Sure, but it's nothing new. It's just Mario 64 with fancier graphics and a water gun. That doesn't mean it's not fun, just that it's nothing new.
Now, how about Splinter Cell? It has the graphics thing down cold (mmm... real time dynamic lights and shadows, soft body physics...), and the gameplay is new and interesting (okay, so it's not revolutionary either, being an evolutionary step from games like the Metal Gear series and previous Tom Clancy games).
Of course they're the minority, like in anything. How many movies came out this year that were focused on viewer enjoyment rather than glitz and flash?
Exactly. This is something that the retro guys always forget -- they're looking back through rose-colored glasses. For every Super Mario World, or Legend of Zelda, or original Metroid there were hundreds of stinkers, rip-offs, and copies. There were tons and tons of games with terrible gameplay and no redeeming qualities. But, because it's the past, we don't remember those. We only remember the good games. Same goes for movies and for music. The past wasn't any better than now, it's just that time has made you forget the horrendous crap that was released.
Well? Daikatana took what, 4 years? 5 years? And when it was released, it was crap. It was also very, very buggy. And the gameplay sucked. As far as I'm concerned, there's not a good track record for games taking a long time and ending up good (maybe Halo, but it took longer because it changed platforms).
But still, why should we? I'm afraid it would ruin our environment. And why should we do it when our forefathers didn't have to? And who are to decide how the weather should be?
Why shouldn't we? If done responsibly, environmental effects will be minimal, "ruining" nothing. Perhaps our forefathers didn't have to, but given the choice, do you think they would? An ever-shrinking amount of arable land is being used to provide food for an ever-growing world population. Why not use everything in our power to maximize (safe) production of food so that the world can eat? (yeah, yeah, we should do something about population control, but face it -- it's not going to happen).
No, let nature do the work. Much cheaper, much easier, and much more environmental...
In that vein, I'm sure you're against irrigation (nature didn't put a waterway where you need it, so tough shit), fertilizer (if the ground isn't rich enough to grow your food, tough shit), or even sowing seeds (hey, if nature didn't grow these food plants there, it must've been for a reason, right?). I'm sorry, but no. Man has been changing his environment since the first day he learned to walk (picking berries from bushes means less food for some animals, killing animals for food means less food for the natural predators of those animals, the development of farming causes vast tracts of land to be deforested, etc). Controlling the weather is not a revolutionary step. It's an evolutionary step in man's ability to control his surroundings. So long as we're responsible about it, there's nothing to lose and everything to gain.
I think the answer to this, like the answer to many questions, is a resounding, "It depdends!" For example, what environmental benefit does hail bring? Would it not be better to control hail, thus sparing millions of dollars in crop and structure damage? What benefit do we get from tornados? Hurricanes may be a tough one, because while they do cause lots of property damage, they bring rain and affect weather patterns farther inland than you would think. What about causing unseasonal monsoons? Would that cause environmental problems, or would the influx of water into the system be beneficial?
Having the technology is good. There's nothing wrong with that. Using it, however, requires proper thought on the part of those who would use it.
There is no "DirectDraw 8". DirectDraw was the 2D graphical component of DirectX, and it went away (except for backwards compatibility) in DirectX 8. DX8.1 and DX9.0 also don't have DD except for backwards compatibility. I think what you meant was either Direct3D (the 3D graphics component of DirectX, now also used for 2D graphics unless you code to the DX7 interfaces), or more likely DirectX. Just a semantics issue, but it makes things more clear.
I hear that a glass bottle works better (flavor-wise) for fermentation than the plastic buckets. May just be hear-say, though. Anyway, that's pretty much what my roommate has going -- pot for boiling wort (4gal is probably overkill, since you don't need the full amount of water while you're boiling your wort), 5gal glass bottle for fermentation, 5gal bucket for bottling, all the trappings for sterilization, bottling, etc. Makes a good brew. I'm slowly working my way through this first batch while he's out of town on vacation. Mmm... beer for me.
For me, it's too much work, but he's into it. Sounds like after the next batch of pre-packaged wort, he's going to try his hand at doing everything from scratch. Fine by me, since even a bad homebrew is better than a Bud.
If by "kit" you mean those "Mr. Brew" things you can find in most stores, don't bother -- that beer is terrible. Instead, find your local brewery supply store and get the proper items. If, on the other hand, you mean a "kit" from your local brewery supplier that includes the necessary items you need for brewing, then great. My roommate made a batch of homebrew earlier in December, turned out really good.
If you're into it, Alton Brown had a Good Eats episode dedicated to brewing beer. Try to find that one for a lot of good ideas.
Are police allowed to test for other drugs in your blood as well?
Probably, but I have nothing to worry about there.
In Australia (well NSW anyway), drink driving is a criminal offence that can result in a jail term (up to two years for a high range BAC), so keeping your license is a relatively minor concern.
