1BC Civ Forums / Off Topic Discussions / Worldly Chatter

Remember when 1200 baud was blazing?

Tosk — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:01:32 GMT

"can download every movie ever made in four minutes"

Yeah Baby!

[url=http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/58680]322 Terabits per second[/url]

Dropping by

Zone — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:28:22 GMT

Woop woop :w00t:

It's been a long time... I should have checked my 'last logged in date' before logging in but it's well over a year.

I still play a bit of Warlords from time to time, but much of my gaming happens in an MMO called Wurm (www.wurmonline.com) where I'm active as a Player Assistant (name of Hordern) - probably comes as no surprise to those of you who remember me on these boards!

I still play Ultimate, and have my 1 year anniversary with my gf tomorrow, so all I need to make my life complete is a job *sigh*. The economy is picking up again a bit and more opportunities are appearing, so I'm hopeful for the next couple of months. Will try and remember to pop in again in a couple of days to see if anyone has read this post or cares enough to answer.

Zone out.

THAT'S IT!!!

Tosk — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:32:13 GMT

I quit, I surrender, I have had enough, time to write a check ...

Attempting to keep up with the snow is a losing proposition ... I'm to damn old for this chit ... broke my shovel ... TWICE ... but this morning the county snow plow got stuck plowing our road ... that's all folks ... called the guy with the cat ... posting will resume as soon as I rest up a bit.

I have a lot of stuff to catch up on. ;)

Who's that then?

Roadkill — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:29:34 GMT

As I've had various unnamed people in my avatar every now and then and some of you have tried to figure out who it was and so on I thought I'd make a thread dedicated to it. I'll post here if I change my avatar and give more and more clues if it goes unsolved. So then, who's this in my avatar?

What no comedy section?

Tiger — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 09:59:21 GMT

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150." The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $150?"

The man replied, "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

Just my luck ...

Tosk — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:28:35 GMT

I finally find the end of one of these things ... and the bloody bucket of gold is at the OTHER END!!!!!

[IMG]http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff21/tosk2/endofrain1.jpg[/IMG]

Aliens up your nose???

lycanthrope — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:25:39 GMT

Think about this next time you blow your nose and look in the tissue...and you know that you do. :hehe:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_ALIEN_LIFE?SITE=TNMEM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

The hicks from the sticks ...

Tosk — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:26:02 GMT

Give America the worlds first private spaceport, [url=http://www.archicentral.com/spaceport-america-breaks-ground-in-new-mexico-20490/]Spaceport America[/url] then ...

Meet Encanto, a public supercomputer that will make 3-D technology available at 33 sites in N.M.

A couple of dozen people donned their dark Men in Black-style 3-D glasses Monday at Santa Fe Community College and caught a glimpse of New Mexico's high-tech future.

Its name is Encanto, and it is one of the world's fastest supercomputers, built with New Mexico tax dollars and the promise of public access.

The promise began to come true Monday afternoon, when Gov. Bill Richardson unveiled the first eight public "gateway" sites around the state, including Santa Fe Community College, that will link to Encanto. Another 25 public sites are expected to go online by March.

In the near future, digital film students at Santa Fe Community College will tap into Encanto to create their own 3-D mega hits, à la Avatar. Nursing students and emergency medical technicians in training at the college could practice handling medical emergencies using a new 3-D program. And engineering, architecture and archaeology students will soon be able to create and test multidimensional models.

Richardson discussed Encanto's capabilities via a videoconference from the Roundhouse, watched simultaneously on large, high-definition screens at all eight sites. "We're bringing the highest level of supercomputing to every corner of the state, giving New Mexicans the opportunity to tap into its remarkable educational and economic possibilities," Richardson said.

Al Reed, dean of Business and Applied Technologies at Santa Fe Community College, is excited about the possibilities for high-tech training and collaboration through Encanto. He worked with the supercomputing team for two years to make the college one of the test sites. "This gives students across the state greater access to master professors," Reed said.

The 62-inch, high-definition screens, other computer equipment and upgraded fiber-optic connections were among the other benefits of becoming a gateway site.

Sheila Ortego, the college's president, also is looking forward to how Encanto will help student learn the high-tech skills needed for jobs in a variety of fields. "If our students don't have the skills, they won't get hired," Ortego said.

