1BC Civ Forums / Off Topic Discussions / Worldly Chatter

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]

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."

Movie Reviews

Leo — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 10:57:31 GMT

We all love movies, right, or the industry wouldn't exist.

My idea is for current movies, not an update of old ones, however, if you're asking about movies you'd like to rent, and ask for advice here, anyone can go off on a review, lo unto the Wizard of Oz or Birth of a Nation...

Feel free to ask...for instance, anyone seen "Movie In Question" to which others can reply...or post your own.

I will start, and will import one form elsewhere (Cleo, feel free to delete the old thread if you wish)

Books to read.

Ness — Thu, 12 Feb 2004 01:24:09 GMT

I don't know who else here is a fanatical reader, but I thought I would make a post where people could post books that other people should definitaly read. The first book i'll post is: 'The Clan of the Cave Bear'by Jean Auel. Feel free to post a book, not only will this help me keep track of my 'Have to Read' list, but hopefully you aswell.

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]

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

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

Eurotrip 2009

Locus Coeruleus — Wed, 09 May 2007 00:16:55 GMT

Good day to you all. As I have alluded to, I am in the early stages planning a post GradSchool/Post Law School (We're doing it the smart way, not immediately after getting our degrees but waiting a bit to get some cash saved up) trip to Europe next spring with a good bud of mine from college and some other friends perhaps. We are mainly just tossing around ideas right now.

I have friends in Denmark and Sweden, so we will most likely be flying into Copenhagen and exploring that part of the world with them for a couple of days.

Also, as mentioned is a strong interest to see coastal Croatia, so we may venture out there.

Not so much interested in doing a touristy type of vacation, but seeing more of nature and other hidden gems that are particular to certain areas and regions that are quite awesome to experience without so much of a crowd perhaps....with about a week and a half or two weeks max travel time.

So I'd like to hear from Europeans and non-Europeans alike what might be some great destinations around Denmark/Sweden and perhaps Croatia, or other parts of Europe that should not be missed regardless of where they may be.

Also, I doubt whether this would happen on this particular trip, but I am also very interested in seeing Armenia during my life. There is just something about that place, in that part of the world, with the history and culture of the people there that just fascinate me. If anyone has ever been to Armenia, and what experiences were had there...

and perhaps I shouldn't be thinking about these sorts of things right now, with the home stretch of Gradschool in full swing, but hey, I like to procrastinate as much as the next guy! :cool:

Vietnam Vet Oldest US casualty in Iraq.

Tosk — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:50:46 GMT

A 60-year-old Vietnam War veteran killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq has become the oldest Army soldier to die in that conflict, the military said Thursday.

Maj. Steven Hutchison, of Scottsdale, Ariz., served in Vietnam and wanted to re-enlist immediately after the 9/11 terror attacks, but that his wife was against it, his brother said.

Richard Hutchison told The Associated Press on Thursday that when she died, "a part of him died" so he signed up in July 2007.

"He was very devoted to the service and to his country," Richard Hutchison said.

He described him as a great big brother and friend. "I didn't want him to go," he said through tears, adding that he loved his brother "so much."

The Pentagon said Steven Hutchison was killed in Iraq on Sunday. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nathan Banks said Thursday that Hutchison was the oldest Army soldier killed in Iraq.

An Associated Press database of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan shows that Hutchison is the oldest member of any service branch killed since the wars broke out.

Hutchison served in Afghanistan for a year before deploying to Iraq in October, heading a 12-soldier team that trained the Iraqi military, his brother said. Later, he was assigned to help secure Iraq's southern border.

Hutchinson, who grew up in California, taught psychology at two state colleges then worked at a health care corporation in Arizona before retiring and re-entering the service, his brother said.

He was part of the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan.

Salute Sir ... Thank you and Rest in Peace ...

Aintmyprob ...

Tosk — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:08:10 GMT

A possible new avatar for ya. :D:D:D

[img]http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc74/Serene_One/FCPs/Funny/dude.jpg[/img]

Flyleaf

Locus Coeruleus — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:44:27 GMT

I have some more music that I have been digging into lately to share here! And it is Christian Rock at it's finest! And look, they are from Texas!