DUI in the States is also a criminal offense, but it really takes a lot to actually be put in jail (extremely high BAC is usually not enough -- you either have to be a repeat offender, or kill somebody, but in the latter case you'll be going to trial for vehicular manslaughter). In most cases, you'll lose your license for a month, maybe three, and be required to do a 2 year alcohol treatment program as well as join AA. In some states you may have an ignition interlock fitted on your car (a breathalyzer that won't allow you to start your car if it detects alcohol). The license suspension part is weak, considering that if you refuse both a breathalyzer and a blood test you're going to lose your license anyway for anywhere from six months to a year.
The cops will try to tell you that you'll lose your license if you refuse a breathalyzer test, but they're bluffing. Same for a field sobriety test (those are even less reliable than breathalyzers!). Don't cave. As long as you submit to a blood test, they will not revoke your license. And the blood test will be more accurate. You may only have a BAC of.075 (well below the legal limit of.08 in most states), but a breathalyzer could show anywhere from a.07 to a.09 even! The blood test will be accurate, and you'll be given at least the ride to the station to metabolize more of that alcohol. And if they do revoke your license, that's okay -- you're going to be getting a lawyer anyway if you're smart, and the lawyer will take care of showing them the error of their ways and getting your license back (well, as long as you retain a competent lawyer, anyway).
For the record, I don't drive drunk, and I've never even been pulled over for being suspected of DUI. However, I have friends and acquiantances that have gotten DUIs, so I know quite a bit about how the system works in this regard. At least in the US, anyway.
Then again the breath test isn't what matters, the breath test gets you arrested, then you get a more accurate breath test, and you can then be required to (or ask for, though you then get a bill) a blood test. The blood test is trumps.
At least here, if you submit to the breathalyzer, that's all the more testing they'll do. Unless you're 110% sure you're going to pass a breathalyzer, you're going to be spending money on this anyway (lawyer fee and/or court fees and fines), so don't balk at the cost of a blood test. It will help you out in the long run and make your legal case stronger if indeed you were under the legal limit. As you said, the blood test trumps, so why would you mess around with anything less accurate?
One last note -- most states have a "zero tolerance" rule, so if you're under 21 and drinking, please don't drive. All the blood tests and lawyers in the world can't save you, so just be smart and don't do it.
For example, if a cop pulls you over on the road, you cannot refuse a breathalizer exam without automatically losing your license. As such, you effectively don't have the right *not* to give up evidence (since the punishment for not giving up said evidence is just like the punishment for the crime of drunk driving, it becomes a moot point).
This may be a state-by-state thing, but you can certainly refuse to give a breathalyzer test and still retain your license -- tell the officer to cuff you and take you to the station, where you'll happily give them a blood sample. You're still complying, so they cannot take your license.
Anyway, you should always refuse a breathalyzer test. The things are hardly accurate at all. You should always force their hand by making them take a blood test. Not only will it be more accurate, but you're giving yourself about an hour more time to help lower your BAC.
(NOTE: I do not condone drunk driving at all. However, I see no problem with having one or two drinks and then driving later in the evening after those drinks. (obviously depends on body type and composition, as well as tolerance -- one drink may be enough to get some people truly drunk.) Because of the inaccuracies of breathalyzers, even one drink could make you blow legally drunk, even if your BAC is really not at that level.)
Personally, I prefer the way Sony is handling online play with the PS2 network adaptor. There is no centralized service for all games, and at least right now there are no subscription fees for most if not all of the current games.
I prefer the way Microsoft is handling online play with the XBox Live kit. There are centralized servers for all games, so your friends can see if you're online even if you're not playing the same game, and at least right now there are no subscription fees for all of the current games. (What's that? You paid $50 for the XBox Live kit? Well, how much did you pay for the PS2 Broadband adaptor? How much extra did SOCOM cost you because it has that fancy headset? Do any other games work with that headset?)
One misconception though -- just because you pay a yearly fee for XBox Live doesn't mean you won't have to pay anything per game, either. That's totally up to the developer of the game to decide. If they want to charge you another $10/mo on top of what you already paid for XBox Live, there's nothing stopping them at all. However, the main difference between the XBox model and PS2 model is that since the individual developers will not have any of the costs of running their own servers, there's less need to charge an ongoing fee.
And that's stopping the DVD creators from doing anamorphic DVDs how? That's the beauty of DVD -- I want widescreen, you want fullscreen. We only need one disk. Choose the display type you want in the menus, or as a configurable option of your DVD player, or both. Fullscreen-only and widescreen-only DVDs are a complete waste of time.
I agree and disagree. There are some stores that just take this way too far (*cough*Circuit City*cough*). If I'm in Circuit City, chances are I know what I want, and I just want to get it and get out. However, there are other stores, like the previously mentioned Magnolia Hi-fi, where I welcome the sales people. Mostly, this is because they know what they're talking about, and usually we just end up shooting the shit over what's new, or what set A has that's better than set B, or what I can do next to my home theater setup, or whatever. I've spent time and energy to build a rapport with those guys. When I walk into the store, I'll usually get a, "Hey, how's it going?" I like that. I never feel pressured into buying anything.
