Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 3:35 am

I have a set where two of the lids fit more than one pot. Listing the lids as pieces was more literally correct than any other description. It's also the number of things you have to put in the dishwasher, which is the truly important measure.

DSMatticus · Post by **DSMatticus** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 3:55 am

Lids are like accessories. It's a dick move to count them and pots together, because the resulting number isn't very useful to shoppers. if I want 4 pots I need to look at 4 to 8 piece sets, and then some of the 4-8 piece sets I look at will also not have 4 pots? What the hell. But X pots + lids is fairly clear. I am getting X pots, and the set contains some lids for those pots. Voila.

DSMatticus · Post by **DSMatticus** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:33 am

Anyway, I didn't actually look at John's latest solution in any detail before my last post. I just sort of assumed it was another flub, because the track record had not been great so far. The solution in question is (R:1/3, P:1/2, S:1/6), and this time I'm pretty sure it's right. That strategy has the correct weights to force draws against any other strategy, which means if both players are using that strategy neither can gain advantage by changing their strategy and only their own strategy. It is sort of interesting that this Nash equilibrium favors paper over rock, but in hindsight not that surprising. Rock {+3, -1} is by far the best move, which makes a scissor {+2, -3} heavy strategy an incredibly bad idea, which in turn makes paper {+1, -2} an incredibly safe play.

John Magnum · Post by **John Magnum** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 1:06 pm

Yeah, I can understand being skeptical because I configured the setup wrong so many times. No worries.

Eikre · Post by **Eikre** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:02 pm

DSMatticus wrote:Anyway, I didn't actually look at John's latest solution in any detail before my last post. I just sort of assumed it was another flub, because the track record had not been great so far. The solution in question is (R:1/3, P:1/2, S:1/6), and this time I'm pretty sure it's right. That strategy has the correct weights to force draws against any other strategy, which means if both players are using that strategy neither can gain advantage by changing their strategy and only their own strategy. It is sort of interesting that this Nash equilibrium favors paper over rock, but in hindsight not that surprising. Rock {+3, -1} is by far the best move, which makes a scissor {+2, -3} heavy strategy an incredibly bad idea, which in turn makes paper {+1, -2} an incredibly safe play.

Not actually surprised, I was going in that direction myself when I opened up the discussion. I didn't have any good math or vocabulary to describe my intuition, though, and I'm very proud to have gotten response that showed me anything new and interesting.

Count Arioch the 28th · Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:44 am

I had posted some of this on the Dragon Age thread, but I'm having computer problems and I'm wondering if anyone can help me.

I'm getting a really choppy, low framerate (like 5-10 fps, not whining because it drops from 60 to 30 in cuscenes, I would kill for it to be 30 fps at any time at this point). Also, there is something wrong with... something as everything is entirely too "shiny" (it renders any sort of light reflection as pure white so everything glows).

My computer has:

Intel i7-3630QM processor
8gb of RAM
DirectX 11
nvidia geforce gt 650m

The driver was just downloaded recently and re-installed, and while it made Skyrim bump up in framerate to a great degree, Dragon Age didn't change. I have also turned down graphical quality to low, turned off both types of anti-aliasing, and reduced the resolution. None of this has had any effect.

Is this just a factor of my computer being 2 years old (which is 100 in computer years), a factor of waiting until EA patches it (there already is a patch, it won't let me patch it because it's using the "Dragon Age Inquisition Soundtrack Folder", or some other happy horseshit), or is this something I could conceivably work around? I am not a framerate and graphics whore, I just want to play the game without feeling nauseous.

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 2:45 pm

No, the computer should be more or less able to deal with it . .
Even if Totalbisquit complained about his 2x980's suffering too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu0XRSTRayo
Probably something wonky with the game i guess.
Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the game yet?

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:36 pm

Lots of people have mentioned the shiny issue. I suspect they just fucked up a coefficent in their specular lighting calculation.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 1:36 am

If you ever want to know if your computer can actually run a game without having to pour over the tiny minutiae of system reqs, there's Can You Run It? which will automatically detect your system, compare it to reqs, and tell you whether you meet them or not, whether you meet minimum or recommended, and what specifically doesn't meet the requirements.

So, a kind of two-part question.

About a year ago, I was playing DD for a friend and her friends, and one left a vape pen in my car. She never contacted me about it, and I got all of $4 for gas money, so it's mine now. I'd been dubious about vaping for a while, but learned a bit more and just went out to get a new tank and some juice to try this out. I don't smoke much (a pack can last me a couple months), so I just went ahead and got a 0% nicotine juice. It's basically vaporized candy. Looking at stores in my area, I found that there was a huge swath of area that just didn't have a store. I have to drive 5-6 miles to get to an area that is inundated with vape shops. Then I saw how barebones the shop my friend goes to was, and wheels are turning in my head, since I'd much rather have my own business than beg for work.

My question is- could you, at least conceivably, do vapor juices that have caffeine either in addition to or instead of nicotine?

