GeekNights Thursday - Busses

MrPeriod

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss busses, possibly the worst form of transportation. In the news, the pirate bay has been shut down again, this time possibly for good, dim people are suing Adblock, adblocking software is escalating the war on ads (though this is not new to people who actually know things), and Internt ads are mostly clicked on by bots likely run by organized crime, making the whole thing a giant money laundering scam. (See also some free-to-play games).

• Malcolm X on Front Page Challenge - 1965
• Jackie Chan - How to Do Action Comedy

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Matt

Listened to first half of this episode on my commute. Just sent you boys and invite to a new source for your TV shows.

George Patches

I rode the Bolt Bus one time to visit you guys once. I didn't live as far out in Virginia as I live now, but it took me 6.5 hours from my door in Tysons Corner to your door in Queens, and it only take 4.5 (4 hours if I push 80 the whole whole way) to drive. The seats were also built for someone who was 5'8" at best so I was supremely uncomfortable. Even though I had a return ticket on the bus, I paid to ride the Amtrak home. Then for a long while I only drove, but now NYC has decided they fucking hate cars coming in from the outside and the tolls are getting too expensive. Might be driving to Hamilton and riding NJT from now on.

Rym

The bus for us takes about a long as driving to most conventions. But that's because.

1. It picks us up close to our apartments
2. It drops us of basically at the conventions themselves
3. It takes the same roads we would take
4. It leaves every half-hour or hour (sometimes more), so we basically leave whenever we want.

Cremlian

George Patches said:

Might be driving to Hamilton and riding NJT from now on.

This is what I do, except when I go to Princeton Junction because I'm a Moron.

Coldguy

Cremlian said:

George Patches said:

Might be driving to Hamilton and riding NJT from now on.

This is what I do.

Churba

Busses here are usually pretty good, but that's mostly because often they don't follow the same roads we do, they mostly run on their own dedicated routes called Busways, that go at freeway speed almost all the time, and regular traffic can't access. Once you get out to the suburbs, there's rarely traffic to speak of that would slow them down.

2bfree

Most buses I've been on recently had an automated voice that announced major bus stops.

Ikatono

I pretty much only take buses when I'm traveling at least one state away, but it typically goes pretty well. Someone charters private buses between RIT and MA every break and I always take them. Fuck Greyhound though. Fuck everything about Greyhound. I'm not going to pay almost a hundred dollars to spend 11.5 hours traveling from Boston to Rochester and also get sick. And there's no goddamn reason to charge $15 or whatever if the name on the credit card doesn't match the name of the traveler. Die in a fire. /rant

EDIT: Apparently fake HTML tags are still hidden.

Coldguy

As for your comment on genericon, I will bring my portable table top convention if someone has space for me to sleep/get a shower.

TheWhaleShark

Oh, you guys are heading to Genericon? I think we're already putting up Karl, but I might be able to find crash space for other people.

Apreche

TheWhaleShark said:

Oh, you guys are heading to Genericon? I think we're already putting up Karl, but I might be able to find crash space for other people.

We're considering it. They've invited us every year, but we never went. Is it worth going?

TheWhaleShark

Apreche said:

TheWhaleShark said:

Oh, you guys are heading to Genericon? I think we're already putting up Karl, but I might be able to find crash space for other people.

We're considering it. They've invited us every year, but we never went. Is it worth going?

If they pay for it? Sure. Otherwise, not so much.

I mean, I guess it's a place where they have tables and you can play a bunch of games. But I wouldn't pay for it.

Rym

TheWhaleShark said:

If they pay for it? Sure. Otherwise, not so much.

I mean, I guess it's a place where they have tables and you can play a bunch of games. But I wouldn't pay for it.

A lot of cons are willing to pay for us. Offered money has basically no bearing on whether we go or not. It comes down to:

1. Do we WANT to go? (usually no)

2. Are other of our friends going who we can't see easily another way?

3. Are the panel rooms large and well attended enough to be worth it?

4. Do we owe someone a favor and have to attend/perform?

5. Will we reach a reasonably large new audience for GeekNights?

6. Is it a pony con?

7. Does it overlap with a PAX?

Banta

I think number seven should be higher on your list.

