I spent the first 23 years of my life in Bloomington-Normal (21 in Bloomington, 2 in Normal). Division isn't much of a divider for the cities anymore though, Vernon is.
Normal really is a pretty normal town though, from what I've seen. It suits the name just fine.
I'm glad I escaped the B-N trap, though. Too many people come to town for school, find jobs at State Farm, and never leave. I finally took the initiative to get the hell out, though.
That's odd that there are several people from the area who decided to reply to the post, though.
Considering the almost exponential rate that technology increases, this computer won't be any faster than a personal computer in 6-8 years, and will undoubtably have its rank supplanted within probably 4 years. I fail to see why this is all that interesting, especially since I know its status will be ousted sometime in the near future, barring some sort of crazy worldwide nuclear or biochemical war.
It's not quite as "prestigious" as the guy with the world's longest fingernails or anything, that's all I'm trying to say.
The time when an individual or company makes a serious attempt at making money from retrogames is the time when the whole scene will collapse
Well you're a little late for that. Nintendo re-releases their retro titles all the time and makes a bundle. Did you hear their latest cash cow scheme? They're releasing a NES themed GBA, and releasing classic NES titles, ONE TO A CARTRIDGE, within the next couple months. They could have easily fit about three hundred classic Nintendo published titles on a single cartridge easily, but no, less waste more plastic because we can make a mint off of suckers that way.
At least Nintendo finally decided to give their handheld four face buttons. I couldn't believe they chose to leave them out of the GBA design. Especially considering the mass amount of SNES ports it received.
GBA has too limited controls to make this useful. I got plenty enough annoyed having to use a controller to write messages in Animal Crossing, I don't think I'd have much desire to do the same with my GBA.
Not to mention, in order to send the message, wouldn't you have to be in range of the other GBA? You might as well talk to each other then! The only application for this would be cheating on tests, talking shit to your buddy at a wedding/funeral/church service, or trying to find your friend in a crowded dance club.
Shenmue did this? Hmmm, I never noticed.
I'm curious, what happened if you loaded it once, but didn't resave your game later, or shut off your machine without saving? Were you just screwed?
I've got a save that's on that last (awesome) day in Shenmue that I saved so I could play it again and again at a later time, does that mean I can't use it anymore?
No, they personally might not be, but the businesses they work for (or will eventually work for, or start up) are. If an entire generation grew up on Linux, you could bet that businesses wouldn't still be using Windows for their OS software. But since Windows is all most people know, because it's all they are exposed to (whether they pay for it or not), the businesses are compelled to use their product, since even though it's expensive, it would be cheaper than training all new hires years upon years worth of experience with another OS.
I consider that game to be my 3rd favorite turn based strategy (just under civilization and warlords 2), even though I never usually play for longer than 6 hours (or about three battles) at a time (I never save the game either, for some odd reason). Still awesome though. It was way ahead of the ROTK I-IV games at least (I still haven't played any ROTK that's newer than IV).
You are right, but who said I wouldn't be more concerned with them? I don't have to be 100% focused on my customers all the time, you know (even though putting them first is very good business practice). Sometimes you have to keep an eye on your competition, and Windows' competition is Linux (customer loyalty goes a long way, but they still won't remain loyal if a competitor is obviously better in every single possible way, and you're still operating in the stone age).
Yes, they should allow pirated copies to download the security updates. They'll just be turned into proxy servers to launch further attacks if they don't, and considering hackers are starting to target Microsoft's servers itself now with these proxies, I'd think it'd be in their best interests overall.
Besides, if I owned Microsoft I wouldn't really want to give these people yet another reason to switch over to Linux.
Ah, let's take part of the sentence out that happens to match a common argument you have a prepared response for and create a straw man out of it. Good job.
The reason the people in that scenario want to see but not pay for it is not the common "I think I'm entitled to see it for free" argument. In actuality, it's the definitive Capitalist argument. The only voice a consumer has in a capitilist system, at least the only voice businesses respond to, is with dollars. The movie could be high quality, great art, win awards, critical appeal, etc., but if not enough money is made on the film, then more films of its type will not be made.
