The Gaming Den

Whipstitch wrote:What's even more insidious is the fact that virtually every modern procedural has episodes that turn into an infomercial about the amazing benefits of the surveillance state. Every once in a while a show will feature authorities who are unambiguous villains but even those shows are fond of tying up loose ends by having the resident quirky nerd clack away at a keyboard and pull a name out of the National Registry Of Bad Crazies. It's the best kind of propaganda in the sense that it's quick and about as viscerally offensive as pulling up a wikipedia entry.

I will never forget the moment in which Law & Order beat me over the head with the fact that it is fear porn for boomers. I couldn't possibly remember which particular episode it was because they all sort of melt into each other; you know how TNT used to do (still does?) all-day Sunday marathons of various L&O series.

One of the attractive lady ADs was discussing a difficult suspect with the police detectives & captain. At some point the AD very seriously said "too bad we don't have the death penalty in New York or you could get him to talk." They kept the conversation moving and came up with some other strategy for coercing a confession, not dwelling on the death penalty thing, but I was floored. The way the scene was set up and the line was delivered, she might as well have looked directly at the camera and said "THE DEATH PENALTY IS GOOD AND EFFECTIVE AT DETERRING CRIME AND SOLVING CASES. ENDING THE DEATH PENALTY IS BAD. VOTE GOP." At least, that's how I saw it.

Since then I have not been able to enjoy L&O in its traditional role as "vapid weekend morning trash TV." Ever since Lenny died and took his deadpan snark with him, L&O Classic hasn't been worth watching anyway, not to mention that SVU without Stabler is just a sad farce.

Maj wrote:(The top complaint: It's not a socialist hell-hole. It's a right-wing hellhole that's trying to be being saved by a left-wing female.)

I had actually flashed passed this when you posted it, but was looking into the show again, and wholly shit!

They actually have a right wing government (that is CLEARLY modeled on Maduro still) being couped by a left wing opposition supported by the CIA!

As if the US would ever fucking coup a right win government!

Mord wrote:not to mention that SVU without Stabler is just a sad farce.

Of course, "cowboy cop who frequently breaks rules to Get Shit Done" probably isn't the best narrative to be pushing, either. I'm pretty sure his team and boss cover for his blatant law-breaking more than once.

I remember one particular episode where it's basically celebrated that he's able to question a perp for a crime who's being held in another country with much fewer protections for suspects. He straight-up beats a confession out of him because legally, he's allowed to in that country.

TV and movie studios are owned by billionaires. They are almost always extremely in favour of every aspect of the real world status-quo. Even when the status-quo became that the state tortures people in gulags due to guilt by association, that just means the next hero will torture people in gulags due to guilt by association and that will save the day.

Like, if some big company is doing something bad on screen, it's always a junior exec at fault and the owner is such a nice guy after, and it all turns out for the best anyway.

The fucking Simpsons did an episode on political corruption in the US, and, it turns out, it was just this one guy and all the other politicians were shocked and totally just fixed that right up and then everything was fine. Because the status quo, it's pretty fucking sweet for billionaire media owners.

Yeah, the punch line was "the system works". That's always the punch line, the system always works, it even rewards the cops who have to ignore the system to get shit done.

My employer is saying I can't get my W-2 until February 7th. Now, I had heard that they can't send it out later than January 31st, is that true or is that just legal folklore? And if it's true, who do I bitch to?

Edit: to clarify, they said they aren't mailing them out until February 7th.

https://mashable.com/video/transformers ... urope=true
So . . are we carefully enthusiastic or dreading the release of this?
@Shrapnel
Do your pants still fit?

it looks like a 40k movie

and like a GOOD ONE at that . .

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:My employer is saying I can't get my W-2 until February 7th. Now, I had heard that they can't send it out later than January 31st, is that true or is that just legal folklore? And if it's true, who do I bitch to?

Edit: to clarify, they said they aren't mailing them out until February 7th.

If you do not have your W2 by Feb 1st, you can call the IRS. But after all the time you spend on hold, they are going to tell you to wait 2 weeks and then if you still don't have it, call them back again.

Anyone happen to know what all internal systems and mechanisms cybertronians generally have? Like, energon scanners and shit.


Shrapnel... Shrapnel... Shrapnel...

Is it fairreasonable to classify Christianity as a death cult? I mean, the last books of their holy text are all about the end of the world and how that's a good thing. Some of their advocates are just crazy people talking about end times, and that's the extent of what they do - maybe they encourage getting your affairs in order and not doing things that will be a problem when Imperial Justice accounts for all things at the end, others actually help with "likely causes for human extinction" (nuclear proliferation, global warming, spread of disease like it's Neverwinter Nights). But aside from what the priests do, the actual books are about "stuff that allegedly happened a long time ago, possibly tying into Sailor Moon backstory" and then "how the world will end".

I know that Sober Koumei is going to regret the twitter argument Drunk Koumei got into with some pastaa pastor, but I feel I'm on solid ground here.

WRT how reich wing Christianity behaves you're bang on the money, but the Revelation to John is centred pretty precisely on Rome in the 1st century and can't really be applied to any other period in good faith despite the best efforts of wannabe apocalypse cult leaders the world over.

