tala @ so-phobic

WARNING: SPOILERSThis is just a partial post about Before Sunset.

This is for you guys who were, well, shall we say surprised, at the ending. :star:

I was laughing so hard at the ending, not because it was ridiculous, but because it was such a shocker, I couldn’t believe that the film _was_ at its end. :star: It was done beautifully, though, with 1 line full of meaning.

While I was discussing the ending with Nix (who missed it because he had to go to the bathroom at that exact moment, lmao ), he said that you could actually have an inkling of the ending based on the first scene. This was the scene where Jesse was being interviewed about his book (which was a retelling of Before Sunrise). One of the interviewers asked him why the book was open-ended, and if his characters ever got together.

Jesse’s explanation was that the ending depends on individual personality, thus the open ending. For a romantic like the lady reporter, the ending was that the characters met up and ended up together, living happily ever after. For the cynic, they never got together after the first meeting in Vienna. The third guy was an optimist, not necessarily a romantic. He doesn’t know what happens but hopes they got together.

There’s your explanation for Before Sunset’s ending. The ending is up to the romantic, the optimist, the pessimist, the cynic in us. Maybe the practical people would say that Jesse wouldn’t risk losing his little boy to his current wife due to divorce and the fight for custody. The optimists would say that once Jesse has explained to his wife that Celine is _the_ one, his wife would understand and wish the best for him. They’d have a quiet divorce and maybe joint custody of the kid. Who knows, maybe she and Celine would even get along? The romantics would say he would fight heaven and hell to be with her now that he has found her again.

I’d like to think that I’m a mix. The romantic in me thinks that they got together. Jesse isn’t happy with his marriage. He wrote the book to somehow find Celine. Why let go now?

I don’t think they’ll just live happily ever after though. I think I’m too practical for that. There would be a divorce, there might even be a fight over a child. But the optimist in me believes that Jesse has a good chance of getting joint custody. He’s provided for his family for years, so it’s not like he’s a worthless father. I hope he just comes clean to his wife and tell her he loves someone else and that they have a quiet divorce and settlement.

That’s my ending of Before Sunset. Much as I’d love to be part of Celine’s and Jesse’s lives again, I don’t want a third movie. I’m happy with my ending. :star:

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Snippets of thoughts as I linkhop:

ComiPa, a Philippine Ragnarok Online player, was hacked from home. All items gone. He claims that he’s never played in a cafe, and that all his games are in a separate PC which is constantly updated by Windows Update. He also updates his virus scanner regularly. He uses another PC to download stuff from the Internet. He has posted his case over at the Ragnaboards.

This is a part of GM-Silvermaine’s reply:

Yes, it’s a sad fact that many users who get hacked are not satisfied with the zeny compensation given to them. If it were possible, I’d like everyone to get back what is stolen from them, but this is simply not feasible. If it was, we’d be doing it. Game balance isn’t exactly issue. As you pointed out, every zeny comp unbalances the game economy slightly. The problem is more of logistics. It’s a problem of scale. With the volume of cases currently pending, the existing zeny compensation system is the most just and fair method we could think of given all the available resources we have at this time. Believe me if we could give more, we would.

The part that I highlighted is a downright lie. It _ is _ feasible, GM-Silvermaine, your staff is just too lazy to do it. You have a database. Does an SQL query ring a bell?

Let’s say playerA was hacked by hackerA. hackerA needs to transfer playerA’s items to hackerFriend. Normally, LUG traces back up to 2 days from the date they received the hack report. Just 2 days back. So let’s say playerA was hacked today (October 27), and he doesn’t log into his account till November 3. Let’s say he was hacked by hackerA on October 30. Come November 3 he finds out that he was hacked and makes the report on the same day. I don’t know if LUG automatically receives the reports. I am assuming that they do. Does the person responsible for receiving the reports read them as they are received? That I do not know.

Let’s say the report is read by LUGpersonnel on November 3, and forwarded to the GM responsible for hacking cases. Now, with the 2-days-back policy, no trades between playerA’s character and hackerFriend’s character would be found, because the hacking and the trade happened on October 30, 3 days before November 3. No items will be returned because of this, just some measly zeny compensation that is, most of the time, way below the hacked character’s ingame worth in zeny and/or in items.

Back to the statement in emphasis. It is feasible because all it takes is a database query. Prior to giving zeny compensation, an investigation is conducted to prove that the player claiming to be hacked _was_indeed_ hacked (there have been false hack claims, but that’s a different story). Hackers don’t usually leave anything behind, and once a hack case has been reported, the hacked account is blocked by LUG to prevent the hacker from accessing the account again for whatever purpose. So query the character name, and trace his last trade. In this record the list of the items that were stolen will be found. Reproduce those items and give them back to the hacked character, with a warning to ensure the security of the account. While you’re at it, help the player change his password and/or his e-mail if he wants to. Do it right there on the database.

