Mediocre LabStream: The Finale – 6/26 @ 12:00pm EDT
16
The Mediocre LabStream returns for the final time in our current format. But fear not, loyal fans (all 20 of you) the crew of the LabStream will return in the near-future with a brand-new format for the show and we'll still be asking for your feedback and involvement. We'll give a few more details on the stream!
@hollboll, @ChadP, @Moose, and I want to give a huge thanks to everyone for watching and hanging out with us, giving us your questions & feedback, sending us your homebrews and gifts, and laughing along with us…or more likely, at us.
On the LabStream finale
- A LabStream Sendoff – Like a star going supernova we burned brightly but briefly. Join us in raising a glass (or two) to celebrate the fun times we had on the stream.
- Moose's Mailbag – @Moose gives his interpretive rendition of particularly interesting customer support emails.
- Maybe It Bothers Us More Than It Should – You pick the topic, we discuss it. Post what's been bothering you and we'll weigh in and decide if it should irk you as much as it does.
- We A Your Qs! – Post your very best questions in this thread and we'll pick our favorites and answer them live.
- A Cavalcade Special Guests – Some new faces will stop by, who will it be? Tune in to find out!
Join us in the live YouTube chat or tweet at @mediocrelabs with #LabStream.
Thanks again and we'll see y'all soon!
- 67 comments, 87 replies
- Comment
@hollboll
@JonT and that's a waste of a 40.......just say'in.
@mfladd don't be silly, that's just colored water
@hollboll www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK2RifhzKLk
@hollboll - So, you're going supernova? Cool. I guess that means the meh universe is expanding.
Am I glad? Am I sad? I don't know yet. Guess I will have to tune in to find out. Until then....
from one of the 20!
@Moose Dearest, sweet labstream. I have trouble accepting the fact that you're gone, so I wont. It will be like, we went for a while without seeing each other. But I can understand why Meh would have wanted you all for itself. Cause you truly were an angel on earth. I love you. I miss you.
Aww...
I'm withholding my anguish until I hear the details of the next experiment . . . while I'm raising a glass to the end of an era and a new beginning.
Very sad to see the livestream go!
Are you going to be drinking some beer on this one? I'm looking at you @JonT. I never heard what you though of the Vermont care pack. :p
Whaaat? It's still ending even after I filled out the survey with how to make it even more awesome? I did my best.
Bummer. I enjoyed laughing at you. Interested in the reboot. Onward and upward. Gods speed.
@jimmyd103 New format will be 1 hour of this:
@medz If you're lucky
@medz
Q1: Does @snapster spend much time in the Mediocre office? I never see him in any of the videos, even just in the background.
Q2: Will you send me another 65" TV? I need a new TV for the bedroom.
@Bingo sure, when I'm there I'm around all the time :)
Just don't do either of these:
@joelmw
https://screen.yahoo.com/crystal-gravy-000000611.html
@joelmw for some reason I just don't believe him.
@mfladd . . . about anything.
@joelmw http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/crystal-pepsi-return-response-online-campaign-article-1.2251877
@Einherjar13
Q: Meh.com's birthday is fast approaching. How will you be celebrating? Will Meh.com celebrate Day 0, Day 1, both, or something else?
@hollboll why did you deny my clan request? i'm very torn up about it...well not really.
@jaybird Uh, my guess is you didn't say anything about meh in your request? Are you XxfatgrampsXx? O.o
@hollboll LOLOL
@hollboll ha ha ha ha ha ha
@jaybird I can assure you, our standards are low. But we have one rule: you have to say you're from meh. But don't be an asshole or go AWOL either.
I've seen the question asked many times, however have not seen a response from mehffers. any plans for a wootoff style day or 5?
@jaybird They've actually answered this several times with "Yes, but not anytime soon"
@Bingo well, there ya go. guess i need to scour all the forums. /me scours the forums
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK2RifhzKLk
While I am hoping for a happy ending to be announced on this weeks LabStream. If we must say goodbye to this version.......
@mfladd Thanks for helping me discover that Avon Barksdale was in Remember the Titans. :-)
@mfladd And Turk (I think I knew that but had forgotten).