Koumei wrote: I know that Sober Koumei is going to regret the twitter argument Drunk Koumei got into with some pastaa pastor, but I feel I'm on solid ground here.

Christianity, at it's root, is an appeal to authority. If you've ever had an argument with a sibling and you've responded with 'I'm telling Mom', it boils down to the same thing. Lots of people won't do the right thing unless they believe there are consequences for doing the wrong thing. Most strains of Christianity posit that there is a 'final judgement' in an unverifiable way, and it really does encourage some otherwise terrible people to do good. Remembering that the Christian bible was compiled over a few centuries a couple millenia ago, it's radical in how progressive it is.

The story of the adulteress, for example, is amazing because of how it subverts the message of traditional justice and religious duty. Under the law of Moses the penalty for her adultery was clearly prescribed - death by stoning. Having people set aside what they consider a religious conviction as they reflected on the times where they fell short of an ideal standard is nothing short of astounding.

There are certainly a lot of bad Christians, but there are also a lot of bad everything else. I'm not ready to assume that Christianity offers nothing of value because there are some assholes in the movement.

In any case, while the focus on this life is, in many ways, to 'accumulate treasure in heaven', the focus is still on actions you take now. There is no action that can be taken to promote the end of the world; those who claim it can be determined and predicted are specifically disregarding the biblical text.

Early Christianity believed that end times were near and they just had some time left to clean up their acts.
However even if they were eagerly waiting for the end of the world, they didn't try to bring it any closer.

Today there are some people who use the end of times argument to support the idea that it doesn't really matter if we don't do anything to prevent climate change or any other existential threats because the end of human life on Earth isn't such a big deal.
However, it's pretty clear that they're using their beliefs to justify their (in)actions rather than (non-)acting because of these beliefs.

Koumei wrote:Is it fairreasonable to classify Christianity as a death cult?

I've always referred to it as a procrastinating death cult. Early Christianity aside, you can see it by the things modern Christians say. They talk/sing about how they're looking forward to "going home" and similar things, but they're in no hurry to die right now. They still look both ways when crossing the street, put on their seat belts, and largely consider suicide a sin.

But they do believe things are going to get way better when they die and they're looking forward to it.

Koumei wrote:Is it fairreasonable to classify Christianity as a death cult? I mean, the last books of their holy text are all about the end of the world and how that's a good thing. Some of their advocates are just crazy people talking about end times, and that's the extent of what they do - maybe they encourage getting your affairs in order and not doing things that will be a problem when Imperial Justice accounts for all things at the end, others actually help with "likely causes for human extinction" (nuclear proliferation, global warming, spread of disease like it's Neverwinter Nights). But aside from what the priests do, the actual books are about "stuff that allegedly happened a long time ago, possibly tying into Sailor Moon backstory" and then "how the world will end".

I know that Sober Koumei is going to regret the twitter argument Drunk Koumei got into with some pastaa pastor, but I feel I'm on solid ground here.

There are people who don't consider Christianity a death cult? At least most denominations? There are some good Christians, but it's not the majority of them.

Prak wrote:Anyone happen to know what all internal systems and mechanisms cybertronians generally have? Like, energon scanners and shit.

They have a bag of holding in them that allows them to change size and shape.

Ok, so here's a weird one. Is anyone here particularly good at creating nonsense english? I'm working on a one shot that involves the far future descendants of humanity having to fight radioactive zombies, and having to travel to a long term nuclear waste storage site.

The characters should not know anything salient about "the ancients," and only be able to recognize the language of the ancients, but not understand it. I want to use the long-term nuclear waste warning message, but, at least at first, they should not be able to understand it. So I need to turn it into gibberish that sounds like english. I tried, and my gibberish doesn't sound like english. It sounds polynesian or something.

This is the message in English:

This place is a message... and part of a system of messages... pay attention to it!

Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.

This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here.

What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.

The danger is in a particular location... it increases towards a center... the center of danger is here... of a particular size and shape, and below us.

The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.

The danger is to the body, and it can kill.

The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.

The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.

And this is what I came up with trying to turn it into gibberish:

Cithe keleep eh u simmase... nan rapt fe u temsu fe simmasex... yepu tenato ir ne!

Desing cithe simmase siwu popotema ir nu. Seh sincode sesehu fe poporemu tecul.

Cithe keleep eh ton u keleep noreh... Un popo demee eh empoted hare... tonto luvae eh hare.

Thaw eh hare siwu poponedun nan sipopoton ir se. Cithe simmase eh u narwun rere poponedu.

Rhet poponedu eh ni u sopate colati... ne popopo darwe u tencin... rhet tencin fe poponedu hare... fe u sopate zize nan haspe, nan lebo se.

Rhet poponedu eh tisu resept, ni tou mite, sa ne siwu ni tu.

Rhet poponedu eh ir rhet dobi, nan ne naku des.

Rhet faspe fe rhet poponedu eh u roronas fe zezagi.

Rhet poponedu eh tonlusha uuh ta tou popodista cithe keleep dobina. Cithe keleep eh pon nushet nan veal tondobic.