It works in the reverse also. I don't want the market to be dominated by the "summer blockbuster". I prefer more risky, dark films. But even though I don't like them, I don't mind watching them sometimes. They can be entertaining, albeit simple. But too many films are designed for that market, and I don't want to support them and encourage them to make more. So the only voice I have that the market will listen to is to not pay money for them. I might go to a free preview or download it or watch it if a friend purchased the DVD/rented it but I won't spend my own money on it (I tried downloading the camcorder versions, but those suck sooo bad it can ruin even an awesome film for you. I don't bother anymore).
Likewise, if I loved a movie, I'll go see it multiple times in the theater, even though I don't gain much with repeated viewings so close in succession, because I DO want to encourage more films of that type to be made. Case in point: I saw Kill Bill Vol. 1 two days in a row in theaters, the second time dragging my brother to it, AND I told all my friends/coworkers about it and convinced many to go see it, AND bought the DVD the first day it came out. Same with Fight Club. Same with Donnie Darko. Same with Brazil. Same with City of Lost Children. Same with Big Lebowski. Same with any movie that I really enjoyed.
This is the best I can do as a consumer.
So... you're saying that if they liked it, they'll go down to the theater it was taped from...
I don't see why the consumer would need to pay the theater the tape came from. It's not like if the tape didn't exist he was going to see the movie at that particular theater anyway.
and pay them their ticket money, then turn away and leave? That's what "try before they buy" means, you know. Before, not instead.
But if they watched it and liked it (or usually just watched enough to know if they would probably like it...those camcorder tapes are hard to sit through!) they would go to the theater and watch it for the added experience the theater can give them. For example, my friends say they're really wanting to see [Insert War Movie Title Here]. 90% of the time I hate war movies, so I don't really have any desire to see it. However, my friends would really like for me to go with them, and sometimes I really love certain war movies. So I might download it and watch some of it to see if its a war movie I'll hate, or one of the rare ones I would pay to see. If what I see looks good, I'll go with my friends on the weekend. If not, I'll say "No chance in hell" and stay home and play with my dong that night.
Summary: Camcorder copies are not a risk, because movie goers go more for the experience than the movie itself. If they only wanted to see the movie, they could easily wait to rent the DVD.
I don't understand why they're even bothering, really. The people who download the camcorder versions of the films either do so because
1)They can't afford to see the film right now / can't go to (underage) the film, yet want to see it just so they know what their friends / coworkers are talking about (Like, for example, I watch the Chappelle Show even though I hate most of it, just because my friends constantly quote it and I'm tired of not having the full picture of what they're talking about).
2) They think the movie as a whole will be trash, but it appeals to them in some way (like a funny preview, or a favorite actor is in it, or some bimbo actress they find attractive has a skin scene in it) and they want to see it yet still want to "vote with their dollars" so they don't give the Industry money for this type of film to convince them to make more.
3) "Try before they buy" They've been burned one too many times by a good preview, but shitty movie, and want to check it out before they give the industry money for tricking them with their marketing and boring the hell out of them for two hours.
Remember, the movie industry felt threatened by TV years ago and adopted several new techniques to keep movies viable. Many of these techniques still apply for why people would rather see a movie than wait for the DVD for movies they really want to see. They go almost more for the experience of the HUGE screens, widescreen, surround sound, etc. You can't get that with a shitty camcorder recorded at 4:3 aspect ratio which catches all the coughs and cell phone calls better than the in-movie sound, and has to be blasted through your speakers to make sense of what the hell the actors are saying, etc.
And even if they don't go to the movie after seeing it, there's still a REALLY good chance that if they liked the movie they will buy it when it comes out on DVD, which is more money for the execs anyway. Not to mention that in the mean time they'll be able to talk up the film to people who are more likely to see the film (which if he saw it earlier they could catch it in theaters, as opposed to lesser revenue from renting).
DVD Screeners are a much bigger threat, but mostly because it's likely to cannibalize future DVD sales.
To do a proper MAD-LIB you need to include the word type the average slashdotter is supposed to enter. As such:
Wow! I'm an average slashdotter! Let's try!
Re:This award is very existentialist!!
I myself live in Bollywood, WA and I'm so glad I live in a free country. I mean, I really feel for those poor people who don't have the triumphant amendment to protect their speech in motorcycle land.
However, I'm a bit concerned that our current astronauts might be going slightly overboard with this HMO thing. In particular, Fred Savage is really a bit worrying.
But no matter, nothing can take our candy bars away from us, thanks to our desk lamp that I'm sure everybody would defend with their lives should it ever be under threat.