On the flip side, there are some stores that should do a better job of approaching the customer. Case in point: I went into the local CompUSA to buy a laptop earlier this month. I knew exactly what laptop I wanted, but I obviously needed somebody to get one for me. It took me a good half hour just to find somebody willing to help me get the laptop I wanted to buy. That's taking the "ignore the customer" thing to the wrong extreme. A happy medium in most cases would be to have associates be around and visible. Maybe approach customers, telling them, "Hi, I'm George, and can answer any questions you may have. Just come grab me if you need me," and then walk away (stay in the area, but don't hover). Then, when I need the guy, he's already there and ready. There'll still be exceptions to this (like Magnolia Hi-Fi, or my car dealership), but in most cases I think that would work out best.
I don't want to be ignored, I just want to be left alone until I feel like I need someone to help me. And at that point, somebody better be there to help me, or there'll be trouble.
I disagree. I love my 46" 16:9 Mitsubishi. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. Sure, I deal with the gray vertical bars in 4:3 (I can't make myself watch the stretched normal mode, and the TV only has the special "stretched" mode in 480i). IMHO, that's better than black bars, because at least you're getting some wear on the phospors. Also, the vertical bars change position on occasion on my TV, so they're never in the same place. I've had it for a year and a half, and have suffered no burn-in (or under-burn, as you'd get from having phosphors that are not as worn as the rest). I frequently play video games on it (XBox, mostly, with the HD A/V pack).
As for the PS2, you definitely need to get component cables for it. Otherwise, it's not going to look very good. However, most good TVs have line-doublers on 480i signals (which is what your PS2 will do), so it shouldn't look too bad. Then again, the Gamecube looked pretty terrible using the composite connector (took Nintendo a couple weeks to ship me the component cables). It looks somewhat better with the component cables and running games in 480p, but it's still no XBox. But that's more a limitation of the Gamecube than it is of the TV.
Finally, if you can get HD signals in your area (OTA, satellite, or even cable now), you'll really appreciate having that 16:9 set. And DVDs! It's great watching widescreen movies with little or no letterboxing (some are shot in a wier ratio than 16:9, so you'll still get some letterboxing, but it won't be nearly as bad as on a 4:3 set). The only problem I have now is when Blockbuster only gets Full-screen versions of DVDs (why in the hell would they ever do that?). If I don't pay close attention to the box, I'll get home, throw in the DVD, and then scream in horror as I realize I grabbed a full-screen DVD rather than a widescreen. A completely different rant that I won't get into here is why full-screen DVDs are even released anymore? What a waste.
why dont we look at a movie theatere and talk about how cool it would be to spend $1M on a screen and stereo setup...
You mean you don't do this?
Just as some people drool over the latest CPU, or the newest video card, some of us drool over the latest in A/V technology. Whether that's a new set of speakers or a DVD player, or a bigger, better, fancier TV, it's all still drool-worthy. Maybe we can't afford it just now, but what does that matter? These kind of reviews give us the insight on whether or not what we're lusting after is really a good idea.
Personally, I'd rather just go down to the local Magnolia Hi-Fi and drool over the new sets in person. I've bought enough stuff there that a couple of the sales people know me already (heck, I always end up with the same guy), so it's quite easy to get personalized demonstrations. Even if all I end up buying is some cabling, the salespeople have still done their job -- I usually end up with something else to add to my wishlist.
Capo, the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate. (Also a piece of hardware for guitars or other similar instruments, but that's not what's being referred to here, and it's pronounced differently, being "kay'-poh", and not "kaa'-poh"). It's Italian for "head". The full form of the term used by the Italian mafia was "caporegime".
Perhaps, but the Cayenne is hardly your average soccer mom SUV - able to tackle the Rubicon, 0-60 in 5ish seconds, and over 70 large. On the other hand, its sister vehicle the VW Touareg is looking like a slam-dunk for the "normal" SUV market...
And yet, there are all of thos soccer moms out there driving $60K+ SUV bimmers and benzes. Finally, their old man will be able to convince them to let him buy a Porsche, but guess who'll be doing most of the driving? I appreciate the performance capabilities of the Cayenne, and were I in the market for an SUV (I hope I never am), that'd be the only one on my list. However, you know that many of these will be owned and driven by upscale moms. These are the kind of people that won't put up with blown engines, long service times, poor customer service, etc. Porsche is in for a big wake-up call if they haven't already taken this into account (they're a smart company, so I'd hope they have. But...)
Also, Audi's going to have an SUV based on the same Cayenne/Touareg platform, which will fall somewhere between the VW and the low-end Porsche model.