I heard on the grapevine that this kind of research would be tedious, not to mention, would cause such a strain to the server that everything will lag. Err… does this mean that the player database is on the same server as the game server? Err… As for it being tedious, all I can say is IT’S PART OF YOUR JOB LUG IT GUYS! Playing Ragnarok Online to reach a decent level and to gain so and so items can be tedious, so don’t talk to me about tediousness. DO YOUR JOB AND DO IT RIGHT! Don’t just sit there pretending to be competent IT people when all you do all day is level _your_ character up. Any random street kid could do that for you.

And if it’s really not feasible, why were you guys able to do it when you tracked down those trades between sureshot, Siccorro (sp?) and that Jun person who used to be in that Chaos guild, The Army of DORKNESS? GM-Praetor even posted the items and zeny that were traded back and forth on the Ragnaboards. It took a long time, yeah, but those were what, 3 months worth of trade? You were able to do it then, you can do it now. Or did you just do it then because such “big names” and “famous players” were involved? Where’s the equality in that? Hire people and invest in machinery to do this tedious job for you. Customer service, LUG, customer service.

LUG is earning millions from Ragnarok Online players. A little mouse told me, about 30M a month. Even if you deduct taxes, etc., it’s still a hefty sum. The least you could do, LUG, is provide some decent customer support for your paying players who contribute to your care and feeding. Round up competent tech support people who know the game and form a mini call center for customer support.

And to Smirnoff, by now we all know just how smart you are, thanks mainly to yourself. Like what my favorite teacher once said, “Ako ang nagkuwento, siyempre ako ang bida.” It’s your life story, and since you think you’re so smart about a lot of things, and that you have a right to be a pompous ass, who are we to deprive you? I wish you no ill will, but I just think that it wouldn’t hurt to be a little less of an ass and be more sympathetic towards other people. Not everyone is as educated as you are. No one has called you an idiot or told you to eat iodized salt. Maybe you should, you know? Cause this attitude you have over people who _may_ be below your IQ level reeks of self-importance. Who are you, Smirnoff? Use your brains and get some breeding. You are not unlike those self-important people who will bring others down just so they can look good. Like I said, I wish you no ill will. But if the time comes that you become a victim yourself, from hacking or whatever, don’t expect any sympathy from those you have tread on. Actually, now that I think about it, I take that last sentence back. I wish that those you have tread on will extend every bit of sympathy and help that they can, so that you may be ashamed of the kind of person you are.

End of this snippet, on to the next.

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This was posted at the Shadowmaidens boards. Ang maka-relate… appear tayo pare! Heehee, wag gamitin ang M word, young at heart pa naman tayo lahat. :teehee:

“Ito ang mga huling taon ng dekada ‘80 at ang mga unang taon ng dekada ’90. Ito ang panahong uso pa ang makiuso. Kung ginagaya mo ang style ng mga artista, hindi ka tatawaging jologs. Ito ang panahong tapos na ang martial law, pero malayo pa ang new millennium. Hindi pa high-tech pero di naman old fashioned. Saktong-sakto lang! Ito ang panahon natin. Pero pano mo malalaman kung kabilang ka sa henerasyong ito? Narito ang listahan na makapagpapatunay if you’re one of us. R U?

1. ) Paborito mong panoorin ang Shaider, Bio-man, Maskman, Mask Rider Black, Machine Man at kung ano-anong TV sitcom ng Japan na isinalin sa Tagalog. Break muna sa mga laro kapag alas singko na ng hapon tuwing Sabado dahil panahon na para sa superhero marathon.

–> Shaider at Bioman lang gusto ko. Saka 5pm ba yun o mga 4:30pm? Ay, ang 4:30pm nga pala ANG TV

2.) Alam mo ang jingle ng Nano-Nano. (isang kending lasang champoy)

–> May prize sa makakapag-post ng lyrics! :rofl:

3.) Nanood ka ng Takeshi’s Castle at naniwala kang si Anjo Yllana talaga si Takeshi at si Smokey Manaloto ang kanyang alalay. (Pinagiisipan mo – pano sila lumalaban sa final challenge na parang nakasakay sila sa isang bumpcar at nagbabarilan sila gamit ang water gun gayong sa Japan ginagawa yun eh taga Pilipinas sila?)

4.) Alam mo ang pa-contest ng Kool 106 na uulit-ulitin mong bigkasin ang “Kool 106, Kool 106� hanggang maubusan ka ng hininga.

5.) Naglaro ka ng Shake-Shake Shampoo, Monkey-Monkey-Annabelle, prikidam 123, Langit-Lupa-Impyerno, Syato, Luksong-Tinik, Luksong-Baka, 10-20 at kung ano-ano pang larong nakakapagod.

–> Pati Touch the Color! Saka yung mga jackstones, hehehehe

6.) Pumunta ang mga taga- MILO sa skul niyo at namigay sila ng samples na nakalagay sa plastic cup na kasing laki nung sa maliit na ice cream. (at nagtaka ka, bakit hindi ganito ang lasa ng MILO kapag tinitimpla ko sa bahay namin?)

