[KnightofPhoenix]

Welcome back!

Corylea said:

I do understand why people get drunk when they're unhappy. What I've never quite understood is the idea of getting drunk to celebrate. You already feel good, so why cover up the natural good feeling with a drug? That never made sense to me. ›››

Though I only did it once (it was mild, I didn't get wasted), I saw the appeal *during.* If you're an introvert, which I am, "drunk you" could become a social butterfly, which is an incentive. Also, I felt that I could make easier friendships and bonds while drunk (if you remember the whole ordeal). It's a bonding social activity thing (getting drunk on one's own however, that I don't get unless you're very sad).

Though what I aim for these days, which takes a lot of drinking for me anyways cause of my tolerance level, is to get tipsy. Your personality inhibitors drop, while you remain in self-control. And you just feel happier (and sleeping in that state is actually soothing).

[slimgrin]

I'm safe in a mist of Vodka.

[Guy N'wah]

Welcome back, Corylea. Glad you are feeling better.

I was always the one my friends counted on to "maintain" after too many shots and beers and make sure they ended up home instead of the police station. It's been a long time since those days, and I am happier to remember them than relive them.

But tonight I went out and tracked down Oscar's New Zealand Meat Pies. Oscar himself was serving them up at the Green Flash Brewery. So I got a steak and kidney pie and a pint of red ale, and asked him what made New Zealand meat pies so good. Oscar has an accent you could spread with a butter knife, and as near as I could understand him, what makes New Zealand meat pies special is the shape, though they're not really different from Australian. Oscar gets his meat pies from Aunty Devi's bakery in Escondido; Aunty Devi is another New Zealand expat.

[Corylea]

Guy N said:

But tonight I went out and tracked down Oscar's New Zealand Meat Pies. ›››

They look yummy!

My husband will eat anything wrapped in pastry: old shoes, surplus tires, ball bearings ... wrap it in pastry, and he thinks it's to die for. I can't imagine what one of those meat pies might do to him; he might drown in his own saliva.

KnightofPhoenix said:

If you're an introvert, which I am, "drunk you" could become a social butterfly, which is an incentive. ›››

I'm an introvert, all right, but I find social context really important. If a bunch of tipsy people have changed the social norms such that it's acceptable to be loud, raucous, and silly, I'm loud, raucous, and silly right along with them, while drinking plain orange juice.

Of course, I'm silly on the inside all the time, so maybe that explains it.

[.Volsung.]

I just drink because I like the taste, texture, etc. I really enjoy a frosty beer (or several) and shots/glasses of different kinds of liquor. At home my wife loves mixing cocktails, which can be very tasty.

I have to stop at some point, but it's just something I enjoy.

And Guy N'wah, it's 11:35 pm, for some reason I'm hungry and you're making things worse! Too bad we can't download food off the internet... yet

[KnightofPhoenix]

Corylea said:

I'm an introvert, all right, but I find social context really important. If a bunch of tipsy people have changed the social norms such that it's acceptable to be loud, raucous, and silly, I'm loud, raucous, and silly right along with them, while drinking plain orange juice.

Of course, I'm silly on the inside all the time, so maybe that explains it. /> ›››

Yea, I should have mentioned, I can't do that.

Sober me in public is very serious, stands and sits up straight all the time, *hates* to be loud (and people being loud)...etc, unless I am with people I am very close to (which are very few). Drunk me is chill, when I'm around people I am not that close with.

[Corylea]

KnightofPhoenix said:

Sober me in public is very serious, stands and sits up straight all the time, *hates* to be loud (and people being loud)...etc, unless I am with people I am very close to (which are very few). Drunk me is chill, when I'm around people I am not that close with. ›››

I guess it's cheaper than a prescription for Ativan.

[dragonbird]

OK. So I've bitched mildly complained about dealing with banks before, but right now, I'm awestruck. I got an email from one of mine saying that they had sent me a new security device by mail.

At 9.30 this morning, I phoned them to tell them of a potential problem - I'd moved house. I was told it was OK, they hadn't sent it yet. TWO HOURS LATER I got a text message from the guard at the old address telling me that a package had arrived. Yup, it was the one from the bank.

1500 miles in two hours, including administrative time. You've got to admit, that's impressive. I'm not sure if it's teleportation or time travel, but either way, I'm wondering if it works on people too.

[Pham]

dragonbird said:

Stuff ›››

If only they used this technology for useful stuff.

[Pangaea]

KnightofPhoenix said:

Yea, I should have mentioned, I can't do that.

Sober me in public is very serious, stands and sits up straight all the time, *hates* to be loud (and people being loud)...etc, unless I am with people I am very close to (which are very few). Drunk me is chill, when I'm around people I am not that close with. ›››

Pretty much the same. Apart from the odd witty remark, sober me is a cold son of a cunt. Tipsy/drunk, I can be quite the live wire. Walls go down, it's that simple I think. Think it's pretty common for introverts, because in general we're more comfortable in our own company than others'.

[Dragon'sDream]

Interesting article:

http://www.nytimes.c...upt06.html?_r=0

"Denmark, Finland and New Zealand ranked as the least corrupt countries"

Now to go outside and strut a bit.