And sadly, only the "low-end" Cayenne S will have a manual transmission. Only tip is available with the high-end Cayenne Turbo. What a waste.
Your leftist speech has confused me. "American corporate fascist system of life"? However, that's not even the point. Where did I once say that they should be considering Microsoft as a solution? (They should be, if only for the sake of completeness, but that's not the point.) Why not recommend the BSDs over Linux? My point was that by always recommending Linux regardless of the problem is trying to make every problem look like a nail. Maybe in many of those cases Linux will be the right tool, but in every case? I'm sorry, but no.
Maybe he can con some Egyptian businesses into going with his "all Linux, all the time" agenda when Linux is not the best solution for them, and more power to him. However, he stated himself that he's not had much success ("more than one occassion" is not "many times", "most of the time", or "all of the time". It's simply more than one -- like two). I feel sorry for his clients.
Someone mod down this troll parent. If you're anti-Slashdot, go post on TeamXBox.com, by-and-for Microsoft Employees.
So you're opposed to free speech? I'm sorry, but suggesting that anybody who has a problem with Slashdot should leave is ludicrous. Childish, even. "You can't join my club because you called my friend's dad a big poopy head." For what it's worth, I agree with the parent. Slashdot is supposed to be "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters", but more and more of late it seems that the editors are pushing their own agenda re: linux, open source, who the current "bad guys" are, etc (not that there's anything wrong with pushing their opinions, except that the site is defined as a news clearinghouse and not an editorial site). If a Microsoft-friendly site were to post Microsoft-positive articles (hrm, TeamXBox maybe?), they would be called a Microsoft shill, just as the parent said. But Slashdot isn't a Linux shill, is it?
Even more ludicrous than the attempt at making Slashdot a homogeneous population by getting rid of anybody that has a valid complaint against the administration is the assertion that if you're anti-Slashdot, you must work for Microsoft. That's hilarious. No, really. You meant for that to be funny, right? Right?...
At its core, yes. However good a Picasso piece may be, it is not appropriate for every situation. More, it is not appropriate for every person, and just because it's appropriate for you doesn't mean you should push others to purchase Picasso works.
I think good craftsmen and women appreciate good tools, even if they do not totally understand them.
I certainly appreciate good tools, and while you could say that Linux is the highest-quality hammer available, it's still a hammer -- ie, it's useless when what you reall need is a hacksaw. Yeah, sure, Linux is more flexible than that, but the point is made. Use the right tool for the right job, and no one tool is always right. Thus, don't just blindly recommend Linux in every situation, like the original poster said (I added "blindly", but think about it. If you recommend Linux in every situation, then you're obviously not looking at the merits of the problem and just trying to push your own agenda). Take stock of the issue and determine what tool is really needed, rather than what tool you really want to use.
i am one of the people who tries to recommend Linux in each and every situation or problem met
And open source zealots wonder why nobody in the business world takes them seriously. Come on. Linux, just like every other operating system, is nothing more than a tool. There is no possible way that it is going to be right for every single situation, every single time. That would explain my you haven't had success on every situation (and not even on "a lot" of situations, but only "more than one" occassion). Next time, try assessing the problem properly and tailoring a solution for the problem itself. Knee-jerking and screaming "Linux!" is not the proper reaction.
I can say that even German cars have problems. For example, Porsche has had many problems with their Boxster line of cars, anywhere from leaking rear main seals to blown engines. Their other lines haven't gotten off the hook, either (it'll be interesting to see if response to problems with the upcoming Cayenne cause Porsche to change their ways -- sports car buyers are a completely different breed of person, willing to put up with a lot of problems that your average soccer mom SUV driver will not). BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, etc have all had problems as well. Not that I'm complaining. My German-made car is still running just as well as the day it rolled off the factory line, but I don't have any illusions that having a German badge on it will keep it from having problems down the line.
Personally, I'd kill for a car of Italian design, German engineering, and Japanese manufacturing. Assuming they could all work well together, playing on their strengths to cover each other's weaknesses, that'd be a true super car. (With VAG/PAG owning Lamborghini, maybe we'll see at least two out of the three...)
And to stay on topic... damn. Them's some high RPMs!
NO, the API is not cross platform. MFC/Win32 on Windows, Carbon/Cocoa/Toolbox on the Mac. API code you write for one is not compatible with the other
People still use MFC? Eww. Try ATL/WTL instead. Or better yet, use a.NET language. MFC is outdated, outmoded, ugly, and cumbersome.
