And some of us cat owners want everybody to live longer, so we keep our felines safely inside. If they really are "shitting in other peoples gardens", can't you call your local animal control or grab them and find their owner's info on a collar or something? I'm betting the misguided sense that the cats are somehow missing something by being kept inside would fade away pretty quickly after that.
I do have many fond memories of weekly trips (including the time my young self had a couple weeks off school thanks to leg surgery and got something like 20 NES games), but at this point I haven't been inside a rental place in years.
My wife and I have had Netflix for about 10 months now and love it, usually an average of 3-5 movies a month (on the unlimited 1-at-a-time plan), considering upgrading to 2-at-once though, the queue isn't really getting any smaller.
I always wonder why these sort of discussions leave out public libraries. Our local library has an amazing DVD selection (much of it purchased from a failed video store)
Because most people's libraries weren't lucky enough to have a failed video store to acquire a collection from - Netflix's selection is so much wider than any public library (or video store, for that matter) i've ever been in or heard of, there's almost no point making a comparison.
Personally, I'd put their use of Samuel Barber's "Agnus Dei" (the choral version of his Adagio for Strings) at the top of any games-related music list,
I don't know about being at the top of the list, but no argument that it was beautiful. And it perfectly suited the in-game events when it was used.
and the new pSX Emulator has revitalized Playstation emulation since ePSXe hasn't been updated in years and leaves MUCH to be desired.
Thanks for this link - had just yesterday decided to try and get espxe working again, 2 hours of tweaking settings didn't achieve what the new one does with no setup besides the gamepad configuration.
Same here, I used to run all sorts of SNES games in ZSNES on a 200 MHz Pentium, at normal speed. Heck, I even managed to get a NES emulator running on a 20 MHz 386 with 2 megs of RAM....Only at about 30% speed, but still.
Really, It's very common here in Canada and as well in a few places I've been in California. It's especially common for restaurants.
Yeah, I guess it was more popular 10-20 years ago, but it's vanished now (and heavily discouraged by the credit card companies, i'm sure) - speaking for myself, I don't even carry cash for my bus fare anymore.
The only thing i've ever seen that was close to a cash discount is businesses (often small grocery and convenience stores) not accepting credit cards for any amount under a minimum - which is technically not allowed under their merchant agreements, but most of them manage to slip under the radar unless someone loudly complains.
Is this that rare? I'd think that any household that could afford to buy an xbox rather than more pressing needs is probably solvent enough to have a stay-at-home partner.
How much do you think an XBox costs, exactly? I don't about where you live, but I can afford all sorts of electronics (a Wii, PS2, decent PCs, a fairly large flat-screen TV, etc.), but if my wife or I suddenly stopped working, the loss of 50% of our income would cause the ol' bank account to implode pretty quickly.
If you read the article, you'll see that the laser is tuned specifically to a frequency that vibrates the protein shell on the virus.
I could be completely wrong in my interpretation, but it sounds like that would make it pretty easy to avoid targeting stuff like DNA and healthy cells.
And personal backups of your own media so that you don't have to buy a new copy when your friend/pet/child/"significant other" scratches it.
If that's what you would do, then great, but i'll bet you anything it wasn't what the people they seized this stuff from had in mind - I'm sure it makes a comforting thought to the vast majority that use mod chips and such to play "backups" of games they never bought, though.
Sucks for our rights, I agree, but the reality is that most people just want obscenely cheap/free stuff.
As long as the relationship STAYS online, it's fine... But meeting the person in real life can be a disaster.
Speak for yourself. I did the exact opposite - it actually got better once I met her in real life, and I couldn't be happier with the way things turned out.
or that other than Comcast broadband there is only dail-up as an alternative.
Yes, this is the case for a lot of us in the US. If you're lucky, you have one of the other megalithic cable providers as an alternative, and maybe a DSL provider or two.
I hate people like you, always slowing everything down while the cashier checks back to base for your card. To hard to carry around a few dollars or pounds for even small item.