This is another current hardrock group fronted by attractive female vocalist.

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wn6ZT5apFc]All Around Me[/url] (no embedding, sorry)

What would your album Cover Look Like?

Nuclearcow — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:17:17 GMT

I got this from a friend at work. Its ridiculous, but fun. Come on... you know you want to!

What would your own album look like if you were in a band? Follow the directions below and find out like I did ;)

Here are the rules:

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

Nother of the good ones gone ...

Tosk — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:07:10 GMT

You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the Medi-Vac helicopters to stop coming in.
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because it has no Medi-Vac markings on it.
Ed Freeman is coming for you ... He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire ... after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.
He's coming anyway.
And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses.
And, he kept coming back ... 13 more times ... And took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died at the age of 80, in Boise, ID ... Rest in Peace Sir ... [img]http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/salute.gif[/img]

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.

The Topics

Grishnak01 — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:05:58 GMT

It's all trickled to a standstill. 1st only a few topics were commented on.. then a couple... then.. one.

Is everyone on Christmas vacation again? :P

As the 'Notorious Thread Killer', I can honestly say.. It's not MY FAULT.

I think I have discovered how I will die

Tosk — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:56:49 GMT

ONLY 10K DOWN? ... I think I'm in love.

[url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article5489287.ece?print=yes]Video clicky[/url]

[url=http://www.terrafugia.com/index.html]home clicky[/url]

End of an Era

Scipio Africanus — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:46:42 GMT

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazare_Ponticelli]Lazare Ponticelli[/url]

[quote]Lazare Ponticelli (7 December 1897^[a] – 12 March 2008) was the last-surviving officially recognized veteran of the First World War from France and the last poilu of its trenches to die.^[b] Born in Italy, he moved to France in 1906, and lied about his age to join the French Army in 1914. Italy entered the War in 1915, and subsequently Ponticelli was transferred to its army when authorities discovered his true ancestry. After the War, he and his brothers founded the piping and metal work company "Ponticelli Frères" ("Ponticelli Brothers"), which produced supplies for the Second World War effort and as of 2009 is still in business.[/quote]

The Thread

Locus Coeruleus — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:53:29 GMT

Begins here.

Happy Birthday

Tosk — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:45:38 GMT

TEXAS

[img]http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/images/republic/declar-small.jpg[/img]

177 years old today!

To bad after ya beat em ya didn't keep the whole country ... I think a lot more people would be a lot better off if you had.

Here is your cake.

[img]http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll149/glittergn/happybirthday/birthday014.gif[/img]

What would you do?

cleopatra143 — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:39:35 GMT

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the
misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.
The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's
beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his
daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the
proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let
providence decide the matter.

He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble
into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife
and her father's debt would be
forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her
father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's
field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two
pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp -eyed girl noticed that he
had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would
you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what
would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the
bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in
order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story.

The above story is used with the hope that it will make us
appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The
girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking.
Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the girl to do?

Well, here is what she did..

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble.
Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the
pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the
other pebbles.

'Oh, how clumsy of me,' she said. 'But never mind, if you
look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which
pebble I picked.'

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that
she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not
admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible
situation into an extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY?

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we
don't attempt to think.

Make a list, check it twice!

Locus Coeruleus — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:20:08 GMT

In interesting article from Washington post! ;)

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/06/AR2009020603101_pf.html]A Skeptic Becomes a True Believer[/url]

A very quick read.

[quote]I was skeptical when my hospital embarked several years ago on an initiative to reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections in our intensive care unit.[/quote]

[quote]Before our initiative, for every 1,000 "device days" (for example, 100 ICU patients using one of those devices for 10 days), seven patients would get pneumonia, six would get blood infections and four would get a urine infection. That was the norm. In fact, for years I thought that hospital-acquired infections were the price we had to pay for intensive care. "You stay two weeks in the ICU and you get an infection -- that's not unusual," we would tell families.