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Yes, yes, I know all of that. I know Verizon handles the loop. I know Covad is the clec. I know that if I have a "Hard Down" problem, it's unlikely it's my ISP (Speakeasy). Problem is, that's not what I was having. Every night, sometimes every other night, I'd lose service for maybe 10 minutes. Just long enough to piss me off, but not long enough to still be down by the time I got through to a tech support person at Speakeasy to troubleshoot. Therefore, they could never bring Covad and/or Verizon into the loop to test for problems. Sounds like a modem problem, yes? Well, Speakeasy decided that was the case one day after my modem's warranty ran out (I beat them over the head and got a replacement for free). They sent Covad out with a new modem, and supposedly the Covad guy did some tests and said there was an issue with the loop. So Verizon tested the loop and said there were no problems. Who should I believe? All I know is that with the new modem, I go down less frequently (maybe once a week now, rather than every 1-2 days).
I'm not saying it's Speakeasy's fault that the modem went bad (or that they gave me a bad modem in the first place). I'm saying it's their fault for refusing to diagnose the problem for almost a year. If that means bringing the CLEC and ILEC in to do testing, so be it.
And that's saying absolutely nothing about the billing crap Speakeasy has put me through.
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What POP are you on? Speakeasy seems reasonably well-run in Seattle, but I don't know about anywhere else.
Slashdot Mirror
Metroid Prime: horrid control scheme
Sure, but it's nothing new. It's just Mario 64 with fancier graphics and a water gun. That doesn't mean it's not fun, just that it's nothing new.
Now, how about Splinter Cell? It has the graphics thing down cold (mmm ... real time dynamic lights and shadows, soft body physics ...), and the gameplay is new and interesting (okay, so it's not revolutionary either, being an evolutionary step from games like the Metal Gear series and previous Tom Clancy games).
Exactly. This is something that the retro guys always forget -- they're looking back through rose-colored glasses. For every Super Mario World, or Legend of Zelda, or original Metroid there were hundreds of stinkers, rip-offs, and copies. There were tons and tons of games with terrible gameplay and no redeeming qualities. But, because it's the past, we don't remember those. We only remember the good games. Same goes for movies and for music. The past wasn't any better than now, it's just that time has made you forget the horrendous crap that was released.
Well? Daikatana took what, 4 years? 5 years? And when it was released, it was crap. It was also very, very buggy. And the gameplay sucked. As far as I'm concerned, there's not a good track record for games taking a long time and ending up good (maybe Halo, but it took longer because it changed platforms).
Why shouldn't we? If done responsibly, environmental effects will be minimal, "ruining" nothing. Perhaps our forefathers didn't have to, but given the choice, do you think they would? An ever-shrinking amount of arable land is being used to provide food for an ever-growing world population. Why not use everything in our power to maximize (safe) production of food so that the world can eat? (yeah, yeah, we should do something about population control, but face it -- it's not going to happen).
In that vein, I'm sure you're against irrigation (nature didn't put a waterway where you need it, so tough shit), fertilizer (if the ground isn't rich enough to grow your food, tough shit), or even sowing seeds (hey, if nature didn't grow these food plants there, it must've been for a reason, right?). I'm sorry, but no. Man has been changing his environment since the first day he learned to walk (picking berries from bushes means less food for some animals, killing animals for food means less food for the natural predators of those animals, the development of farming causes vast tracts of land to be deforested, etc). Controlling the weather is not a revolutionary step. It's an evolutionary step in man's ability to control his surroundings. So long as we're responsible about it, there's nothing to lose and everything to gain.
I think the answer to this, like the answer to many questions, is a resounding, "It depdends!" For example, what environmental benefit does hail bring? Would it not be better to control hail, thus sparing millions of dollars in crop and structure damage? What benefit do we get from tornados? Hurricanes may be a tough one, because while they do cause lots of property damage, they bring rain and affect weather patterns farther inland than you would think. What about causing unseasonal monsoons? Would that cause environmental problems, or would the influx of water into the system be beneficial?
Having the technology is good. There's nothing wrong with that. Using it, however, requires proper thought on the part of those who would use it.
There is no "DirectDraw 8". DirectDraw was the 2D graphical component of DirectX, and it went away (except for backwards compatibility) in DirectX 8. DX8.1 and DX9.0 also don't have DD except for backwards compatibility. I think what you meant was either Direct3D (the 3D graphics component of DirectX, now also used for 2D graphics unless you code to the DX7 interfaces), or more likely DirectX. Just a semantics issue, but it makes things more clear.
I hear that a glass bottle works better (flavor-wise) for fermentation than the plastic buckets. May just be hear-say, though. Anyway, that's pretty much what my roommate has going -- pot for boiling wort (4gal is probably overkill, since you don't need the full amount of water while you're boiling your wort), 5gal glass bottle for fermentation, 5gal bucket for bottling, all the trappings for sterilization, bottling, etc. Makes a good brew. I'm slowly working my way through this first batch while he's out of town on vacation. Mmm ... beer for me.
For me, it's too much work, but he's into it. Sounds like after the next batch of pre-packaged wort, he's going to try his hand at doing everything from scratch. Fine by me, since even a bad homebrew is better than a Bud.