Gamma World d20 had some stuff about likely sound shifts as languages change, I'll see if I can dig it up.

Edit: Can't find it, it must be at someone else's house, dunno whose. I'm betting it was based off Grimm's Law but that looks like a pain to use as is.

Nothing sounds more like English than English...

The splices I miss sage... end port if a cistern if miss sages... pie hat tension twit!

Sanding hiss miss sage ways impotent tusk. Weak on solid ate dour cells tubby I prayerful colt char.

Thus spice snot up lice off on her... new highliest teamed scum mammary debt heir... nutting fell Eustace sheer.

Twat vizier worst angel us Andy pulse if twist. Christmas sedges aborn Inga bout dine germ.

Thud dine germ isn't apart tickle our rotation... tinker eases to ward's ass enter... thus enter oft injures her... offer par dick you large seize end sharp, and blow us.

Thud dine germs till presenting yurt I mast wasn't whores.

Thud dine germs toothy bod eon debt canker.

Therefore muff thud dine germs cinema nation fen orgy.

Thud dine germs on least own leaf use up stand shall lead is turpeth splice fuzz sickly. The splices pest shone dandle aft done-in abetted.

It's a first draft, but you get the drift - apply a weird accent which has both vowel and some consonant transposition, then sub in actual words that are close to the new pronunciation.

The Englishyness of English is due to the way that related words share similar consonance. Where, What and When are all interrogatives and start with the 'wh' consonant, while their corresponding responses (There, That, Then) all start with the 'th' consonant. Similarly, Gleam, Glint, Glow and Gloss are all words relating to light emmanating from an object and all start with 'gl'. Likewise, Boat, Float, Coat and Moat are all related to the concept of hollowness. Using similar consonance of the original message while shifting the vowels and structure should do roughly what you want:

Thun plat beo missave, jointly beov systyrm missave: grast ottentomax!

Transwit missaver veri portlon. We trospied usler beov wiz vashion.

Thun plat beono glam xor resprance, non maxly yake enviderated herearbot... non wantly cosh.

Thon beov inser blurghly vicorous! Thun missive adhorts yon vicorousness.

Vicorousity beon locut, swolting inwise. Vicoromax boev plating, precis quant an quid, lowlerful.

Vicorousity boet thy yet, symet usler tempry.

Vicorous beov thy viskers, exulating swishly.

Vicorous beof lumino quid, mearling outwise.

Vicorousity beon lowler an snug, eagler fiff sundlry. Thun plat higgly absconced an beon nonmim.

Prak wrote:Ok, so here's a weird one. Is anyone here particularly good at creating nonsense english? I'm working on a one shot that involves the far future descendants of humanity having to fight radioactive zombies, and having to travel to a long term nuclear waste storage site.

The characters should not know anything salient about "the ancients," and only be able to recognize the language of the ancients, but not understand it. I want to use the long-term nuclear waste warning message, but, at least at first, they should not be able to understand it. So I need to turn it into gibberish that sounds like english. I tried, and my gibberish doesn't sound like english. It sounds polynesian or something.

This is the message in English:

This place is a message... and part of a system of messages... pay attention to it!

Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.

This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here.

What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.

The danger is in a particular location... it increases towards a center... the center of danger is here... of a particular size and shape, and below us.

The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.

The danger is to the body, and it can kill.

The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.

The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.

And this is what I came up with trying to turn it into gibberish:

Cithe keleep eh u simmase... nan rapt fe u temsu fe simmasex... yepu tenato ir ne!

Desing cithe simmase siwu popotema ir nu. Seh sincode sesehu fe poporemu tecul.

Cithe keleep eh ton u keleep noreh... Un popo demee eh empoted hare... tonto luvae eh hare.

Thaw eh hare siwu poponedun nan sipopoton ir se. Cithe simmase eh u narwun rere poponedu.

Rhet poponedu eh ni u sopate colati... ne popopo darwe u tencin... rhet tencin fe poponedu hare... fe u sopate zize nan haspe, nan lebo se.

Rhet poponedu eh tisu resept, ni tou mite, sa ne siwu ni tu.

Rhet poponedu eh ir rhet dobi, nan ne naku des.

Rhet faspe fe rhet poponedu eh u roronas fe zezagi.

Rhet poponedu eh tonlusha uuh ta tou popodista cithe keleep dobina. Cithe keleep eh pon nushet nan veal tondobic.

Better or worse?

https://www.federalregister.gov/documen ... age-system

thanks all. I think being a language nerd with French, Spanish and Japanese classes in the background (even with no actual fluency in them) was my hinderance here. These are a lot better.

This reminds me of the original Star Trek Episode Omega Glory.

Ee'dplebnista norkohn forkohn perfectunun.

Prak wrote:thanks all. I think being a language nerd with French, Spanish and Japanese classes in the background (even with no actual fluency in them) was my hinderance here. These are a lot better.

Also, related to the origin of your question, are your players familiar with ray cats?

They're a theoretical cat that is genetically-engineered to detect radiation by changing colors, and also somehow not have issues with radiation affecting the part of the DNA that causes them to change color/stay alive.