@joelmw what a great football movie.
@mfladd Chills.... every. damn. time.
Question. So @JonT, that goat prize? Getting real close to September already, haha.
Questions:
-How has your job changed in the last 6-12 months?
-Of these three items you must choose one. Which do you choose and why? A kernel of corn, a shirt button, and a pen cap.
-How do you feel about the whole Confederate debate? Racism aside, I always thought it seemed unpatriotic. I mean, "the South will rise again"? C'mon...That's treason, yo.
Maybe it bothers me more that it should:
Online, always connected video games. In my day, you didn't need Internet to play video games. Sure, it's nice to play online with other people around the world and get game updates for new content delivered right to your console/PC, but what if you don't want to be connected? What if you just want to shoot some aliens on your lunch break, but you can't because the servers are down and/or the game world is being updated? (looking at you, Destiny) I think there should be an offline mode that allows you to play SOMETHING in the game. Even if it's just some mini-game that you can play to earn credits or something. Just something to do while you (or the servers) are offline. Next time you connect, the system syncs-up and your offline efforts/rewards are applied to your online profile. Is that really that hard? Maybe it bothers me more than it should.
@medz "Racism aside, I always thought it seemed unpatriotic. I mean, 'the South will rise again'? C'mon...That's treason, yo." Yes.
But mostly, racism.
@medz So.. like. are we starting a Mediocre Clan on Destiny?
@connorbush I typically don't game with randos, but go ahead and start one and I may lurk in and check it out.
@medz I think they misunderstood your MIBMMTIS. I think you're not complaining about online video games in general (for example, MUDs, MMORPGs, and MOBAs would be very difficult to create an offline mode for, which is what @JonT was describing in the stream). Instead, you seem to be complaining about games that used to be single player with an optional multiplayer component, that are now being made as always online (FPS, RTS, 4X, etc). And the worst part is, most of the time, these online components they force onto you are pointless, buggy, or even not fun. I think the real issue is greedy publishers. They want a piece of the cash cows that showed up in MMORPGs first, and then MOBAs, and now mobile in-app purchases. Those publishers influence the design until the game is no longer what was originally intended.
@Odi And in case it was about all online video games in general, I would be hard pressed to add an offline mini-game into a MMORPG, except for maybe the tutorial. Even Clash of Clans is always online because they don't want you to be able to hack and gain progress artificially. And people would do it (ie. Fallout Shelter changing device time to speed up progress)
@Odi Borderlands was a good example of something that can be played both offline and online. The minigame example was referring to something like fable where before the release of one of the fable games they had fable pub games were you can play mini games to earn gold offline. Edit: however there were some problems with Borderlands that allowed you to earn extra money, keys, or whatever because people would change their system time. They patched those and it was no longer an issue. Assassins Creed is a good example if what you're talking about by adding a clunky multiplayer online mode to what could be an offline game. My beef is I want the option to play when the network is down.
Why, indeed, did @hollboll boot @JonT from our Mediocre Clan?
(This is me screaming, "WHHHHHYYYYYY!?!?!?!")
Yes, I saw that there was trash talk. We deserve more of a story than that. And can he come back?
@joelmw my guess is that he was done playing and it was more fun to kick him than for him to quit
@marklog That makes sense, but I'd like to see them riff on it. They owe us a little drama. ;-)
@joelmw
@joelmw wait. what is the mediocre clan? I must lurk it then possibly join.
@connorbush well there is an opening I understand as @moose just quit on the LabStream.
@connorbush https://meh.com/forum/topics/play-clash-of-clans
But everyone was talking trash about it. @JonT basically said that he hated it from the beginning. @hollboll was totally dismissive. @Moose quit live during the show. @ChadP, apparently, has been threatening to quit for a long time. Sigh. When I do my big flameout rant, this will be the main topic, I'm sure. ;-)
@mfladd It's the mediocre clan. Say you're from meh. Some of us have fun. Sheesh.
@joelmw My complaint is the opposite of theirs. They complained about timers being too long and the price of speeding up being too high. I am annoyed at having to farm every night for hours just to keep my builders busy. That's probably why it's high grossing, they try to get every kind of player to pay up.
