themeatbridge

themeatbridge t1_j9tkwqt wrote

Reply to Should I do this to my Super Nintendo? by ImProbablyInJail

Edit: Oh fuck me for skimming the post. You said "Super" which means I'm an idiot. Yes, the Super NES had two little plastic tabs that prevent you from inserting Super Famicom carts. I recommend flush-cutters over pliers, or again you can just buy an adapter if you're concerned about breaking the plastic.

The metal tabs are the contacts in the cartridge slot. In the NES, there is a known defect where they flex away from the carts with use. If you remember blowing into your old carts, that's because Nintendo of America was aware of the problem but did not want to issue a recall.

The solution that worked most of the time was to remove the cart and reinsert the game, hoping it would make better contact the second or third try. But they didn't want to tell people that, so they social engineered a solution by suggesting it was dust on the terminals.

Pulling the tabs a bit to bend them out improves contact with the terminals, but be warned you run the risk of breaking the tab off and destroying your Nintendo. I don't recommend doing it unless you frequently get the purple flashing screen of sadness. There are also some hobbyists that will do this repair for you (in exchange for money, of course).

The Famicom had a different slot design that did not suffer the same problem. In fact, it has a completely different sized carts with fewer terminals. You cannot (easily) modify an American NES to fit Famicom games by messing with the metal tabs.

You can get an adapter, or even make one by acquiring and sacrificing specific NES carts that were basically Famicom internals with an adapter built in. I would recommend buying a proper adapter and skip the DIY stuff. Famicom games will play on the NES with no modification on the system required.

TL/DR: No, you shouldn't do that, because that's not how you play Famicom games on an NES. You might want to do it if you get purple screen.

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themeatbridge t1_j9pjab9 wrote

Reply to comment by Opening_Resort_25 in We are journalists from EdSource and we want to answer questions on what parents and teachers need to know to help kids learn to read by EdSourceToday

The short version is that it doesn't actually help kids learn to read. In fact, it teaches them not to read, and try to use other clues to guess what a word might be. Look at the picture, look at the sentence, and think about what word would fit in that space. The trouble with that strategy is that there are usually many words that fit any given spot in a sentence, and focusing on the cues distracts from the word itself.

As a part of a strategy, it's not terrible if a kid looks at the picture for help, but as a standalone strategy, it's counterproductive. It's been debunked for like 40 years.

But selling educational books is a massive business that isn't run by scientists or educators. Between the politics, corruption, and general indifference, it was never profitable to change the approach. So kids have been taught not to read for 40 years.

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themeatbridge t1_j9mprk3 wrote

Reply to comment by nowihaveaname in Reports of active shooter at Naval Air Station Whidbey Is in Oak Harbor. by nicksatdown

Thank you for this. I was wondering how many places the article would mention without actually providing a useful reference for people who aren't from there.

Edit to add:

  1. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island

  2. Oak Harbor

  3. Skagit Valley College Campus

  4. in the vicinity of building 385 (base operations),

  5. near the tower.

  6. Ault Field

I fully expected the next paragraph to say "Over there, next to that old tree where everybody waits for the bus, between the trash can and the spot where I got a handy from Peggy Whitaker."

Edit because I missed one:

Base security has responded to the location.

Oh, of course. The location. Where it happened. At Ault Field, near the tower, in the vicinity of building 385, which of course we all know is base operations but I'll mention it in case you're new. It was close to the Skagit Valley College Campus, at Oak Harbor on the Naval Station Airbase on Whidbey Island. There's an active shooter, so I suppose if you don't know where all that is, then you're probably safe.

Final edit: My apologies to anyone actually named Peggy Whitaker. I picked that name at random, and any resemblance to persons living or deceased is purely coincidental.

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themeatbridge t1_j8nrnh5 wrote

Reply to comment by UtahUtopia in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow

>It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

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themeatbridge t1_j8nrfyb wrote

Reply to comment by jusmellow in TIL that the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night" was the opening line to an actual novel published in 1830, but runs on for another 51 words: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which..." by dylancatlow

This is a gold mine.

The 2021 winner in the Children's category:

>Despite an exhaustive search, rescuers were unable to locate young Christopher Robin in the Hundred Acre Wood before hypothermia took him, and the animals he once called friends descended upon his corpse like a silly old bear upon a pot of hunny.

>Paul Kollas, Orlando, FL

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themeatbridge t1_j47qcu0 wrote

Reply to comment by UndesiredEffect in UFO reports rise to 510, not aliens but still a threat to US by stevemilk

It's like the birthday paradox. If you have 60 people in a room, it's almost guaranteed that two people will share a birthday. But if you are in that room, it's unlikely that you will share a birthday with anyone.

Likewise, in the vast universe, through all of time, it is almost certain that the conditions for life resulted in space-faring intelligence, and because spacetime is so big, it's even likely that two of those travelers crossed paths. It's likely happened many times.

But also because of the size of spacetime, it is extremely unlikely to ever cross paths with another space traveling species in our lifetime. In terms of odds, imagine the odds of a baby being born with a birthmark in the shape of the winning lottery numbers, and then divide those odds by the limit approaching infinity.

So yes it is absurd to suggest that a weird thing in the sky must be from another planet, when we know that there are other terrestrial people working on building covert flying machines trying to spy on us.

It would be like watching your roommate walk over to the thermostat and turn on the air conditioner, and then saying "Brrr, it just got chilly. Must be a ghost in here."

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themeatbridge t1_j4685ir wrote

Reply to UFO reports rise to 510, not aliens but still a threat to US by stevemilk

>ODNI said in its report that efforts to destigmatize reporting and emphasize that the objects may pose a threat likely contributed to the additional reports.

Essentially, there are new craft and new technologies available to more people at lower costs, and we have a lot of enemies. If you see something in the sky or in the water or driving around on the ground, report it. Nobody is going to call you a kook unless you insist it was aliens who abducted you to do butt stuff.

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