So, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I watched the first three episodes, and now want advice from those who have watched it to completion before I watch any more. Potential spoilers ahead for the first three episodes.

Fb sne, vg unf orra zbqrengryl tbbq. Abg gur nznmvat gung jnf cebzvfrq va cnfg zrqvn guernqf, ohg V npxabjyrqtr gung gung fbeg bs guvat jvyy bsgra gnxr n srj rcvfbqrf gb ernyyl trg fgnegrq.

Ohg bar guvat vf ernyyl tengvat ba zl areirf. Gur punenpgref' furre... fghcvqvgl jvgu ertneqf gb guvf jvfu guvat. Ybbx, V xabj gung znxvat n tbbq jvfu pna or uneq. Vg vf n tbbq guvat gb guvax guebhtu gur bcgvbaf naq pbafrdhraprf pnershyyl orsber znxvat n jvfu. Gurer vf ab funzr va qrsreevat znxvat n jvfu sebz gur srne gung lbh unir abg pbzr hc jvgu n tbbq bar lrg, pbzvat hc jvgu n tbbq jvfu vf uneq. V rira qba'g rkcrpg nyy punenpgre'f gb tb nyy UCWRI naq hfr gurve jvfu gb znkvznyyl bcgvzvmr gur havirefr.

Ohg gb abg rira or noyr gb guvax bs bar fvatyr cbgragvny jvfu gb znxr!? V yvgrenyyl pnaabg vzntvar jung pbhyq or tbvat guebhtu gur urnq bs fbzrbar jub guvaxf gung. Gb guvax gung gur jbeyq nf vg vf abj vf gur orfg bs nyy cbffvoyr jbeyqf lbh pna vzntvar... Gung arrqf n fcrpvny glcr bs fghcvqvgl.

BX, svar. V nz trggvat gbb uhat hc bire fbzrguvat abg jbegu trggvat uhat hc ba. Ohg rirel gvzr V jngu na rcvfbqr guvf tengrf ba zl areirf yvxr n svyr ehaavat bire zl enj areir raqvatf. Vg vf npghnyyl zragnyyl cnvashy sbe zr gb jngpu gung.

Vg'f cebonoyl whfg zr jub unf guvf cnegvphyne unathc, naq lbh nyy cebonoyl guvax V nz orvat fvyyl. Jryy, znlor guvf whfg uvg n fber cbvag sbe zr be fbzrguvat. Ohg vs V nz gb pbagvahr jngpuvat guvf (juvpu V jbhyq yvxr gb nf vg jnf uvtuyl erpbzzraqrq va cnfg zrqvn guernqf), gura V jbhyq yvxr fbzrbar jub unf jngpurq vg nyernql gb pbasvez bar bs gurfr guvatf:

Rvgure 1) Fur hfrf gur jvfu nyernql, naq trgf vg bire jvgu. Znlor gb oevat Znzv onpx gb yvsr be fbzrguvat, gung jbhyq or n ernfbanoyr (vs abg irel perngvir) jvfu. Ohg gung vf hayvxryl nf fur vf boivbhfyl gur Bov-Jna svther, naq fb, sbe cybg ernfbaf, zhfg erznva qrnq.

Be 2) Gur cerivbhfyl nyyhqrq gb nznmvatarff fgnegf, naq fbba. Vs vg vf nf nznmvat nf crbcyr unir orra fnlvat, gura V thrff gung pbhyq chfu guvf fber cbvag gb gur fvqr.

Naljnl, cyrnfr ernffher zr va guvf ertneq. V jbhyqa'g jnag gb zvff bhg ba na nznmvat navzr orpnhfr bs bar fghcvq ovg, ohg ba gur bgure unaq, vg'f ernyyl, ernyyl naablvat. Lrnu, gur jubyr guvat fbhaqf fvyyl jura V jevgr vg qbja, ohg gunax lbh sbe gnxvat lbhe gvzr naljnl gb nqivfr zr ba guvf. Vg vf zhpu nccerpvngrq.

I've started watching TV Shows at 2X speed. This has been incredible:

• I can watch twice as much TV in the same amount of time.
• Lots of TV shows which are very interesting, but are slow (e.g. Breaking Bad, Sopranos) become MUCH funner to watch.

I started doing this a few months ago. It started when I realized that I already listened to Audiobooks at 2X-3X, and that TV Shows are basically the same thing.

Some tips:

• You should use the VLC player, which lets you 2X while preserving proper audio.
• In VLC, you can hit the "+" button to go to 1.5X, then again to go to 2X, 3X, 4X etc.
• You can start with watching things at 1.5X speed, then go to 2X when you feel confident.
• At higher speeds, you should watch with subtitles, which makes things much easier to follow.

Other Media Thread

"I design a cell to not fail and then assume it will and then ask the next 'what-if' questions," Sinnett said. "And then I design the batteries that if there is a failure of one cell it won't propagate to another. And then I assume that I am wrong and that it will propagate to another and then I design the enclosure and the redundancy of the equipment to assume that all the cells are involved and the airplane needs to be able to play through that."

—Mike Sinnett, Boeing's 787 chief project engineer

No, they selected them to sell more copies by highjacking the easier-to-press buttons of your nervous system.

A small correction: The Society for Venturism has been around for quite a while, although I have a vague impression they've been more active in the last year than in the past. I had a look at their site to see when they were founded (1986), and noticed they're currently raising funds for someone else, Aaron Winborn.

Even after reading your explanation that it's a parody the video doesn't seem interesting to myself.

Movies and Television Thread

Median 17.0

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Tomorrow will most likely be the last Chicago meetup on a weekly basis; I've created a calendar for us on Meetup. The Google groups mailing list also remains active.