Q: Let's presume that I'm a fairly typical Meh employee and I don't really care about my work week starting or ending. What's my favorite day of the work week and why?
And least favorite?
Nooooooooo
Please. How do I contact someone about my meta watch not taking a charge or doing a thing? It was a Fathers a Day gift!!!!
@doxeelady Contact support at https://meh.com/support, or click the support link at the bottom of the main page.
Everyone's always talking about beer. What's your favorite hard liquor?
Q: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? How many licks does it take to make @JonT uncomfortable?
@Bingo with or without eye contact?
@Bingo Q: Are you willing to eat a banana live on camera?
@medz with or without eye contact?
@Bingo heavy, unbroken eye contact.
@medz
@Bingo
1). I remember somebody saying at some point that Meh had grown quicker than Woot did in the equivalent timeframe, but is Meh profitable yet? Regarding money, not warm fuzzy feelings.
2). What were Meh's most disappointing items so far, in terms of sales? Any items the staff particularly hated besides the leaky batteries?
3). If you could magically transfer any aspect of Woot over to Meh (past or present), what would it be and why?
Pro tip: If'n you want more viewers, post a link to the labstream on the main page. Heck, start the count down now.
Last day (pretty much) to get your questions and topics in!
@JonT Let it be known that I tried to refrain, but then, hell, there wasn't much out here, so I went a little crazy.
Do you guys discuss politics in the office? Without starting a discussion of actual politics, what can you tell us about those discussion?
How about religion?
What do you personally find to be the most frustrating thing about contemporary American culture?
. . . business?
What's wrong with the internet? What's right with the internet? (In your opinions, obviously.)
What big technological breakthrough that you expect to happen in your lifetime (or, ha, right after you die) are you most excited about?
It seems like this might have been discussed around here, but what's your favorite gadget (maybe 1) that you have and 2) that you wish you had)?
What gadget do you think is way overrated?
What's something you wish you could do at your current job and not be fired for it?
What sound does an aardvark make?
Here's what bothers me- the whining about how Woot has changed. Get over it already. Go there, don't go there, buy crap, don't buy crap, I don't care. I just don't want to hear about it all the time.
What has been your most WTF? moment at a meeting so far?
What bothers you (yea, maybe creeps you out) about your coworkers, your company, meh, @snapster, yourself?
toilet paper, over or under?
http://www.businessinsider.com/patent-shows-right-way-to-hang-toilet-paper-2015-3
Ok, not really a question since there is only 1 right way.
Favorite forum meme?
How about a get well toast to our scapegoat @Pavlov?
Thanks for that, everyone. Hope it works.
What's the process that goes into packing fukus? Is it genuinely a random assortment of crap or is there a system (i.e. every other box gets an X, every third box gets a Y, every box gets a Z). Do you buy things specifically for fukus or is it whatever's left over? What was the heaviest fuku?
It bothers me more than it should: When did sarcasm and fucking with people become the norm? I feel like growing up, only assholes and antisocial people were constantly sarcastic and carving anarchy symbols into the desk. These days everyone is constantly saying the opposite of what they mean and ragging on everyone. Why? I hate it. Can't people just be goddamn sincere.
@HELLOALICE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Sincerity
When deals are offered multiple times, why does the price often increase? Is it the Jensen experiment?
Final LabStream going live in 40 minutes!!!
@JonT Ahhhh. The office 2nd quarter staff meeting was moved to today. Bummer. I'll have to catch the labstream in reruns. And it figures it's had to happen on the finale. Have a good one!
@JonT How long will it be. a half hour would be perfect for me. Just sayin'. ;-)
@JonT This is going to be Breaking Bad finale good, right?
Does the process of product selection follow a complicated formula or is it more a case of "Hey these look purtee and we can score a bunch of them for cheap. Bonus it's another speaker dock. Yeah this will do."
Is there someone dedicated to sourcing items for the fuku's alone?
I liked it when you guys modified the Sphero and posted video. Can you Frankenstein the shit out of more of your products for our amusement?
Maybe even Rube Goldberg a few products together into a fancy-ass contraption that accomplishes some useless task.