According to this article, there are four basic ingredients in vape juice- vegetable glycerine, propylene glycol, flavourings, and some amount of nicotine, maybe (as I said, I got 0% nic juice).

I would imagine caffeine could be added in the same way one adds nicotine to the juice, but I'd also imagine that someone on here actually might know.

The other question is- would inhaling caffeine as part of a vapor actually pose a health risk?

erik · Post by **erik** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 3:35 am

What I do know is that "vape juice" is only 5% worse sounding than "rape juice".

Anyway, caffeine isn't actually good for you anyway. It can fuck up your heart especially for youngins or fools who mix with alcohol or just unlucky folks on the genetic lottery.

Anyway, I just googled "inhaling caffeine" and here's top hits.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/snor ... our-heart/
http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/buzzaire.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-warns-a ... e-inhaled/

Short of it is, worst case scenario you can kill someone. Best case, you are a johnny come latey to the market.

Count Arioch the 28th · Mon Nov 24, 2014 1:36 pm

Stahlseele wrote: Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the game yet?

I just now tried that. It didn't do anything, I'm afraid.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 10:46 pm

Some guy from Farmers contacted me a bit ago, and then again a few days ago, wanting to interview me for a job. The potential employee contacting me is red flag number 1.

this is the job description he sent over.

Is this another "put in hours of work, only get paid if someone buys" scam?

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:03 pm

Well, it says it's mostly paid on commission, which is pretty standard for legitimate sales jobs. It might pay enough per sale to work out to a decent salary, though. Probably worth at least checking out how well it would pay.

As for contacting you, these days I gather it's not uncommon for people to look for resumes on job sites that fit their requirements. Or maybe a hiring manager went out for beer with someone you know and your name was mentioned.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:12 pm

I'm always pretty leery about commission only jobs. Mostly because I'm a cynic and expect few to no sales on an average day, which means putting in hours of work for no pay.

Googling the position people talk about paying hundred of dollars for certification.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 1:29 am

Prak wrote: About a year ago, I was playing DD for a friend and her friends, and one left a vape pen in my car. She never contacted me about it, and I got all of $4 for gas money, so it's mine now. I'd been dubious about vaping for a while, but learned a bit more and just went out to get a new tank and some juice to try this out. I don't smoke much (a pack can last me a couple months), so I just went ahead and got a 0% nicotine juice. It's basically vaporized candy. Looking at stores in my area, I found that there was a huge swath of area that just didn't have a store. I have to drive 5-6 miles to get to an area that is inundated with vape shops. Then I saw how barebones the shop my friend goes to was, and wheels are turning in my head, since I'd much rather have my own business than beg for work.

My question is- could you, at least conceivably, do vapor juices that have caffeine either in addition to or instead of nicotine?

According to this article, there are four basic ingredients in vape juice- vegetable glycerine, propylene glycol, flavourings, and some amount of nicotine, maybe (as I said, I got 0% nic juice).

I would imagine caffeine could be added in the same way one adds nicotine to the juice, but I'd also imagine that someone on here actually might know.

The other question is- would inhaling caffeine as part of a vapor actually pose a health risk?

Let's ask the FDA on that one.
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/ ... 294874.htm

Answer: No one fucking knows, but you probably shouldn't try it. It turns out that there aren't any studies on the safety of inhaling caffeine, even though a caffeine inhaler apparently exists.

Prak wrote:I'm always pretty leery about commission only jobs. Mostly because I'm a cynic and expect few to no sales on an average day, which means putting in hours of work for no pay.

Googling the position people talk about paying hundred of dollars for certification.

Working on Commission is a lot like selling your own stuff, only you get paid less (and have less risk). I've never done the former, but I do the latter a lot. From experience, you have good days and bad. You might get plenty of sales one day and utter shit the next. The key is that sales per day don't matter, sales per month do. It good days and bad days average out. Ideally, they should average out so that you have enough money.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 4:17 am

The great thing about commission is that working really hard makes you earn more money. The terrible thing is that if you don't work, you don't make money.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 4:51 am

fectin wrote:The great thing about commission is that working really hard makes you earn more money. The terrible thing is that if you don't work, you don't make money.

The bad thing about commission, is that in many fields it has nothing to do with how much you work and everything to do with random luck and connections.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:28 am

Kaelik wrote:
fectin wrote:The great thing about commission is that working really hard makes you earn more money. The terrible thing is that if you don't work, you don't make money.
The bad thing about commission, is that in many fields it has nothing to do with how much you work and everything to do with random luck and connections.

True. My experience is that you can't convince people to buy if they don't want to. But you can nudge impulse buyers who think its cool and provide good info to people who are actively looking for your product and already inclined to buy.

Then again, Insurance and smoking accessories are very different fields. There is a limit to the number of insurance policies most people need, but people break their glass pipes all the time.