Encanto, housed at Intel in Rio Rancho, was unveiled two years ago. The state Legislature appropriated $11 million to build the computer and set aside another $3 million to fund the gateway sites. Encanto, which can whiz through 172 trillion calculations per second, is the fastest publicly available supercomputer in the world, said Thomas Bowles, Richardson's science adviser. (In the last year, Encanto fell from 12th to 27th fastest in the world among all supercomputers, public and private.)

Encanto's memory bank is large enough to store the entire Library of Congress three times over, Bowles said.

The supercomputer is managed by the New Mexico Computing Applications Center. Partners at the center are The University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech and Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories.

Each gateway site will receive 30 computers. Santa Fe Community College's computers had not arrived Monday. Reed hopes they'll be set up within a month and students will be able to start using programs on the supercomputer after spring break.

The first eight gateway sites are at several of the state's major universities, plus San Juan College in Farmington and at the Capitol. Other sites to open in coming months include UNM branch campuses, the College of Santa Fe, New Mexico Highlands University, the Institute of American Indian Arts and New Mexico Military Institute.

One of the issues still to be settled with Encanto is what kind of software will be available. The program has limited funds to purchase software that will be shared by all the sites' users. "The challenge isn't technical," Bowles said. "It is that this is a new collaborative site. How do you get 33 sites agreeing on what should go on it? We can't satisfy the needs of every single person in the state."

Even a supercomputer has its limits.

Staci Matlock | The New Mexican
Monday, January 25, 2010 - 1/26/10

ENCANTO BY THE NUMBERS
Top calculation speed: 172 trillion calculations per second (172 teraflops) Sustained speed: 133 teraflops Local memory: 28.7 terabytes Number of public gateway sites by March: 33

What a gaming machine ... if only it would do windos. ;)

New British invasion this autumn

Nuclearcow — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:05:30 GMT

A large baby boom is expected this autumn in Britain due to all the people who have been snowed in.

[url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7006061/After-the-big-freeze-the-baby-boom.html[/url]

Excerpt
[quote]Maternity services are preparing for a surge in conceptions among couples who have been confined to their homes for long nights and cosy days during the coldest winter for almost five decades.

Studies abroad have identified a sharp rise in the number of births nine months after heavy snow, as well as after major power cuts.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is predicting the same pattern in Britain, resulting in a “double whammy” hitting maternity wards this autumn, just as they recover from a regular peak in births following conceptions over the Christmas holidays.

For thousands denied heating as well as television and radio during this month’s repeated power cuts, the chance to find alternative sources of warmth and entertainment will have proved irresistable, say midwives.

RCM director Jacque Gerrard said maternity units were now gearing up for a “significant” baby boom. [/quote]
Does this mean we should expect a mini-Gentry or mini-Tones this autumn?

Gay Marriage

Thunder Hawk — Thu, 18 Nov 2004 18:36:18 GMT

I have an ultra conservative roommate who against gay marriage. i asked him why and he said he doesn't agree with their lifestyle. I'm moderatly liberal if you didn't know. I too don't agree with their lifestyle choice but its their choice. they WANT to live that way, my roommate believes people choose to be gay. of the 2 major reasons, this falls into neither. one is a hormone inbalance in the brain. the other is environmental. Poor upbrings or really bad relationships can cause someone to become homosexual. they just don't feel comfortable with the other sex in a romatic relationship. This comes to my main point, whats wrong with letting homosexuals getting married? does it affect you in anyway? homosexual relationships otfen do get to the point where they're married just not in name. The Church says homosexualty is a sin. where in the Bible does God, Yaweh, or Jesus say that homosexuality is wrong? it is true that homosexuality was a crime punishible by death by stones. But those were much different times. If someone and produce a Bible verse With God saying Homosexuality is a sin, then please present it. but remember, to "Love thy Neighbor."We discriminate against different "races." they cannot help what race they were. women were oppressed in a sense. they too couldn't help being women. Are we going to discriminate against Homosexuals just for what they are? Homosexuals just want to live out their lives like everyone else. the only different is their sexual preferance and we're going to not give them to the right to Marry? So much for the land of the free.Consider the Hornet's nest bombed. Just remember to repect everyone views and don't flame.**Disclaimer All referances to Marriage are to Legal marraige, not marriage in the eyes of your God.Edit - Sorry, I just got really frustrated seeing the word marrage every time I looked into worldly chatter, that I edited it - sad spelling correct Zone...

Muse

Locus Coeruleus — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:48:28 GMT

To all the naysayers who ignorantly believe that rock'n' roll is dead, that there is no innovation in modern rock, that no relevant acts remain, or have emerged in the last 10 years, I fully beg to differ.