If by "kit" you mean those "Mr. Brew" things you can find in most stores, don't bother -- that beer is terrible. Instead, find your local brewery supply store and get the proper items. If, on the other hand, you mean a "kit" from your local brewery supplier that includes the necessary items you need for brewing, then great. My roommate made a batch of homebrew earlier in December, turned out really good.
If you're into it, Alton Brown had a Good Eats episode dedicated to brewing beer. Try to find that one for a lot of good ideas.
Probably, but I have nothing to worry about there.
DUI in the States is also a criminal offense, but it really takes a lot to actually be put in jail (extremely high BAC is usually not enough -- you either have to be a repeat offender, or kill somebody, but in the latter case you'll be going to trial for vehicular manslaughter). In most cases, you'll lose your license for a month, maybe three, and be required to do a 2 year alcohol treatment program as well as join AA. In some states you may have an ignition interlock fitted on your car (a breathalyzer that won't allow you to start your car if it detects alcohol). The license suspension part is weak, considering that if you refuse both a breathalyzer and a blood test you're going to lose your license anyway for anywhere from six months to a year.
The cops will try to tell you that you'll lose your license if you refuse a breathalyzer test, but they're bluffing. Same for a field sobriety test (those are even less reliable than breathalyzers!). Don't cave. As long as you submit to a blood test, they will not revoke your license. And the blood test will be more accurate. You may only have a BAC of .075 (well below the legal limit of .08 in most states), but a breathalyzer could show anywhere from a .07 to a .09 even! The blood test will be accurate, and you'll be given at least the ride to the station to metabolize more of that alcohol. And if they do revoke your license, that's okay -- you're going to be getting a lawyer anyway if you're smart, and the lawyer will take care of showing them the error of their ways and getting your license back (well, as long as you retain a competent lawyer, anyway).
For the record, I don't drive drunk, and I've never even been pulled over for being suspected of DUI. However, I have friends and acquiantances that have gotten DUIs, so I know quite a bit about how the system works in this regard. At least in the US, anyway.
At least here, if you submit to the breathalyzer, that's all the more testing they'll do. Unless you're 110% sure you're going to pass a breathalyzer, you're going to be spending money on this anyway (lawyer fee and/or court fees and fines), so don't balk at the cost of a blood test. It will help you out in the long run and make your legal case stronger if indeed you were under the legal limit. As you said, the blood test trumps, so why would you mess around with anything less accurate?
One last note -- most states have a "zero tolerance" rule, so if you're under 21 and drinking, please don't drive. All the blood tests and lawyers in the world can't save you, so just be smart and don't do it.
This may be a state-by-state thing, but you can certainly refuse to give a breathalyzer test and still retain your license -- tell the officer to cuff you and take you to the station, where you'll happily give them a blood sample. You're still complying, so they cannot take your license.
Anyway, you should always refuse a breathalyzer test. The things are hardly accurate at all. You should always force their hand by making them take a blood test. Not only will it be more accurate, but you're giving yourself about an hour more time to help lower your BAC.
(NOTE: I do not condone drunk driving at all. However, I see no problem with having one or two drinks and then driving later in the evening after those drinks. (obviously depends on body type and composition, as well as tolerance -- one drink may be enough to get some people truly drunk.) Because of the inaccuracies of breathalyzers, even one drink could make you blow legally drunk, even if your BAC is really not at that level.)
I prefer the way Microsoft is handling online play with the XBox Live kit. There are centralized servers for all games, so your friends can see if you're online even if you're not playing the same game, and at least right now there are no subscription fees for all of the current games. (What's that? You paid $50 for the XBox Live kit? Well, how much did you pay for the PS2 Broadband adaptor? How much extra did SOCOM cost you because it has that fancy headset? Do any other games work with that headset?)
One misconception though -- just because you pay a yearly fee for XBox Live doesn't mean you won't have to pay anything per game, either. That's totally up to the developer of the game to decide. If they want to charge you another $10/mo on top of what you already paid for XBox Live, there's nothing stopping them at all. However, the main difference between the XBox model and PS2 model is that since the individual developers will not have any of the costs of running their own servers, there's less need to charge an ongoing fee.
And that's stopping the DVD creators from doing anamorphic DVDs how? That's the beauty of DVD -- I want widescreen, you want fullscreen. We only need one disk. Choose the display type you want in the menus, or as a configurable option of your DVD player, or both. Fullscreen-only and widescreen-only DVDs are a complete waste of time.
I agree and disagree. There are some stores that just take this way too far (*cough*Circuit City*cough*). If I'm in Circuit City, chances are I know what I want, and I just want to get it and get out. However, there are other stores, like the previously mentioned Magnolia Hi-fi, where I welcome the sales people. Mostly, this is because they know what they're talking about, and usually we just end up shooting the shit over what's new, or what set A has that's better than set B, or what I can do next to my home theater setup, or whatever. I've spent time and energy to build a rapport with those guys. When I walk into the store, I'll usually get a, "Hey, how's it going?" I like that. I never feel pressured into buying anything.