But you know what really sucks? Microtasks. You get right now I'm doing a job where I get paid 4 cents per task to classify advertisements. Each task tales around 15-20 seconds, so I can make slightly more than minimum wage. Except that requires working non-stop for hours at a time without a break to achieve.

erik · Post by **erik** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:27 pm

I looked into those Insurance Sales jobs when I was unemployed for the majority of 2012. Insurance Sales is probably one of the most legitimate versions of those various sales places, but mostly they want expendable people who can push their wares upon friends and family. 99% of sales people in those jobs are basically a marketing method of their companies where you push their products for them upon your loved ones. I sat through a hiring pitch for one place that sold nutrition supplements. I didn't sat through the whole thing since I walked out, rathering to continue my job hunt than use this company to leech money from my family *and* pay their ridiculous startup fees. Part of their startup package was to buy like $250 of their product that you have to sell.

In sales jobs that don't either give you sales lists/areas, or have their own draw of product (like a car lot) in that they are constantly trying to get more sales people who can tap their known connections to sell them stuff (as a lot of sales is networking as Kaelik noted), and they typically burn-out, especially as they run out of contacts, and need replaced. Very, very rarely will a very motivated sales person bust through and begin generating additional networks and expand their market. I think the really good sales people can sell things to people who initially don't even want it, mostly by using a host of coercive techniques, but I think those people are manipulative assholes and I don't approve.

My brother did Cutco knives sales for a long time, late highschool and through college so I got to live in close proximity to the mindset of someone who does sales.

You have to believe that you're selling something they need or be an asshole who can trick people into buying something that they don't. I am way too open-minded to drink the koolaid and become a dogmatic proponent of some service or product, and I can't turn asshole like that, so I make a horrible sales person. My brother was able to drink the koolaid and believe Cutco knives were the greatest thing to slice bread so that is what kept him going even to the point of creating large car-magnet adverts and a large sign that went on the top of our family car (with our phone number).

Things to be wary of in a sales job:
• They don't have any methods of you getting leads other than you generating them
• They want an investment from *you* at the start
• They contact you unsolicited-
and them saying they saw your resume is unsolicited, because I will bet you mad dollars all they saw was your name and didn't even read it other than for contact info. Put out a resume as a motivated axe murderer in need of similar work and they will contact you still.
• They won't go into detail what they sell or have you do over the phone and instead want you to attend an info session

Note, not all of these may apply to Insurance Sales, but they did for the stupid Rhinomagic nutrition scammers that I had my time wasted by. When I asked what they sold the lady was evasive and she couldn't tell me what about my resume they thought made me a good fit for them when I asked. It's hard when unemployed to walk out on an interview, but they made it easy.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:04 am

I sold Oriflame as a teen. It cost me about $500 until I gave up as people
- demanded discounts,
- refused to accept partial orders, forcing me to buy the out-of-stock on-sale products the following month at list prices
- just disappeared.

There's data out there that sales jobs are less likely to bring some profit to a new entrant than actual Ponzi schemes. (It helped me to (temporarily) beat a speech impediment and find a real job, so the whole enterprise wasn't a complete failure.)

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 1:57 pm

It really depends what you're selling and what the commission is.
Also, be wary of anything that wants you to buy your sales kit. It's not a dealbreaker, just a sign that you need to look closely at it.

Personally, I would avoid makeup, dietary supplements and jewelry, but that's me. Big money is in B2B sales and in financial instruments, but that's probably harder to casually wander into.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 6:26 pm

Starmaker wrote:I sold Oriflame as a teen. It cost me about $500 until I gave up as people
- demanded discounts,
- refused to accept partial orders, forcing me to buy the out-of-stock on-sale products the following month at list prices
- just disappeared.

There's data out there that sales jobs are less likely to bring some profit to a new entrant than actual Ponzi schemes. (It helped me to (temporarily) beat a speech impediment and find a real job, so the whole enterprise wasn't a complete failure.)

As general rule, if your commission is less than 50% and they expect you to spend your own money at any point then you should just get a sales tax number and contact some wholesalers yourself. Its actually possible to make a profit that way. If you're going to spend $500 on cosmetics to resell you might as well spend it on wholesale cosmetics from china and keep the profits yourself.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 9:28 pm

The store just got in a new game called Choson. The blurb on the back can be abbreviated as 'there was just a change of dynasty, and now these guys called "Watchers" are showing up.' What I want to know is, why the hell would someone make that the game blurb? It communicates nothing about what the game or gameplay is going to be about or like.

TiaC · Post by **TiaC** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 9:36 pm

angelfromanotherpin wrote:The store just got in a new game called Choson. The blurb on the back can be abbreviated as 'there was just a change of dynasty, and now these guys called "Watchers" are showing up.' What I want to know is, why the hell would someone make that the game blurb? It communicates nothing about what the game or gameplay is going to be about or like.

Sounds like a Buffy ripoff.

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 10:14 pm

or highlander.
or the marvel guys.
or some voyeurs.