Rym

Banta said:

I think number seven should be higher on your list.

The list is in no particular order. ;^)

Victor Frost

Conventions have started offering me stuff to perform but, since I love performing, none of it really matters unless it lowers the financial burden on my attendance.

Apreche

Rym

That video... That made my day.

"You're mad because you got a bullshit job, and you're late to that bullshit job."

Apreche

Rym said:

That video... That made my day.

"You're mad because you got a bullshit job, and you're late to that bullshit job."

NYC 4 life.

TheWhaleShark

Rym said:

TheWhaleShark said:

If they pay for it? Sure. Otherwise, not so much.

I mean, I guess it's a place where they have tables and you can play a bunch of games. But I wouldn't pay for it.

A lot of cons are willing to pay for us. Offered money has basically no bearing on whether we go or not. It comes down to:

1. Do we WANT to go? (usually no)

2. Are other of our friends going who we can't see easily another way?

3. Are the panel rooms large and well attended enough to be worth it?

4. Do we owe someone a favor and have to attend/perform?

5. Will we reach a reasonably large new audience for GeekNights?

6. Is it a pony con?

7. Does it overlap with a PAX?

I guess #5 is the most compelling reason to go. Depends on your definition of "reasonably large," but RPI is full of your target demographic.

Dazzle369

http://oldpiratebay.org/

spikespiguel1

The San Diego MTS is ok as long as you sit towards the front of the buss or trolly. The further back you go the smellier the people are and the more likely you are to see napping hobos. The police regularly sweep the trolly stops and pick up a surprising number of meth heads despite it being the twentyet time they've done it. This is why I carry hand sanitizer when I commute... And two knives.

Also despite the fact that I can use the MTS to get to any job I need to it hard to convince people in this town of that and hire me.

ninjarabbi

Do they really ask specifically if you have a car? Most of the time I only see reliable transportation as requirement unless its for a job the specifically requires a car.

Victor Frost

Dazzle369 said:

http://oldpiratebay.org/

The font makes it look like the text says "Keep on beliebing".

spikespiguel1

ninjarabbi said:

Do they really ask specifically if you have a car? Most of the time I only see reliable transportation as requirement unless its for a job the specifically requires a car.

The last guy I talked to specifically asked if I had a car, and I had to swear up and down thar I could get places and the car situation was not an obstacle. I thought I was going to have to show the guy the buss and trolly routs on my phone.

sK0pe

Imagine if there was someone around like Malcolm X today, on Fox news.

Jack Draigo

ninjarabbi said:

Do they really ask specifically if you have a car? Most of the time I only see reliable transportation as requirement unless its for a job the specifically requires a car.

Most employers don't consider public transportation to be "reliable" but if you can prove they didn't hire you because you have to use public transportation then you've got a case for discrimination.

Starfox

Rym, in your hypothetical money laundering app microtransaction scenario, how would you actually execute it? So you've got your drug cash, how do you turn it into digital cash to buy your fake app stuff?

Apreche

Starfox said:

Rym, in your hypothetical money laundering app microtransaction scenario, how would you actually execute it? So you've got your drug cash, how do you turn it into digital cash to buy your fake app stuff?

1) Sell drugs -> Get dirty money
2) Go to a bunch of different stores and buy iTunes/Google Play gift cards with cash.
3) Create a whole bunch of different accounts that you access via VPN.
4) Create a crappy game app that costs money and has in-app purchases. It will probably profit on its own.
5) Make sure the company that has the game app is in a country with a good tax situation.
6) use all the gift cards to buy things in that app, thus cleaning it and sending it to the right place.

Starfox

Ah, the gift cards. I forget you can buy e-store stuff like that, because I never buy e-store stuff.