I'm just about to play Theme Hospital for the first time years.

sekaijin

this was actually my favorite game in the whole genre, a real shame it has not been developed or at least re-released for a modern audience.

sekaijin

oh yes, the state of fatigue has definitely set in. i knew people who were in self-imposed exile while dubya's junta was in office, only to go home and experience reverse culture shock in regard to the US health care system. i know quite a few people who won't go home because once you've experienced social health care it seems so terrifying that you may lose access one day for any reason.

sekaijin

this article is about people who are educated abroad (i.e. the US) and take their knowledge back to asia, not people who are domestically educated within asia.

korea and japan are quite similar in their rote educational systems, duty-based respect for elders (and the baggage that comes with it, including doing whatever you are told from above), and critically, the lack of capital available to fund start-ups. all of these facilitate local populations that are an excellent fit for large corporate environments, but can be major inhibitors of innovation.

...which is just another reason those that come back from the US are that much more valuable.

sekaijin

good articles, thanks!

sekaijin

i'm not talking about someone who wants to join a large corporation, which in SK would obviously be way worse, with the very few public holidays and borderline suicidal office hours.

i'm talking about people who want to be entrepreneurs making their own company or business, which in some instances can simply be carbon copies of things done in the states.

sekaijin

as an american who has been abroad for the last decade, i can attest that this trend is very real and should be of great concern to america.

especially as living standards rise in places like india and china, it can be far more attractive for people educated at our best universities to go home and be the only person doing something in their home country as opposed to just another guy stuck in the rat race in the US. i know several individuals in taiwan, south korea, and india doing just that right now, and doing very well for themselves.

by limiting immigration (the US' greatest strength) we are only encouraging the flight of such individuals, which in the medium to long term will be an enormous waste of intellectual resources and damage our competitiveness.

sekaijin

holy shit, mike tyson can read? that's a pretty heavy tome on pigeons he's holding.

sekaijin

even though the actually feeling is different, it doesn't hurt to practice stickhandling outside. i'd recommend a puck to a ball. you'll want to reach a point where you are comfortable moving back and forth without looking down at the puck. i'd also recommend becoming comfortable with stickhandling with one hand, as in real games when you are trying to get around someone you will sometimes need to use your other arm to lean into the other guy and protect the puck.

positioning is also important if you are just beginning. it's easy to end up following the puck mindlessly--if you watch kids play this is what inevitably ends up happening.

apart from the obvious area of the ice each position is responsible for, there are some things to keep in mind. the other defenseman should always move behind his fellow defenseman when he has the puck, so that you can cycle back if necessary. if a D moves forward in the attacking zone, someone needs to drop back and cover. a lot of the frustrating goals scored against a team are due to failing to do simple things like this, and it's hard to learn if you don't ingrain it in your mind early.

the title tends to change by region, but many rinks have something called "stick and puck" or "pickup" where you can simply go and play with random people, much like how people pick up a basketball and play at a park. once you're comfortable with the basics i would highly recommend going to these as, so long as the rink is not overly crowded, it offers a good chance to experiment and learn without the pressure of being in an actual game.

sekaijin

bloomberg terminals are worse, you only get 64 characters to create a headline. good luck being able to insert company or official title names (which go into, oh, a good 99% of the stories sent to them)

sekaijin

you're goddamn right she won't

sekaijin

as an american abroad, i can assure you that none of the local news sources i read (in japanese) have any idea why people are literally fighting for the right of companies to deny them/and or bankrupt them for what the rest of the rich world deems an essential, fundamental service.

there are many individual stories of people destroyed by the system shown on TV and covered in print here, and whenever you speak with someone about the issue, they are left with a confused look on their face as to why people could so openly fight against their own self-interest.

sekaijin

agreed on all points, though i think the old school gamer in me kind of sees this like the old side scrollers where you had to keep trying until you lost your mind to finish the game.

i have also been using this second play to be the badass shepherd, which is interesting for the story parts at the very least. i never can bring myself to be the bad guy when given the option, but somehow being evil fits the mood when playing on insanity.

sekaijin

I've tried to watch in the past, but it always feels like you are watching a high school game, regardless of the sport.

sekaijin

I've been trying different combinations, and I really want Miranda for the reasons stated above. She seems to last longest if you tell her to stay on the small edge of the left-hand side of the platform right in front of you where you start, as this keeps her (mostly) free of the shockwave attacks.

I've been bringing Grunt as well, though he does not seem to last long, even when I have him use his loyalty skill (shield boost thingy).

The most annoying part is that even if I am properly in cover you can still get hit by shockwave/harbinger attacks, which makes you pop up to your instant death.

sekaijin

i was riding my bike and i didn't feel shiznit.

sekaijin

I suppose it depends on what you would consider a victory.

For the Taliban, they can afford to employ the rope a dope strategy for as long as they must. Once you've gone and announced that you will eventually leave the country (as the US and its 'coalition of the willing' have), then it's just a matter of sitting it out until the infidels go home.

At the same time, all signs indicate that the coalition troops are deployed in a pattern that could very easily be mistaken for the oil pipelines that run through Afghanistan. So long as the coalition has control over that, then I believe that they have secured what they wanted. The real question is how long it will be worth the cost.

sekaijin

yeah, me too, but judging by the amount of front-page posts about people wondering how it is a "recovery" when so many people are out of work, it does seem to be missing some people.

sekaijin

very true, i have a friend who works as a travel agent here (in japan) and she says that people are doing anything they can to avoid traveling to the USA, especially for transfers (i.e., to south america, etc.).

ring it up to just another way the US is killing its competitive advantage by short-sighted, insular measures.

sekaijin

...because they are stuck using it at work?

i am, and it makes me nuts.

i do like how reddit and google suggest that you upgrade to a "modern" browser when using IE6, tho.

sekaijin

my one-stop suggestion for helping curb this significantly:

massive cuts on military spending, currently at world conquest proportions.

i've been on US bases in europe and asia, and the cost of simply maintaining those alone has to be absolutely astronomical. they come complete with ersatz US towns featuring car dealerships (buy american!), fast food joints, and grocery stores completely stocked with fresh foods from the US, at the same prices you'd pay in a store at home, minus tax!

it would be great to see the entire strategy reworked and more centered on creating healthy relationships with other regions and peoples.

the whole model of maintaining bases every last place seems outdated, did us absolutely no good on 9/11, and would be helpless if NK could actually launch a nuke in asia, for instance.

sekaijin

if they cyber police did not get me for the search they definitely got me now. fucking websense.

sekaijin

actually, we were in the middle of a discussion about why the popup in MS office uses a dolphin to answer your questions.

a coworker said that is because dolphins are smart, but i had to counter that regardless of their porential smarts, those fuckers are dangerous. last place i would go to for help anyway.

had to google this to prove my point.

*edit - clarity

sekaijin

TROPHY CASE

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