Anyway, this is just my unjustified cents. Regards, Toni Holiday
I agree with you. There really should be a Bachelor of Arts in Game Design, and it really is as valid and legitimate as film and literary studies. Hell, I've studied both literature (formally) and game design (informally), and the experience is essentially the same. In fact, you could draw a lot of information gained from literary studies and apply that to game design also (you can take just about any field of study and apply it to game design, that's what makes it such an interesting field).
"Although the Times doesn't pay retail for the service, the FBI calculated Lamo's damages using the full Lexis-Nexis rate, which added up to a shocking $300,000. It was clearly a punitive figure. Had Lamo simply bought an unlimited three-month account with Lexis-Nexis rather than piggybacking off the Times, it would have cost him just $1,500."
There has been no formal study of games beyond their technical specifications.
No formal study, perhaps, but there have been several important game designers who have a lot to say on games beyond the technical specs (in fact, just about every book on Game Design -- about 8 have been published in the last two years alone -- only give lip service to technical specifications). Chris Crawford, in particular, has pretty much made a career giving lectures throughout the world on this very subject. You can read some of it here, or read his books.
His game design book actually went into the psychology of creativity, and he even had a chapter that listed the books he suggested to open your mind and give you enough of a creative background to draw from (including history books, myths, a book on "how things work", etc.)
There's a lot of discussion out here on the internet involving the non-technical aspects of game design, and if you know the right places to look, even amongst established game developers. They might not qualify as formal studies, but I'd give more weight on their analyses than "formal studies" anyway. Besides, if you want formal studies on what works in video games, start researching psychology, particularly behaviorism. There's a wealth of information in that field alone which would help game design tremendously.
Nah, I wouldn't say it is mutually exclusive. For example, you could put a 13 year old kid on the opposing side shooting your allies and you can decide whether to leave him be, or take him out yourself. Or maybe you go to this country and you see horrible atrocities being commited, ones you may be able to circumvent, but not without extreme difficulty and going way out of the way, and perhaps for little or no reward (maybe even an ass chewing by your staff sergeant for straying from your duties). It's possible to have moral situations in games without sacrificing freedom of choice.
You are fat and happy. Get rid of the net access, cell phone, and cable, trade in whatever car you have for a used civic, eat pasta and rice instead of hitting up wendy's and other restaurants, forgo the health insurance and other costly benefits. If you are still struggling then, I will agree, you are not fat and happy. But something tells me that you are.
Yeah, that's basically me, except I don't even own a car or an apartment (parents), but I do have health insurance (you're crazy to suggest that anyone doesn't need health insurance, you never know what could happen. my friend ended up with a bad kidney (and another barely working) at 21 years, and he's racked up enough hospital bills it'll take him the rest of his life to pay them off), and between school tuition and old debt, I don't have much left over. I can't get a decent IT job -- I'm a temp doing data entry for a telco currently, and I could lose my job any day -- because there is not enough demand in the area (our school produces enough IT majors to more than make up for any demand the town still has, and virtually none of it is programming, and what programming jobs there are get imported Indians or require people with 3+ years industry experience, which I don't have because I could never break into the industry).
But then again, I'm not done with school yet, so I suppose it's not supposed to be easy for me. But I don't count on getting an industry job anytime soon. I'd start my own business if I could ever save enough capital.
Hmmm... XBox sports games sold pretty decent. Not great, but better than many of their other first party titles (better than Grabbed by the Ghoulies, certainly!). The only legitimate reason I could see for them doing this is if they came to an agreement with EA to add Live support to their next season of sports titles.
OR, this could be an April Fools joke, two days early...has anyone else reported this as well? Without just stealing the story from IGN, that is?
Hehe, my friend just got one of those cell phone hip holsters the other day. I couldn't stop laughing at him. It's one thing to buy an expensive phone to show people after a phone call (which is pretty ridiculous also, but I digress), but to want to display that phone at all times is just *insert several non-PC insulting terms here*.
Slashdot Mirror
I spent the first 23 years of my life in Bloomington-Normal (21 in Bloomington, 2 in Normal). Division isn't much of a divider for the cities anymore though, Vernon is.
Normal really is a pretty normal town though, from what I've seen. It suits the name just fine.