I present to you a modern, British, Rock'n'Roll outfit formally known as Muse. In the past they have drawn comparisons to Radiohead, but at this point in time, I do believe that they are a much better Rock Group than Radiohead, with all due respect to Radiohead.

Funny how that when you are talking about Rock'N'Roll, they discussion always goes back to Britain. :)

It is also my opinion that Muse is best when viewed Live, and there are some very good clips on You Tube, so if you are unfamiliar, allow me to give an introduction:

[b]New Born[/b]

[b]Stockholm Syndrome[/b]

S&T

Black Owl — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 12:56:35 GMT

In recent discussions with basser I've come to realize that a thread discussing all the newest science and technological advances might be a good idea. And in some flurries of activity along those lines has kept me jumping from topic to topic. After all, S&T have become such an important part of almost every Humans life now. I'm not gonna "soap box" this. I'll post the thread and see if the interest keeps it alive.

I would only say that it is open to all discussion except Politics and Religion discussion. Lets just keep it science related and and not comment on the Political or Religious implications. Eh? (No matter how tempting;):hehe:)

basser, I'm hoping your feeling recovered and ready to fly with this.:P

2010 Predictions

Nuclearcow — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:48:18 GMT

Please make up to 3 predictions for 2010. This can be anything on any topic. Lets revisit this at the end of 2010 and see who we crown as resident 1BC psychic. :P

Need opinions on camera...

cleopatra143 — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:58:48 GMT

Anyone give me their advice on this camera I found on ebay?
[url=http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fshop.ebay.com%252F130354280945&h=47c12681ca4325b9d2c1f66946a3d10d&ref=nf]CLICK ME[/url]

Potentially Awesome Civilization Magnet

LargeHotCoffee — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:29:34 GMT

Hopefully this doesn't come off as spam, but I just came across this [URL="http://sanshee.com/buttons/Fish-for-Uranium-Magnet"]awesome Civilization magnet[/URL] and figured I would share with everyone.

[I]If you've ever played a single player round of Sid Meier's Civilization IV you've undoubtedly encountered the incredibly frustrating collaboration of ai-lead nations. If they're not trying to convert your religion, asking you to adopt serfdom in the 20th century, or open your borders to sneak a city past you, they're undoubtedly lining up tanks and asking for technology, money, and of course: Uranium. Oh! The outrage that you would refuse such an offer, certainly this grievous offense means war![/I]

What do you guys think?

[IMG]http://sanshee.com/images/products/Fishing-for-Uranium-(Large).jpg[/IMG]

Happy New Year 2010

Comedy Dave — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:20:12 GMT

Hi Everyone,

I know there's already been a few small celebrations starting in a few other threads, but I thought it would be a good time to wish you all a Happy New Year for 2010. May this year bring you plenty of good health and happiness.

Whether you took it easy, or were the life of the party, I hope you had a great time on NYE, and are ready and raring to go for 2010! :D

Dave Berry

Tosk — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:49:13 GMT

For any of you who like Dave Barry his year in review is [url=http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/dave-barry/v-fullstory/story/1397654.html]here[/url]

teaser follows ...

It was a year of Hope -- at first in the sense of ``I feel hopeful!'' and later in the sense of ``I hope this year ends soon!''

It was also a year of Change, especially in Washington, where the tired old hacks of yesteryear finally yielded the reins of power to a group of fresh, young, idealistic, new-idea outsiders such as Nancy Pelosi. As a result Washington, rejecting ``business as usual,'' finally stopped trying to solve every problem by throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at it and instead started trying to solve every problem by throwing trillions of taxpayer dollars at it.

To be sure, it was a year that saw plenty of bad news. But in almost every instance, there was offsetting good news:

BAD NEWS: The economy remained critically weak, with rising unemployment, a severely depressed real-estate market, the near-collapse of the domestic automobile industry and the steep decline of the dollar.

GOOD NEWS: Windows 7 sucked less than Vista.