On the flip side, there are some stores that should do a better job of approaching the customer. Case in point: I went into the local CompUSA to buy a laptop earlier this month. I knew exactly what laptop I wanted, but I obviously needed somebody to get one for me. It took me a good half hour just to find somebody willing to help me get the laptop I wanted to buy. That's taking the "ignore the customer" thing to the wrong extreme. A happy medium in most cases would be to have associates be around and visible. Maybe approach customers, telling them, "Hi, I'm George, and can answer any questions you may have. Just come grab me if you need me," and then walk away (stay in the area, but don't hover). Then, when I need the guy, he's already there and ready. There'll still be exceptions to this (like Magnolia Hi-Fi, or my car dealership), but in most cases I think that would work out best.
I don't want to be ignored, I just want to be left alone until I feel like I need someone to help me. And at that point, somebody better be there to help me, or there'll be trouble.
I disagree. I love my 46" 16:9 Mitsubishi. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. Sure, I deal with the gray vertical bars in 4:3 (I can't make myself watch the stretched normal mode, and the TV only has the special "stretched" mode in 480i). IMHO, that's better than black bars, because at least you're getting some wear on the phospors. Also, the vertical bars change position on occasion on my TV, so they're never in the same place. I've had it for a year and a half, and have suffered no burn-in (or under-burn, as you'd get from having phosphors that are not as worn as the rest). I frequently play video games on it (XBox, mostly, with the HD A/V pack).
As for the PS2, you definitely need to get component cables for it. Otherwise, it's not going to look very good. However, most good TVs have line-doublers on 480i signals (which is what your PS2 will do), so it shouldn't look too bad. Then again, the Gamecube looked pretty terrible using the composite connector (took Nintendo a couple weeks to ship me the component cables). It looks somewhat better with the component cables and running games in 480p, but it's still no XBox. But that's more a limitation of the Gamecube than it is of the TV.
Finally, if you can get HD signals in your area (OTA, satellite, or even cable now), you'll really appreciate having that 16:9 set. And DVDs! It's great watching widescreen movies with little or no letterboxing (some are shot in a wier ratio than 16:9, so you'll still get some letterboxing, but it won't be nearly as bad as on a 4:3 set). The only problem I have now is when Blockbuster only gets Full-screen versions of DVDs (why in the hell would they ever do that?). If I don't pay close attention to the box, I'll get home, throw in the DVD, and then scream in horror as I realize I grabbed a full-screen DVD rather than a widescreen. A completely different rant that I won't get into here is why full-screen DVDs are even released anymore? What a waste.
You mean you don't do this?
Just as some people drool over the latest CPU, or the newest video card, some of us drool over the latest in A/V technology. Whether that's a new set of speakers or a DVD player, or a bigger, better, fancier TV, it's all still drool-worthy. Maybe we can't afford it just now, but what does that matter? These kind of reviews give us the insight on whether or not what we're lusting after is really a good idea.
Personally, I'd rather just go down to the local Magnolia Hi-Fi and drool over the new sets in person. I've bought enough stuff there that a couple of the sales people know me already (heck, I always end up with the same guy), so it's quite easy to get personalized demonstrations. Even if all I end up buying is some cabling, the salespeople have still done their job -- I usually end up with something else to add to my wishlist.
Capo, the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate. (Also a piece of hardware for guitars or other similar instruments, but that's not what's being referred to here, and it's pronounced differently, being "kay'-poh", and not "kaa'-poh"). It's Italian for "head". The full form of the term used by the Italian mafia was "caporegime".
And yet, there are all of thos soccer moms out there driving $60K+ SUV bimmers and benzes. Finally, their old man will be able to convince them to let him buy a Porsche, but guess who'll be doing most of the driving? I appreciate the performance capabilities of the Cayenne, and were I in the market for an SUV (I hope I never am), that'd be the only one on my list. However, you know that many of these will be owned and driven by upscale moms. These are the kind of people that won't put up with blown engines, long service times, poor customer service, etc. Porsche is in for a big wake-up call if they haven't already taken this into account (they're a smart company, so I'd hope they have. But ...)
Also, Audi's going to have an SUV based on the same Cayenne/Touareg platform, which will fall somewhere between the VW and the low-end Porsche model.
And sadly, only the "low-end" Cayenne S will have a manual transmission. Only tip is available with the high-end Cayenne Turbo. What a waste.
Your leftist speech has confused me. "American corporate fascist system of life"? However, that's not even the point. Where did I once say that they should be considering Microsoft as a solution? (They should be, if only for the sake of completeness, but that's not the point.) Why not recommend the BSDs over Linux? My point was that by always recommending Linux regardless of the problem is trying to make every problem look like a nail. Maybe in many of those cases Linux will be the right tool, but in every case? I'm sorry, but no.
