[X-Vector]

I'm watching the first episode of FMC on Youtube and I don't think I've ever seen and heard a presenter as lousy as Henry Rollins, he's absolutely intolerable.
It almost makes his 'acting' in The Chase look good.

[Mikko]

Was driving to my grandpa's funeral two days ago when a major snowstorm hit the country: everything was covered in snow in a matter of minutes. I saw three accidents on the way because people were caught off guard, still driving with summer tires. We usually get first snow in October but it's rather modest and melts away right away but this is totally different. Looks pretty though.

[dnskill]

Spoiler

[Lunick]

I really wish we could have gotten this for PC by now :/

[t800]

Who is that goofy looking guy? That moustache looks familiar. Isn he long lost cousin of Wario?

[High Treason]

Good trolls don't have to explain that their posts are meant to be annoying. That thing didn't work the first time, so why you changed your mind I do not know.

The effect it has on me is a sense of pride at not paying a TV License.

[Hendricks266]

The Comedy God, on 28 October 2012 - 11:25 AM, said:

90% of members here needed that to be explained.

Then why did you post the thing three times?

[MetHy]

.

[Mikko]

That's an interesting point.

[Mark]

High Treason: I had to do a google search on what a TV license is. How is that law enforced? Are there controllable chips in your TV's to block programming or what?

[Mikko]

In Finland, you have to pay a TV license if you have a TV at home. If you don't pay, they may send inspectors to bang your door to check whether you actually own a TV or not. However, no law obliges you to let the inspector in so it's easy to avoid paying the license (which I haven't paid in six years).

[MetHy]

What's bullshit is that, if you own a TV you have to pay that. What if I never watch TV programs but only use the TV to play video games or DVDs ?

[Mikko]

Technically it's not the TV that qualifies you for the license but rather any device capable of receiving digital transmissions. So having an analog TV with no digibox frees you of the license obligation.

[High Treason]

With the analog TVs there was a man with a detector... I do not know what it detected and I've often wondered how it worked. Technically, you only have to pay it for BBC stations. Provided I don't watch live broadcasts I should be OK, otherwise I'd be facing a huge fine. I only have analog TVs anyway, they exist for playing consoles or DVDs on. They were trying to make you need the license for the internet though and I suspect one day I'll be forced to pay it again.

Incidentally, we also have a radio license that is required if more than one person in the house can hear the same radio, this one is not enforced at all though and I don't know anyone with a license for that, except for some businesses which get a different type of license and it almost makes sense there in a corporate sort of way.

[Fox]

Mikko_Sandt, on 28 October 2012 - 01:53 PM, said:

In Finland, you have to pay a TV license if you have a TV at home. If you don't pay, they may send inspectors to bang your door to check whether you actually own a TV or not. However, no law obliges you to let the inspector in so it's easy to avoid paying the license (which I haven't paid in six years).

That sounds stupid and pointless. And what is the purpose of those taxes?

[Jimmy]

To answer Cody here,

Cody said:

Where the fuck is Captain Awesome when you need him?

Getting drunk and passing out on somebody's porch, probably.

[The Commander]

Fuck, oh well.

[Kathy]

Fox, on 28 October 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

That sounds stupid and pointless. And what is the purpose of those taxes?

Because someone has to pay for national television, I guess.

[Mikko]

Fox, on 28 October 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

That sounds stupid and pointless. And what is the purpose of those taxes?

As said, to fund the national public broadcasting company.

Of course, a civilized, free country shouldn't have a public broadcasting company (except for emergency transmissions).

[Hank]

I like Mikko_Sandt's new avatar

[Hendricks266]

Mikko_Sandt, on 29 October 2012 - 09:04 AM, said:

Of course, a civilized, free country shouldn't have a public broadcasting company (except for emergency transmissions).

The Learning Channel was started as a joint initiative between NASA and the Health Department. Then it was privatized. Today, "TLC" shows Honey Boo Boo. #SavePBS

[Micky C]

I just bought FEAR on steam for $2.50, I won't be able to play it for a month or so, but I hope it's good.

