The overflow servers are a great solution to the problem of overload on an MMO launch. For the next few weeks, they are going to have a vast majority of the players in the same 2 or 3 zones. Within a month or so, those starting area load will drop significantly. It's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better…

Haven't experienced any losses, but I did start ignoring the main server if I was in the middle of a dynamic event. It shouldn't be much of an issue once people start venturing out of the starting areas.

I bought it Friday afternoon and was playing Saturday, so yea, same idea. I'm actually curious to see what the split ends up looking like on who bought it before Tuesday and who bought it after.

That's the one. Thanks.

Speaking of realistic, I found a screenshot on my old hard drive from a Source mod that I can't remember the name of. It was a USA vs. Terrorists type deal but it focused on realism. No HUD, no crosshairs, one shot kills. I really wish I could remember what it was called, loved that game.

I think it's nice that the youngins have a new CS iteration to call their own. I first saw CS back in Beta 5 and it changed my gaming future. I don't plan on playing GO, but I hope it brings the CS experience to new players.

Bravo. That made me laugh way more than I expected it to. Something about "karate guy."

If only, Soniku, if only. If someone really did spend all the time you describe becoming informed, they would most certainly realize that you need more than two people to choose from. Oh well.

* The following comment in no way reflects my personal opinions about who is a better candidate *

"Wait, I turned left 3 times... shouldn't I be going right by now? Whoaaaa"

Even if you were in sight of a camera, how long would it actually take for the cops to contact the security people for the mall, pull up the footage, and then ID you? I feel like that's at least 10-15 minutes if you catch them off guard. Plenty of time to lose your tail and exit somewhere else.

Exactly. Luckily, 7 isn't going anywhere.

The money is going to a non-profit that is already prepared to take care of all of those things. The Oatmeal is just helping raise the money.

Probably just more demand than they can handle. Electricity can be thought of as a fluid, and if you have people trying to use more than you can generate, problems will ensue. This is going to be a pretty big problem in the next few decades as more of the world catches up to the electricity demands of modern society.

There are a lot of computers and separate networks in a plant. The controllers aren't usually connected to the internet. The most they would get would be the connection that the dispatch has to control the megawatt demand remotely. But even there, the local operator can just kick the system into manual control.

I build simulators for power plants, and from what I've seen, the plant has internet connectivity with strict firewalls, but the controllers and DCS machines are most likely not directly connected to the internet. So sure, you can mine for sensitive information, but you can't take control of the plant.

Depends on the power plant. A fossil (coal/oil/natural gas) plant in the US? Not likely that a contractor has a background check. But those contractors don't go anywhere near the control room. The best they could do is be in the server room where all the controllers are kept.

"So he decided to call the police."

Valid point.

I realize the past few seasons (since Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph left) have been pretty bad, I was just commenting that if he hasn't seen it enough to recognize one of the main cast members, then he probably isn't in a good position to say it is awful. But I guess watching skits doesn't necessarily mean you know…