(you know, like a drone carrying explosives over to a speaker dock and using a modded Sphero that interacts with, like, an Onkyo Receiver to trigger a remote detonation of the speaker dock - something along those lines, but more complex and very explodey)
@pepsiwine uhh, I don't think they want to be publicizing them creating IED's but who knows...that being said, I like the idea behind it
@TaRDy I was thinking more like 4th of July fireworks kind of 'splosions; not, like, 'kill-somebody, death & dismemberment" kind of 'splosions.
Should I watch the live stream for the first time today or should I eat lunch with my co-workers in a conference room?
@TaRDy you have to watch the live stream to get the answer to your question
@TaRDy You should watch live! Your co-workers will always be there next week.
@mfladd @katylava sorry but I'm hungry and we are now eating outside...I'll have to watch the recap, sorry folks
I'm here Black is the new dark, Go MEH
What kind of video compression can you get on YouTube with an all black screen. The new LabStream format "MEH, Saving hard drives though out the world, one black video at a time,,, fascinating"
FYI. Stream isn't loading for me. I've tried to Load it for a while...
@sohmageek had to start stop my youtube play, no more black screen
@scbysnax restart iphone, started working... weird.
I have my forty now.
@jont how was the ice cream?
@hollboll internet before power? How do you use it then???
@sohmageek lol well played sir
Where do you keep your worm farm?
@JonT I don't know what happened to your gift message, but here it is: Gift message: @JonT - knowing how you loved your childhood pets so much I thought you should have this to remind you of them (it is even a puppet) We appreciate everything you do. From the friends of LabStream and the pet thread @mfladd
SO to @connorbush for starting the thread :)
@mfladd I have no idea what this is about but I am glad to have a SO. Thanks!
@connorbush watch the LabStream slacker :)
@mfladd watching now!
@connorbush WOAH Thanks meh and @mfladd !!! Very nice of you to send them pets.
@mfladd thanks so much!!! I love my little puppet buddy :)
@JonT you are welcome...just don't let mediocrebot get at him :)
I'm watching the live labstream not live. It just seemed appropriate for some reason.
@readnj I too am watching this not live. I just started it :-)
Well done! And they even read my question about how many licks does it take to make @JonT uncomfortable
So. Much. Choppy.
@connorbush Shut up, ungrateful.
@connorbush :-/ okay... harsh man.
@connorbush shouldn't one of you speaking have been with an "E"?
@mfladd two-shea (butter)
@marklog the one thing I missed about this last live stream was no Saison beer tasting deathmatch. Hopefully sometime soon.
This is the new pic I will put instead of starring people's posts.
@connorbush
@TaRDy @connerbush these will make for very long threads.
@mfladd who is @connerbush ?! My evil twin? @connOrbush for the win. Get that @connErbush guy out of here.
@TaRDy <3
@connorbush he is your better half ;)
@TaRDy
@mfladd , for smaller threads.
Wonderful send off. My feels are a bit hurt though as @JonT clearly doesn't love me enough to give me a goat prize. ;)
@studerc Barney would like an old goat badge. Don't you think I would look good with a badge, @JonT?
Can someone please verify this for me. I watched the video and at 1:07.37 it appears @JonT has a cup with someone who looks very much like (old) wrestling star Jake "The Snake" Roberts on it. Am I right or wrong??
@mfladd Yes! And you can own one for $4.99 plus shipping from ebay
@sammydog01 thank you! That is toooooo funny!
@mfladd "You are a sick man, Jake Roberts" "Thank you very much." Great clip.
@mfladd
CONFIRMED. But it's not just Jake The Snake...
@JonT I loved Pipers Pit and the Cobra Clutch.
I love how the foreshortening from the cup photos makes them all look like big-head caricatures, or Bratzes
@matthew i love that you said foreshortening.
@Moose what I really regret is not buying some bitcoin in July 2011 when I first learned about it. The price today is still 50x. At the peak, it would have been 200x.
I'm watching the replay now, for the first time, despite promising I would watch -- to my defense I was driving to Penn State to begin a weekend of drinking with people half my age. Well, drink around people half my age in a place where I happen to be also.
I see there were 228 views. Congrats? And farewell.
Really? @jont