7.) May malaking away ang mga METAL (mga punks na naka itim) at mga HIPHOP (mga taong naka maluwang na puruntong na kahit Makita na ang dalawang bundok.) Nag-aabangan sa mall na may dalang baseball bat at kung anu-ano pang mga sandata. Sikat ang kasabihang “PUNKS NOT DEAD!� pero kung gusto mong mag play safe, pwede mong tawagin ang sarili mong HIPTAL.

–> Hahaha, mga Pisay batchmates, naaalala nyo ba yung mga naka-tambay na hiffhaff at metal sa SM North dati?

8.) Alam mo ang universal uwian song na “Uwian na!� na kinakanta sa tono na parang doon sa kinakasal. Nagpauto ka sa Batibot pero hindi sa ATBP.

9.) Nakipag-away ka para makapaglaro ng brick game. (hi-tech na yun noon)

10.) Ang “text� noon ay mga 1�x1.5� na karton na may mga drawing ng pelikulang pinoy. (at may dialog pa!) Dalawa lang ang todong sumikat na wresler, si Hulk Hogan at si Ultimate Warrior. Naniwala ka rin na namatay si Ultimate Warrior nang buhatin niya si Andre d’ Giant dahil pumutok ang mga ugat niya sa muscle.

–> OMFG! Nanonood ako ng wrestling dati! Diba may cartoons pa sina Hulk Hogan at Roddy Piper?

11.) Nagsayaw ka ng running man at kung anu-anong dance steps na nakapagpamukha sa’yong tanga sa saliw na kantang Ice Ice Baby, Wiggle It, Pray at Can’t Touch This.

12.) Hindi ka gaanong mahilig sa That’s Entertainment at pinapanood mo lang ito tuwing Sabado kung saan nagpapagandahan ng production numbers ang Monday hanggang Friday group. (at badtrip ka sa Wednesday group dahil pinakabaduy lagi ang performance nila!)

13.) Napaligaya ka ng maraming pinoy bands tulad ng Yano, Rivermaya, Grin Department, Tropical Depression, The Teeth, The Youth, After Image, Orient Pearl, The Dawn, Alamid, Wolfgang, at ang sikat na sikat na Eraserheads. (at aminin mong nakinig ka ng Siakol!)

–> Nakaka-miss ‘tong mga bandang ‘to… wag na lang yung Siakol

14.) Kilala mo ang Smokey Mountain, (first and second generation)

–> Kamag-anak ko ata yung isa eh… saka di pa matangos ilong ni Geneva noon.

15.) Hindi pa uso noon ang sapatos na may gulong. Noon, astig ka kapag umiilaw ang swelas ng sapatos mo tuwing ia-apak mo ito. Tinawag rin itong “Mighty Kid�

16.) Kung lalaki ka, sikat na sikat sa’yo ang mga larong text, jolens, dampa (mga unang anyo ng pustahan), saranggola at ang dakilang manika niyo ay si GI-JOE with alipores.

17.) Kung babae ka naman, ang mga laro mo with you’re girlfriends ay luto-lutuan, bahay-bahayan, doktor-doktoran, at kung anu-ano pang pagkukunwari . Ang dakilang manika mo ay si Barbie. (Sikat ka kung meron kang bahay, kotse at kabaong ni Barbie.)

18.) Naniwala kang original ang isang cap kapag may walong tahi sa visor nito.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

19.) Swerte ka kapag panghapon ka dahil masusubaybayan mo ang mga kapanapanabik na kaganapan sa mga paborito mong cartoon shows tuwing umaga tulad ng Cedie, Sarah, at Dog of Landers a.k.a. Nelo. (Hindi ka ba nagtataka na sa lahat ng mga bida sa cartoons na ito, si Nelo lang ang di yumaman at namatay pa ng maaga)

20.) Alam mo ang ibig sabihin ng “TIME FIRST!�

Bakit kaya ganon? Kahit sang lupalop ka ng Pilipinas naroon, eh nakaka-relate ka sa mga pinagsasasabi ko. Siguro’y dahil wala pang cable at kakaunti lang ang pagpipiliang channels kaya parepareho tayo ng pinapanood. Maaaring wala pang playstation kaya kung anu-ano na lang ang naiimbentong laro na pwedeng gawin sa kalsada o sa isang bakanteng lote. Pero kung ano man ang dahilan sa pagkaparepareho natin ng karanasan, masaya na rin akong naging bata ako sa panahong ito. Masarap alalahanin at balik-balikan. Di ba?”

:rofl:

Mabuhay ang ating henerasyon! :bday:

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I’ve been hit by a comment spam bot. I’m going to have to read up on preventing bots from commenting. I’d appreciate any advice and/or tips to get rid of them.

Edit: Grrr!!! I’ve tried the Blacklist Comment Spam Plugin and most of the suggested solutions on the WP spam support page, but Mr. onlinepoker is still here! Pft! Okay, at least I’m lucky enough that the comment isn’t about free porn or something, but it’s still annoying!

Help Markku , uber PHP coder and my WP guru! I’m going to try this and maybe even this after I take a nap.

:pft:

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Why Nerds are Unpopular

Quite lengthy, but a very good read. Comments to follow after dinner. :star:

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