Although be careful not to be deceived while reading these statistics. This is perceived corruption based on survey data, not an absolute measurement of corruption. At best it's indicative of a serious problem.

[Guy N'wah]

Dragon said:

Interesting article:

http://www.nytimes.c...upt06.html?_r=0

"Denmark, Finland and New Zealand ranked as the least corrupt countries"

Now to go outside and strut a bit. />/>/>

Although be careful not to be deceived while reading these statistics. This is perceived corruption based on survey data, not an absolute measurement of corruption. At best it's indicative of a serious problem. ›››

The perceptions, though, are not of the public at large, but of putative experts: bankers, economists, lawyers, and the like, reporting not individually but through their institutions. Since experts are not necessarily less stupid than the "man in the street", it's certainly not free of bias or error, but the prejudices and blunders therein contained are the sort that pros make, not amateurs.

Since the corrupt are not likely to start self-reporting anytime soon, it's as solid a set of data as you're likely to get. But even so, there is a scarcity of good facts for some of the countries, indicated by wide ranges; for example, Brunei, 40 to 70.

[dragonbird]

Guy N said:

The perceptions, though, are not of the public at large, but of putative experts: bankers, economists, lawyers, and the like, reporting not individually but through their institutions. Since experts are not necessarily less stupid than the "man in the street", it's certainly not free of bias or error, but the prejudices and blunders therein contained are the sort that pros make, not amateurs.

Since the corrupt are not likely to start self-reporting anytime soon, it's as solid a set of data as you're likely to get. But even so, there is a scarcity of good facts for some of the countries, indicated by wide ranges; for example, Brunei, 40 to 70. ›››

Agreed - these particular perceptions are the ones that really count. Singapore'll probably be happy, still sitting at #5. It's always been a big thing for them.

And, I don't know about other countries with wide ranges, but the differences in Brunei are probably due to different experiences by the respondents depending on their own focus of interest (law, banking, commerce and so on), rather than scarcity of facts. It's a country that's trying very hard, but doesn't always succeed.

[Dragon'sDream]

If these are in fact reliable figures, then a few countries in Europe have some serious problems...

[Guy N'wah]

dragonbird said:

Agreed - these particular perceptions are the ones that really count. Singapore'll probably be happy, still sitting at #5. It's always been a big thing for them.

And, I don't know about other countries with wide ranges, but the differences in Brunei are probably due to different experiences by the respondents depending on their own focus of interest (law, banking, commerce and so on), rather than scarcity of facts. It's a country that's trying very hard, but doesn't always succeed. ›››

Likewise, the countries at the top are there for a diversity of reasons. Denmark and Singapore have exceptionally strong anti-corruption programs. (Denmark's is of historic standing and often looked up to as an example.) On the other hand, perception may exceed reality in New Zealand and Finland.

[dragonbird]

But then we get into a deep philosophical discussion of which is the more real - perception or reality.

And in the meantime, I've just been told by a computer shop that the GTX660, 660TI and 670 are all obsolete, which is why they quoted me a GTX680 instead of what I asked for. Guess who isn't getting any business from me?

(Out of a list of 8 components, they upsized 6. One may have been valid, the rest definitely weren't. I really, really hate shops that try that kind of bullshit)

[Guy N'wah]

dragonbird said:

But then we get into a deep philosophical discussion of which is the more real - perception or reality. />

And in the meantime, I've just been told by a computer shop that the GTX660, 660TI and 670 are all obsolete, which is why they quoted me a GTX680 instead of what I asked for. Guess who isn't getting any business from me?

(Out of a list of 8 components, they upsized 6. One may have been valid, the rest definitely weren't. I really, really hate shops that try that kind of bullshit) ›››

That's a really good whopper.

The only thing even arguably "newer" about the 680 is that it was released at the same time nVidia released Adaptive Vsync. But all of the Keplers support it. For that matter, the 660Ti, 670, and 680 are exactly the same GK107 chip. (The 680 is the fastest, and the 660Ti uses only 192 bits of memory bus.)

None will be even close to obsolete until the 700 series comes out, and that may not be until middle of next year. And the best information is that the 700 series is a "tick" to the Kepler "tock", not a novel design.

[Dragon'sDream]

What a joke. The 670 obsolete? I would bet it can play any game out there on near max settings (assuming the rest of the computer is up to snuff).

[dragonbird]

Yeah, the only things they didn't upsize were the PSU and the HDD. They even switched my requested Windows 7 Home Premium to Pro, which is totally inexplicable. If they'd switched to Win 8, it would have been at least understandable, but that was a dumb change unless they just thought I wouldn't notice.

(I'd have liked the 680, but it's grey market, and I'm really not willing to pay that much for something that only has a limited warranty)

[gregski]

Dragon said:

What a joke. The 670 obsolete? I would bet it can play any game out there on near max settings (assuming the rest of the computer is up to snuff). ›››

I've got 660Ti lately and it runs BF3 on ultra 1920x1080 like a charm without overclocking. So, yeah.