And, honestly, it seemed to be a fair price. Patients with severe congestive heart failure and fluid in the lung are kept breathing by a ventilator until the heart recovers, the lung fluid clears and they are breathing on their own. Within a week they're back at home. So what if 10 percent of patients develop infections? We have powerful antibiotics to combat them. And so what if the treatment is expensive? (A ventilator-associated pneumonia or a bloodstream infection typically adds nearly $25,000 to the patient's hospital bill.) Medicare or an insurance company is paying.

Most important, without the devices, many of these patients would surely have died.

So as I said, I was skeptical when my hospital joined the quality improvement initiative led by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a nonprofit founded by Harvard pediatrician Donald Berwick.[/quote]

[quote]Within a week after our first collaborative meeting (this was in the fall of 2002), the IHI team suggested that the ICU doctors and nurses at our hospital begin to use a checklist for every patient. For a patient on a ventilator, for example, it would include raising the head of the patient's bed to 30 degrees to prevent gastric secretions from going into the lung; seeing if ventilated patients could handle reduced sedation, so they could be extubated earlier; giving peptic ulcer prevention medicine to prevent gastric bleeding; and giving blood thinners to prevent clots in the leg that could potentially travel to the lung and cause a fatal pulmonary embolus.

Those sets of orders became known as an IHI "ventilator bundle." Similarly we had a "UTI bundle" for people with urinary catheters and a "central line bundle" for those getting catheters into the deep vessels close to the heart.

That last bundle required doctors to wear a sterile gown, mask and gloves before placing a central line -- [b]a fairly obvious idea. I questioned how repeating such routine injunctions could have much effect on our infection rates.

But the truth is, at most hospitals in America, we have been far from 100 percent consistent on routine procedures. Berwick and the IHI realized that following those orders every time without a written guide was unrealistic. Airline pilots are not expected to do pre-flight checklists based on memory.[/b][/quote]

[quote]In fact, checklists may be one of the great medical innovations of recent years. Take the work of Peter Pronovost, an anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, rated one of the top 100 most influential people in the world last year by Time magazine. By implementing a checklist on the insertion and management of central venous lines with the help of Pronovost and his team, ICUs in Michigan hospitals reduced bloodstream infections to nearly zero.[/quote]

[quote]What was the result of all that effort?

After two years, we saw a 50 percent decline in our ICU infection rate, with a 21 percent (or $702) reduction in cost per ICU discharge. I was no longer skeptical[/quote]

The great thing about this article is that it introduces a concept that you can reap the benefits of if you apply it to your daily life, using checklists for the mundane. :D

Good news for Simpsons

jerm — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 14:27:19 GMT

...but maybe not such a good sign for Americans:

[url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11611015/?GT1=7850]D’oh! More know Simpsons than Constitution[/url]

This isn't meant to be a political thread but if it becomes one please someone move it.

Bathroom graffiti?

cleopatra143 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:54:08 GMT

I saw this today in one of the bathrooms on campus. I found it a bit funny considering this was the foreign language building. What has this world come to that we feel the need to correct someone else grammar while sitting on the john? :D

[IMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j82/cleopatra143/DSC00152.jpg[/IMG]

Your tax dollars at work!!

cleopatra143 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:46:34 GMT

Just thought I would show you what your tax dollars are doing to help those of us less fortunate. :D

[url=http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j82/cleopatra143/?action=view¤t=6664ad8b.pbw]Click me![/url]

Couchsurfing

Locus Coeruleus — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:22:40 GMT

I have posted on [url=http://www.couchsurfing.com/]The CouchSurfing Project[/url] in passing on my travel thread here. It is a social networking web service that actually functions as a hospitality exchange service, geared towards linking travels with hosts around the world. It is a rather neat concept in my opinion. It has the potential to eliminate the cost of staying at hotels, but the purpose of the Couch Surfing Project is not to help you find a free place to stay, it is to give travelers a more inside look at life wherever they may be traveling, to get up close and personal with the locals, to stay with them, and participate in a great deal of cultural exchange. Personally, I think this is one of the best uses of the internet yet, and is quite appropriate given that we live in the 21st century, an era of globalization. Such a function has great potential to really bring the world together (and I mean the world, there are couch surfers hailing from 231 countries).