I'm glad I escaped the B-N trap, though. Too many people come to town for school, find jobs at State Farm, and never leave. I finally took the initiative to get the hell out, though.
That's odd that there are several people from the area who decided to reply to the post, though.
What about dual pilot karts? What about two player controlled karts? Name another game that has that.
Circus Maximus, XBox/PS2. Circa 2002.
Considering the almost exponential rate that technology increases, this computer won't be any faster than a personal computer in 6-8 years, and will undoubtably have its rank supplanted within probably 4 years. I fail to see why this is all that interesting, especially since I know its status will be ousted sometime in the near future, barring some sort of crazy worldwide nuclear or biochemical war.
It's not quite as "prestigious" as the guy with the world's longest fingernails or anything, that's all I'm trying to say.
The time when an individual or company makes a serious attempt at making money from retrogames is the time when the whole scene will collapse
Well you're a little late for that. Nintendo re-releases their retro titles all the time and makes a bundle. Did you hear their latest cash cow scheme? They're releasing a NES themed GBA, and releasing classic NES titles, ONE TO A CARTRIDGE, within the next couple months. They could have easily fit about three hundred classic Nintendo published titles on a single cartridge easily, but no, less waste more plastic because we can make a mint off of suckers that way.
At least Nintendo finally decided to give their handheld four face buttons. I couldn't believe they chose to leave them out of the GBA design. Especially considering the mass amount of SNES ports it received.
GBA has too limited controls to make this useful. I got plenty enough annoyed having to use a controller to write messages in Animal Crossing, I don't think I'd have much desire to do the same with my GBA. Not to mention, in order to send the message, wouldn't you have to be in range of the other GBA? You might as well talk to each other then! The only application for this would be cheating on tests, talking shit to your buddy at a wedding/funeral/church service, or trying to find your friend in a crowded dance club.
Shenmue did this? Hmmm, I never noticed. I'm curious, what happened if you loaded it once, but didn't resave your game later, or shut off your machine without saving? Were you just screwed? I've got a save that's on that last (awesome) day in Shenmue that I saved so I could play it again and again at a later time, does that mean I can't use it anymore?
No, they personally might not be, but the businesses they work for (or will eventually work for, or start up) are. If an entire generation grew up on Linux, you could bet that businesses wouldn't still be using Windows for their OS software. But since Windows is all most people know, because it's all they are exposed to (whether they pay for it or not), the businesses are compelled to use their product, since even though it's expensive, it would be cheaper than training all new hires years upon years worth of experience with another OS.
I consider that game to be my 3rd favorite turn based strategy (just under civilization and warlords 2), even though I never usually play for longer than 6 hours (or about three battles) at a time (I never save the game either, for some odd reason). Still awesome though. It was way ahead of the ROTK I-IV games at least (I still haven't played any ROTK that's newer than IV).
You are right, but who said I wouldn't be more concerned with them? I don't have to be 100% focused on my customers all the time, you know (even though putting them first is very good business practice). Sometimes you have to keep an eye on your competition, and Windows' competition is Linux (customer loyalty goes a long way, but they still won't remain loyal if a competitor is obviously better in every single possible way, and you're still operating in the stone age).
Yes, they should allow pirated copies to download the security updates. They'll just be turned into proxy servers to launch further attacks if they don't, and considering hackers are starting to target Microsoft's servers itself now with these proxies, I'd think it'd be in their best interests overall.
Besides, if I owned Microsoft I wouldn't really want to give these people yet another reason to switch over to Linux.
I'd only give up my password for dark chocolate.
Ah, let's take part of the sentence out that happens to match a common argument you have a prepared response for and create a straw man out of it. Good job.
The reason the people in that scenario want to see but not pay for it is not the common "I think I'm entitled to see it for free" argument. In actuality, it's the definitive Capitalist argument. The only voice a consumer has in a capitilist system, at least the only voice businesses respond to, is with dollars. The movie could be high quality, great art, win awards, critical appeal, etc., but if not enough money is made on the film, then more films of its type will not be made.
It works in the reverse also. I don't want the market to be dominated by the "summer blockbuster". I prefer more risky, dark films. But even though I don't like them, I don't mind watching them sometimes. They can be entertaining, albeit simple. But too many films are designed for that market, and I don't want to support them and encourage them to make more. So the only voice I have that the market will listen to is to not pay money for them. I might go to a free preview or download it or watch it if a friend purchased the DVD/rented it but I won't spend my own money on it (I tried downloading the camcorder versions, but those suck sooo bad it can ruin even an awesome film for you. I don't bother anymore).