Maybe he can con some Egyptian businesses into going with his "all Linux, all the time" agenda when Linux is not the best solution for them, and more power to him. However, he stated himself that he's not had much success ("more than one occassion" is not "many times", "most of the time", or "all of the time". It's simply more than one -- like two). I feel sorry for his clients.
So you're opposed to free speech? I'm sorry, but suggesting that anybody who has a problem with Slashdot should leave is ludicrous. Childish, even. "You can't join my club because you called my friend's dad a big poopy head." For what it's worth, I agree with the parent. Slashdot is supposed to be "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters", but more and more of late it seems that the editors are pushing their own agenda re: linux, open source, who the current "bad guys" are, etc (not that there's anything wrong with pushing their opinions, except that the site is defined as a news clearinghouse and not an editorial site). If a Microsoft-friendly site were to post Microsoft-positive articles (hrm, TeamXBox maybe?), they would be called a Microsoft shill, just as the parent said. But Slashdot isn't a Linux shill, is it?
Even more ludicrous than the attempt at making Slashdot a homogeneous population by getting rid of anybody that has a valid complaint against the administration is the assertion that if you're anti-Slashdot, you must work for Microsoft. That's hilarious. No, really. You meant for that to be funny, right? Right? ...
At its core, yes. However good a Picasso piece may be, it is not appropriate for every situation. More, it is not appropriate for every person, and just because it's appropriate for you doesn't mean you should push others to purchase Picasso works.
I certainly appreciate good tools, and while you could say that Linux is the highest-quality hammer available, it's still a hammer -- ie, it's useless when what you reall need is a hacksaw. Yeah, sure, Linux is more flexible than that, but the point is made. Use the right tool for the right job, and no one tool is always right. Thus, don't just blindly recommend Linux in every situation, like the original poster said (I added "blindly", but think about it. If you recommend Linux in every situation, then you're obviously not looking at the merits of the problem and just trying to push your own agenda). Take stock of the issue and determine what tool is really needed, rather than what tool you really want to use.
And open source zealots wonder why nobody in the business world takes them seriously. Come on. Linux, just like every other operating system, is nothing more than a tool. There is no possible way that it is going to be right for every single situation, every single time. That would explain my you haven't had success on every situation (and not even on "a lot" of situations, but only "more than one" occassion). Next time, try assessing the problem properly and tailoring a solution for the problem itself. Knee-jerking and screaming "Linux!" is not the proper reaction.
Ah, but Dodge is now too close to a German car, being a Daimler-Chrysler brand.
I can say that even German cars have problems. For example, Porsche has had many problems with their Boxster line of cars, anywhere from leaking rear main seals to blown engines. Their other lines haven't gotten off the hook, either (it'll be interesting to see if response to problems with the upcoming Cayenne cause Porsche to change their ways -- sports car buyers are a completely different breed of person, willing to put up with a lot of problems that your average soccer mom SUV driver will not). BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, etc have all had problems as well. Not that I'm complaining. My German-made car is still running just as well as the day it rolled off the factory line, but I don't have any illusions that having a German badge on it will keep it from having problems down the line.
Personally, I'd kill for a car of Italian design, German engineering, and Japanese manufacturing. Assuming they could all work well together, playing on their strengths to cover each other's weaknesses, that'd be a true super car. (With VAG/PAG owning Lamborghini, maybe we'll see at least two out of the three ...)
And to stay on topic ... damn. Them's some high RPMs!
People still use MFC? Eww. Try ATL/WTL instead. Or better yet, use a .NET language. MFC is outdated, outmoded, ugly, and cumbersome.
Yes, yes, I know all of that. I know Verizon handles the loop. I know Covad is the clec. I know that if I have a "Hard Down" problem, it's unlikely it's my ISP (Speakeasy). Problem is, that's not what I was having. Every night, sometimes every other night, I'd lose service for maybe 10 minutes. Just long enough to piss me off, but not long enough to still be down by the time I got through to a tech support person at Speakeasy to troubleshoot. Therefore, they could never bring Covad and/or Verizon into the loop to test for problems. Sounds like a modem problem, yes? Well, Speakeasy decided that was the case one day after my modem's warranty ran out (I beat them over the head and got a replacement for free). They sent Covad out with a new modem, and supposedly the Covad guy did some tests and said there was an issue with the loop. So Verizon tested the loop and said there were no problems. Who should I believe? All I know is that with the new modem, I go down less frequently (maybe once a week now, rather than every 1-2 days).
I'm not saying it's Speakeasy's fault that the modem went bad (or that they gave me a bad modem in the first place). I'm saying it's their fault for refusing to diagnose the problem for almost a year. If that means bringing the CLEC and ILEC in to do testing, so be it.
And that's saying absolutely nothing about the billing crap Speakeasy has put me through.
I'm on the Seattle POP.