"Hiking the Appalachian Trail" - Great stuff. :D

2009 Predictions

Nuclearcow — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:48:36 GMT

Please make up to 3 predictions for 2009. This can be anything on any topic. Lets revisit this at the end of 2009 and see who we crown as resident 1BC psychic. :P

Nukestradamus makes the following predictions for 2009.
1) India and Pakistan rumble and use nukes on each other! *gasp!* This spawns more talk about global nuclear disarmament, but that doesn't happen.
2) All the hype and threats of an military strike on Iran's nuclear sites doesn't happen, even though their nuclear program moves on. All saber-rattling and no military action. This is aided by a new, more moderate Iranian being elected as President in 2009.
3) US stock market slides more, wasting 401Ks and retirement plans across the nation; housing market slides down more and unemployment gets near 10%, but recovery comes back noticeably before 2009 ends. No 2nd great depression for 2009. Bad recession, sure, but no great depression.

Happy Holidays!!!

Locus Coeruleus — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:04:36 GMT

Season's Greetings, for whatever you will be celebrating this year!

I realize I missed the Hanukkah by a day or so, but here is a fun song to ramp up the festivities.

2 and a half days?

mongoose201 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:25:01 GMT

That's quite possibly the longest this site has ever gone without a single post since the website was started in December 2001...

Everyone still passed out from Halloween parties, I hope?

:P

Food and Recipe Exchange

Tosk — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:32:05 GMT

This was a bit tough to run to ground ... but it appears that this is the original hidden valley ranch dressing recipe.

dry mix
15 Saltines
2 cups Dry minced parsley flakes
1/2 cup Dry minced onion
2 tablespoons Dry dill weed
1/4 cup Onion salt
1/4 cup Garlic salt
1/4 cup Onion powder
1/4 cup Garlic powder

blender the saltines with parsley flakes onion and dill to a powder then mix in the rest of the stuff.

to make the dressing mix together
1 tablespoon Mix
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Buttermilk

Steve Henson first mixed it up in Alaska and began selling it in Santa Barbara Ca. ... as it goes back to 1954 I would tend to believe that it used real buttermilk originally.

Thanksgiving Day!

Black Owl — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:07:31 GMT

Okay,

The bird is done, the table set....

and grace is said....

After diner the kids are givin something to keep them occupied....

NOW WE CAN RELAX AND ENJOY THE GAME.....

Damn, I forgot to pay the cable bill! We'll there's always her....

and the swing out front.....

:D I wish you all, all good things today!

Washington D.C.

Locus Coeruleus — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:34:51 GMT

Here is some worldly chatter for you.

I visited some friends in DC during a long weekend beginning with Veterans Day (thus my short absence from here).

Washington D.C. is perhaps the most amazing American city I have seen, and I have seen a few.

Strictly speaking the splendor of D.C. lies in the historical part with all of the Monuments and Museums and such, but certain suburban areas such as Bethesda are quite lovely too.

I will throw out some personal recommendations. The Korean War Memorial as well as Iwo Jima are breathtaking. There is also an ironic humor to be found in the situation of the Robert E. Lee family abode overlooking Arlington National Cemetery.

As far as the Museums go, I will definitely recommend the National Museum of American History. The exhibits on American Presidents, Immigrants, and Science are top notch and my new avatar, one of the best statues I have seen with my own two eyes, resides within. If you like historical artifacts the Freer Gallery of Art is for you, I would highly recommend this one, as there are artifacts and artwork from ancient China, Japan, Vietnam, India, Egypt, Islamic Culture and other areas.

The museums of African Art and American Indians are also great, and the food court to be found in the latter is one of a kind, as it offers dishes from various native american indian cultures spanning north and south america. The food is pricey, but so what, the museums are free.

I also visited the National Museum of Natural History and no doubt the exhibitions there are top rate. So I visited 5 museums on the recent trip, and they are just so jammed packed that i did not manage to even see all of the exhibits in any one of the 5. Not to mention all of the other museums that I did not even stop in on. There is quite literally something for everyone there, in that regards.

If you have not been to Washington D.C. I highly recommend this being a part of your next vacation.

CNN: Heroes of 2009

Locus Coeruleus — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:16:08 GMT

...and no....Barack Obama is not on this list! :w00t:

[url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/index.html]Ordinary People, Extraordinary Impact[/url]

It was kind of cool to read about all of their stories, and I think a vote for any one of these fine individuals making an impact would be well justified.

Cheers.

(and because I cannot spell, can the mod please fix the title to say Heroes, not Hero's. !!!! )

Title fixed - Dave

Caption this photo 201009

Scipio Africanus — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:34:51 GMT

Giv us the dawg treets or else!