Likewise, if I loved a movie, I'll go see it multiple times in the theater, even though I don't gain much with repeated viewings so close in succession, because I DO want to encourage more films of that type to be made. Case in point: I saw Kill Bill Vol. 1 two days in a row in theaters, the second time dragging my brother to it, AND I told all my friends/coworkers about it and convinced many to go see it, AND bought the DVD the first day it came out. Same with Fight Club. Same with Donnie Darko. Same with Brazil. Same with City of Lost Children. Same with Big Lebowski. Same with any movie that I really enjoyed.
This is the best I can do as a consumer.
So... you're saying that if they liked it, they'll go down to the theater it was taped from...
I don't see why the consumer would need to pay the theater the tape came from. It's not like if the tape didn't exist he was going to see the movie at that particular theater anyway.
and pay them their ticket money, then turn away and leave? That's what "try before they buy" means, you know. Before, not instead.
But if they watched it and liked it (or usually just watched enough to know if they would probably like it...those camcorder tapes are hard to sit through!) they would go to the theater and watch it for the added experience the theater can give them. For example, my friends say they're really wanting to see [Insert War Movie Title Here]. 90% of the time I hate war movies, so I don't really have any desire to see it. However, my friends would really like for me to go with them, and sometimes I really love certain war movies. So I might download it and watch some of it to see if its a war movie I'll hate, or one of the rare ones I would pay to see. If what I see looks good, I'll go with my friends on the weekend. If not, I'll say "No chance in hell" and stay home and play with my dong that night.
Summary: Camcorder copies are not a risk, because movie goers go more for the experience than the movie itself. If they only wanted to see the movie, they could easily wait to rent the DVD.
I don't understand why they're even bothering, really. The people who download the camcorder versions of the films either do so because
1)They can't afford to see the film right now / can't go to (underage) the film, yet want to see it just so they know what their friends / coworkers are talking about (Like, for example, I watch the Chappelle Show even though I hate most of it, just because my friends constantly quote it and I'm tired of not having the full picture of what they're talking about).
2) They think the movie as a whole will be trash, but it appeals to them in some way (like a funny preview, or a favorite actor is in it, or some bimbo actress they find attractive has a skin scene in it) and they want to see it yet still want to "vote with their dollars" so they don't give the Industry money for this type of film to convince them to make more.
3) "Try before they buy" They've been burned one too many times by a good preview, but shitty movie, and want to check it out before they give the industry money for tricking them with their marketing and boring the hell out of them for two hours.
Remember, the movie industry felt threatened by TV years ago and adopted several new techniques to keep movies viable. Many of these techniques still apply for why people would rather see a movie than wait for the DVD for movies they really want to see. They go almost more for the experience of the HUGE screens, widescreen, surround sound, etc. You can't get that with a shitty camcorder recorded at 4:3 aspect ratio which catches all the coughs and cell phone calls better than the in-movie sound, and has to be blasted through your speakers to make sense of what the hell the actors are saying, etc.
And even if they don't go to the movie after seeing it, there's still a REALLY good chance that if they liked the movie they will buy it when it comes out on DVD, which is more money for the execs anyway. Not to mention that in the mean time they'll be able to talk up the film to people who are more likely to see the film (which if he saw it earlier they could catch it in theaters, as opposed to lesser revenue from renting).
DVD Screeners are a much bigger threat, but mostly because it's likely to cannibalize future DVD sales.
To do a proper MAD-LIB you need to include the word type the average slashdotter is supposed to enter. As such:
Wow! I'm an average slashdotter! Let's try!
Re:This award is very existentialist!!
I myself live in Bollywood, WA and I'm so glad I live in a free country. I mean, I really feel for those poor people who don't have the triumphant amendment to protect their speech in motorcycle land.
However, I'm a bit concerned that our current astronauts might be going slightly overboard with this HMO thing. In particular, Fred Savage is really a bit worrying.
But no matter, nothing can take our candy bars away from us, thanks to our desk lamp that I'm sure everybody would defend with their lives should it ever be under threat.
Anyway, this is just my unjustified cents.