Well last night, I had my first CouchSurfing experience through the Couch Surfing Network. After I had returned from holiday vacation, I logged on to the email to find a couchsurfing request from a Frenchman, Nicholas, traveling from Texas to Florida, and he wanted to explore the rural Arkansas and Mississippi areas on his way to New Orleans before heading over. Last night he showed up shortly after dinner time. After introductions and whatnot we sat and had a lengthy conversation about a multitude of things until bedtime. Then in the morning, I had planned making a big breakfast for host and guest, and we chatted some more over omlettes, sausages, english muffins and fresh squeezed orange juice. Then I gave him a tour of Leland, which took no more than 10 to 15 minutes, then we came back to my place, snapped some photos and he was on his way to Vicksburg and then the Big Easy.

Personally, I would prefer a situation where guests would stay 2-3 days, so we would have a chance to get to know each other. I expect that might happen in the Spring during Blues Festival season, but having a guest stay one night was kind of neat too. It kind of had that feel to it of the old times where the Inn Keeper set up shop in his personal residence and established lodgings for wayward travelers....only in a 21st century sort of way.

I would highly recommend CouchSurfing project to any and all who are interested in taking full advantage of the world wide web. It is something I plan on taking full advantage of when I travel to Europe this Spring. ;)

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]

Heavy Snow in Britain

Nuclearcow — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:16:43 GMT

Worst snow in 20 years in some parts of Britain.
[url]http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weather/article5639189.ece[/url]

For our English friends across the pond, how much were you guys affected?

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.

I'll never do that again...

cleopatra143 — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:53:35 GMT

What is something that you have done, that you will never do again because it was so stupid/painful/krazy?

I'll go first. I ate a whole package of prunes once. >.<

Why I keep coming back to 1BC.

Tosk — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:07:31 GMT

I don't have to put up with this.

Would you be more embarrassed if you posted this ... or if your child did???

[img]http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/fail-owned-pdt-blizzard-forum-fail.jpg[/img]

Anyone using Vista yet?

Sean — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 01:12:47 GMT

I've had access to it forever it seems (MSDN subscription), but I haven't installed it yet. I've played with it for a while on MS's test site, read all the reviews, etc (and you know how much of an MSN fanboy I am) and am ready to take the plunge!

I've been waiting for Dell to release it on its XPS line and finally got tired of waiting. I ordered an XPS the other day with XP Pro and plan to setup a dual boot. I also ordered a couple of the 30" monitors, and they arrived today (only 2 days after ordering -- wow!). My current system has dual 8800 Ultras, but they couldn't power these beastly monitors. A quick trip to Best Buy (gimma a break -- I didn't wanna wait!) and I got me one of the 7950 GT's. Now I have the monitors working at their preferred resolution (all I can say is OH MY!), and now I want Vista... Now, damnit!

So I'm going to setup a dual boot on my current dev machine. It's not the XPS, but it has 2 gigs of ram, a 3.8 GHz processor and 2 TB of space... Curious to see how this goes.

Of course, I'll probably spend all weekend playing the new Minesweeper...

So what's everyone else thinking about Vista? I know Tosk will say he hates it, but he'll upgrade eventually, because even old buggers like new games... and Vista is the only game in town, ba-by!

The USDA Research

Locus Coeruleus — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:27:25 GMT

[url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/081010.htm]Beyond Corn for BioFuel[/url]

7 Insane Conspiracies That Actually Happened

Nuclearcow — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:23:26 GMT

[url]http://www.cracked.com/article_15974_7-insane-conspiracies-that-actually-happened.html[/url]

Happy New Year 2009

Locus Coeruleus — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:01:57 GMT

The Sun returns!!! :D

May your 2009 be interesting and prosperous. :)

Dave Barry's Year in Review

HistoryDude — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:02:38 GMT

I like people who find humor in it all. This makes fun of all across the board - and I think is pretty spot on!

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/19/AR2008121901343.html]Year in Review[/url]