. If it's just some random then sure, go for it. That's how I see it. You don't need to waste the opportunity, sure. But make sure you correctly identify the opportunity!

If it was me I'd just continue to interact with her and see if anything came of it. I'd not push for a date as she might be a bit freaked out... and then you've made all your mornings awkward forever! But then I'm not really that impulsive.

I always prefer to have subs on due to deafness. Without them I do miss out on things occasionally, but even then it's not a massive deal. of course if you rarely watch with subs then it may seem distracting, but as O_W said you can learn to sort of 'see' the whole screen and almost subconsciously let the words seep in. Plus if you have the audio, you can actually just skim the text and your brain will merge the two together. What annoys me is when the subtitles on an official product are wrong. Be it a character name or an unnecessary abridgement or just a typo - it reminds me that the community requiring subtitles are second tier to the production team.

I didn't realise these were going to be the final episodes... :'(

Great day at work - smashed the targets, but most importantly there's been this darling lady I've spoken to a few times who has been battling cancer for 7 years. Each time I've spoken to her she's just had chemo that day, so I've just tried to be the nice me that I can be. At the end of today's call she was sad that I wouldn't be calling anymore. Sad thing is she thinks she'll die before we win her case, so I'm going to keep an eye on it as it comes through the post and try to make sure her claim is prioritised. And apprentice to watch! Awesome. Been watching the Derren Brown specials available on 4oD and I can't get over how awesome the guy is. Some of his tricks you can kinda see how he's doing it but it's just awe-inspiring how he has a diverse range of techniques. He's definitely on my Celebrity Dinner Party list (along with Stephen Fry and Jeremy Clarkson).

Allow me to report; I am active and participating, however I have nothing to report. I am also a male and I think my role was flavoured towards me.

Enough comments on the interwebs made it clear that some negative shit was going down. Didn't predict (how could you?) the extent of the massacre... Fuck.

I'm all for the park bit but due to my eyesight I may make an exit once the sun starts setting, or once people start going to crazy places. I have nightblindness and even though I've known y'all for years none of you really know the dealio so I'll park-it-up and leave when you start having the real fun!