Regards, Toni Holiday
I agree with you. There really should be a Bachelor of Arts in Game Design, and it really is as valid and legitimate as film and literary studies. Hell, I've studied both literature (formally) and game design (informally), and the experience is essentially the same. In fact, you could draw a lot of information gained from literary studies and apply that to game design also (you can take just about any field of study and apply it to game design, that's what makes it such an interesting field).
I wonder if the Times will ever contact Lamo for an interview...
You're right. From the Wired interview:
r .html
"Although the Times doesn't pay retail for the service, the FBI calculated Lamo's damages using the full Lexis-Nexis rate, which added up to a shocking $300,000. It was clearly a punitive figure. Had Lamo simply bought an unlimited three-month account with Lexis-Nexis rather than piggybacking off the Times, it would have cost him just $1,500."
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.04/hacker_p
No one has looked into /why/ pacman was so popular...
No one? Try reading Scott Miller's The Genius of Pac Man
There has been no formal study of games beyond their technical specifications.
No formal study, perhaps, but there have been several important game designers who have a lot to say on games beyond the technical specs (in fact, just about every book on Game Design -- about 8 have been published in the last two years alone -- only give lip service to technical specifications). Chris Crawford, in particular, has pretty much made a career giving lectures throughout the world on this very subject. You can read some of it here, or read his books.
His game design book actually went into the psychology of creativity, and he even had a chapter that listed the books he suggested to open your mind and give you enough of a creative background to draw from (including history books, myths, a book on "how things work", etc.)
There's a lot of discussion out here on the internet involving the non-technical aspects of game design, and if you know the right places to look, even amongst established game developers. They might not qualify as formal studies, but I'd give more weight on their analyses than "formal studies" anyway. Besides, if you want formal studies on what works in video games, start researching psychology, particularly behaviorism. There's a wealth of information in that field alone which would help game design tremendously.
Nah, I wouldn't say it is mutually exclusive. For example, you could put a 13 year old kid on the opposing side shooting your allies and you can decide whether to leave him be, or take him out yourself. Or maybe you go to this country and you see horrible atrocities being commited, ones you may be able to circumvent, but not without extreme difficulty and going way out of the way, and perhaps for little or no reward (maybe even an ass chewing by your staff sergeant for straying from your duties). It's possible to have moral situations in games without sacrificing freedom of choice.
Actually, I usually eat with chopsticks. Chopsticks held with my left hand.
You are fat and happy. Get rid of the net access, cell phone, and cable, trade in whatever car you have for a used civic, eat pasta and rice instead of hitting up wendy's and other restaurants, forgo the health insurance and other costly benefits. If you are still struggling then, I will agree, you are not fat and happy. But something tells me that you are.
Yeah, that's basically me, except I don't even own a car or an apartment (parents), but I do have health insurance (you're crazy to suggest that anyone doesn't need health insurance, you never know what could happen. my friend ended up with a bad kidney (and another barely working) at 21 years, and he's racked up enough hospital bills it'll take him the rest of his life to pay them off), and between school tuition and old debt, I don't have much left over. I can't get a decent IT job -- I'm a temp doing data entry for a telco currently, and I could lose my job any day -- because there is not enough demand in the area (our school produces enough IT majors to more than make up for any demand the town still has, and virtually none of it is programming, and what programming jobs there are get imported Indians or require people with 3+ years industry experience, which I don't have because I could never break into the industry).
But then again, I'm not done with school yet, so I suppose it's not supposed to be easy for me. But I don't count on getting an industry job anytime soon. I'd start my own business if I could ever save enough capital.
Hmmm... XBox sports games sold pretty decent. Not great, but better than many of their other first party titles (better than Grabbed by the Ghoulies, certainly!). The only legitimate reason I could see for them doing this is if they came to an agreement with EA to add Live support to their next season of sports titles. OR, this could be an April Fools joke, two days early...has anyone else reported this as well? Without just stealing the story from IGN, that is?
It's bad manners to eat with your left hand? Fuck that! I'm not changing which hand I eat with just to be "polite".
Hehe, my friend just got one of those cell phone hip holsters the other day. I couldn't stop laughing at him. It's one thing to buy an expensive phone to show people after a phone call (which is pretty ridiculous also, but I digress), but to want to display that phone at all times is just *insert several non-PC insulting terms here*.