Google Vs. Microsoft

Locus Coeruleus — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:25:01 GMT

[url=http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/10/technology/Google_free_wifi_airports/index.htm]Google's Gift: Free WiFi in 47 Airports[/url]

It looks to me like Google is waging a campaign against Microsoft, and the gloves are comin' off! :w00t:

[quote]NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Google is planning to foot the bill for WiFi at 47 of the nation's airports for the rest of the year, beginning Tuesday.

With some travelers spending more time on the ground in airports than on planes during the busy flying season, now seemed an especially fitting time to offer up the perk, Google said.

The list includes the international airports in Miami and Orlando, which are among the world's 30 busiest airports, as well as five others in Florida. Travelers through smaller airports, such as Montana's Billings and Bozeman, will also benefit.

"This is one of our holiday gifts to our users, and when you connect, we also hope you'll take the opportunity to try some of the latest Google products," the company said in a statement.[/quote]

Caption this photo 100809

Tosk — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:47:02 GMT

[img]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg3/Pannono/fail38.jpg[/img]

I can't decide which is funnier ... the dog or the mexilube. :D:D:D

How about something a little different

Tosk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:59:39 GMT

[url=http://www.parentdish.com/2009/09/21/rivals-give-last-touchdown-to-player-with-down-syndrome/]TOUCHDOWN[/url]

Avast mates

Tosk — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:02:27 GMT

Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum ... time to shiver those timbers ... land them lubbers and whatever them winches ... [url=http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html] national talk like a pirate day[/url]

AARRRRRR [img]http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-rpg028.gif[/img]

Caption This Photo 091109

Tosk — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:47:21 GMT

Got dressed all by yourself this morning right?

[IMG]http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff21/tosk2/WM-People.jpg[/IMG]

caption this photo 091009

Tosk — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:44:42 GMT

I love Wal-Mart ... so many interesting people ....

[IMG]http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff21/tosk2/tonytigar.jpg[/IMG]

The Taos Tiger's mascot needed to pick up a couple six packs on the way to the game.

Just stopping by...

General Georges — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:57:12 GMT

Hey guys...just stopping by after being gone for quite a while now.

I was sitting here yesterday just thinking about memories of back of my days in high school when you guys popped into my mind. Reading this forum help keep me out of boredom in quite a few of my classes lol. Now I just finished my first year in Mechanical Engineering and all is going well.

Anyways, so how's everyone doing? I have read around a bit and see that pretty much all the usual members are still here. The forum does not seam to have grown or decreased much. Still the great online community that I remember. How are the GOTM's going?

Anyways, just wishing you all the best with your lives and just saying hello and good bye till next time!

Kyle

Walter Cronkite

Nuclearcow — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:12:17 GMT

Perhaps this is too old for most of the 1BC crowd. I remember very little of the man, myself.

Walter Cronkite dead at age 92.
[url]http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/17/cronkite.leopold.appreciation/index.html[/url]

Happy Birthday, U.S.A.!

Nuclearcow — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:59:43 GMT

Happy Birthday, baby America.

In case you're feeling down...

Roadkill — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:34:43 GMT

-xkcd hits the nail on the head once again, smacking all the "oh noes, teh world is going to hell" people around:

[url=http://www.xkcd.com/][img]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a92/Tartantyco/idiocracy.jpg[/img][/url]

LIFE!...a limited time offer...act NOW!

Tosk — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:09:25 GMT

Good Grief ... what a streak ...

Billy Mays
David Carradine
Farrah Fawcett
Michael Jackson
Ed McMahon
Col. Kenneth L. Reusser
Gale Storm
Lucia Lauria Vigna

The Beat Fleet (TBF)

Locus Coeruleus — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:52:25 GMT

When I was in Croatia I discovered group, my Zagrebacki hosts introduced to me, The Beat Fleet, and they sent me home with their recent album.

Now I have fallen in love.

Despite my efforts to learn the language, I still don't understand most of what they are saying, but the music rocks enough to transcend that, imo.

Here is some clips.

Budite kao mi

Need a vacation?

Tosk — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:25:53 GMT

Want a break from the day to day grind? like to help your fellow man clean up the scum of the earth? Just want to KILL SOMETHING? Are you man/woman enough to embark on [url=http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/archives/11581-Luxury-Pirate-Hunting-Cruise.html]a pirate hunting cruise[/url]

Memorial Day - U.S. Holiday

Nuclearcow — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:09:52 GMT

Thank you to my fellow veterans who served our nation.

In rememberance of the fallen. :crying:

Everything Stephen Fry

Roadkill — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:17:20 GMT