[Mblackwell]

Hendricks266, on 29 October 2012 - 05:06 PM, said:

The Learning Channel was started as a joint initiative between NASA and the Health Department. Then it was privatized. Today, "TLC" shows Honey Boo Boo. #SavePBS

In the United States at least Public Broadcasting doesn't mean "Government Controlled". It means that the government gives a small cash infusion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting who then divides it up between member stations, who then cover the rest of their costs through donations. This is done as a public service to provide (ostensibly educational/informational) television to Americans who otherwise may not have access to similar programming. Additionally the lack of profit motive changes the type of programming you see on the station.

[Jeff]

Hendricks266, on 29 October 2012 - 05:06 PM, said:

The Learning Channel was started as a joint initiative between NASA and the Health Department. Then it was privatized. Today, "TLC" shows Honey Boo Boo. #SavePBS

TLC had some really good stuff on back in the 1990s. Now it's all reality TV and such.

[Mikko]

Mblackwell, on 29 October 2012 - 05:31 PM, said:

Additionally the lack of profit motive changes the type of programming you see on the station.

Yeah and can easily turn into pro-establishment political motives instead. The Finnish public broadcasting company, for example, was infested with Communists during the Cold War; some of that legacy still lives on. Just goes to show how any government-controlled channel can easily be made to serve particular political interests at taxpayers' expense. Thankfully the PBS is a drop in the ocean in a market controlled by private media companies.

[dnskill]

Mikko_Sandt, on 30 October 2012 - 02:44 AM, said:

The Finnish public broadcasting company, for example, was infested with Communists during the Cold War; some of that legacy still lives on.

Wow, that's crazy. How exactly does the legacy still live on though?

America has propaganda, as does every country, but I didn't know there would be communism ads in Finland. American propaganda is simple, they hide it within ads, to make it less obvious than it was in WW2 (and prior to WW2). Like for example the Obama ads thrash out Romney, but Romney does the exact same thing, and they gain supporters for it. This is nothing new of course, all politicians do this, but it is still propaganda. Honestly, I think it'd be better for them to still use WW2 styled propaganda, it seemed to up everyone's spirits a little more than hearing someone shoot out insults to the opposition and then say "This message is approved by John Doe".

[Jeff]

For the next couple days the fire alarms in my building are being tested. It's going to be hell for my cat. I feel really bad for him.

[Ronin]

Jeff, on 30 October 2012 - 12:44 PM, said:

For the next couple days the fire alarms in my building are being tested. It's going to be hell for my cat. I feel really bad for him.

I feel bad for you, few sounds more annoying. You could always tape the cats ears down or put a helmet on him.

[Micky C]

I think one of the main reasons why Australia's education system is sliding down the international ladder is because they simply teach you too much irrelevant junk (the other being classes catering to the lowest common denominator).

I have a 190 page book of notes for 1 semester of university maths, and I've spent the last 2 days going through it, sorting out the crap, and managed to get only 11 pages of actual useful stuff from it! I mean WTF?
The crap I'm talking about is this:

• Teaching you a long, difficult method of solving something that takes ages to teach and understand, only to later give you a much simpler and faster method of doing the same thing that makes everything else redundant.
• Spending half the time giving long winded proofs for every single theorem or equation. I'm an engineer. I don't care how something was proven; just tell me what it does and that it actually works and I'm good to go. I don't apologize for that attitude.

Everyone keeps complaining that there aren't enough students going on to do maths. Well maybe if they actually made the content relevant and interesting without 90% of the bloated shit I think it'd be not just more appealing, but easier as well.

[Jeff]

Ripemanewone, on 31 October 2012 - 03:37 PM, said:

I feel bad for you, few sounds more annoying. You could always tape the cats ears down or put a helmet on him.

He hid under my bed for two days or so, but he's fine now. The nightmare is over.