I hate people like you, thinking they have to use cash for everything, slowing down the checkout line while you wait for everything to be tallied, you dig the change out of your pocket, the cashier counts everything, opens the drawer, gives you change, waits for you to put the change back in your wallet....
Meanwhile I've swiped my card while the cashier was still scanning my items, and the receipt is printing by the time they're done putting stuff in a bag. For small amounts ($25 or less, I think), I don't even have to sign the slip most times anymore.
Can you really say that you have no problem with EVERYBODY knowing what you buy, where you have been. Even if you don't do anything wrong, that still annoys me.
No, I don't. If some corporate busybody really gives that much of a damn about the minutiae of my shopping, they're welcome to obsess over it. If the government wants to do it...well, they'll probably manage whether I use a credit card or not. Sorry that annoys you.
I can't speak for the person you're replying to, but the same is (almost) true for me as well. I live in Northern Virginia, and before that in Central NY state. The only thing i've used cash for in the last 6 or 7 years is laundry money and highway tolls.
Food, gas, subway/bus fare, shopping (even just a few dollar's worth to grab breakfast in the morning), doctor bills, vet bills, etc.....All paid for using a check card that's treated as a credit card. Rent still has to be paid for with a check, I don't think they even accept cash though.
Are you entirely serious? Where do you live? I believe that the U.S. still has dollar bills in wide circulation, and by today's standards that's a small amount you're likely to get in your change.
You don't necessarily have to deal with random change - just go to the bank every few weeks, use the ATM outside their front door to withdraw $20 or whatever, walk inside and ask for a couple neatly rolled stacks of nice shiny quarters. Generally highway tolls will be in multiples of 25 cents, so no change there, and likewise with laundry machines.
I think many people just don't realize how far the range on some of these devices reaches - or they just automatically assume it will be stopped by the windows/wall/floor/etc.
I had the same experience when I got my Wii - it picked up probably 6 or 7 networks within my condo building, with probably 3 or 4 of those unsecured. Even my DS still manages to pick up 2 or 3 other networks from elsewhere in the building.
It's not an issue of tolerance (and I agree that you can be religious and tolerant at the same time), it's an issue of people being so deeply immersed in their religion that they'll believe insanity like this Creation Museum stuff. And whenever something like this pops up (with some exceptions), it's more than likely somewhere in the midwest or the south somewhere.
And for the record, I lived in Central NY state for 24 years, and i'm now in Virginia. Plus I still have relatives in Kentucky & Ohio, so i'm somewhat familiar with the general area of the museum. Luckily I don't think any of them are the type to waste time on something like this, even the deeply religious ones.
I see you live in the midwest somewhere - be reassured that there are plenty of areas of the country not quite as full of religious nutjobs yet, despite the people in the White House at the moment.
Yeah, no doubt that was part of the problem - I have 2 long-haired cats that enjoy hanging out around the computer, and they definately contributed some fur (though I did clean it out as best I could, and it did help a little, to be fair), but not enough to where I really felt safe with the temperature readings if I did anything but websurfing.
I think it ran me about $30 + shipping for the new cooler, if memory serves, so it was easier than trying to futz around with the old one.
Maybe I just had a slightly defective unit or something, but the stock cooler on my Intel CPU (Celeron D 351 3.20GHz) would routinely idle around 50 C or so, and hit 70 degrees C or higher under load, even running an ancient game like Starcraft - my fans would rev up high enough to sound like jet engines.
In contrast, I swapped it out with one of the reviewed coolers (the Arctic 7 Freezer Pro), and I see at least a 10 degree difference (or more) in pretty much everything i've run since then.
I always found the PS2 controller really uncomfortable compared to the GC one.
I've found that the Dual Shock starts out comfortable for a while, but develops into causing some noticeable hand pain if I don't take breaks, even playing a relatively slow-paced RPG like Dragon Quest VIII.
Meanwhile I can play SSBM on the Gamecube for hours upon hours, moving fingers at a comparatively frenzied pace, and not feel anything unexpectedly painful.
Yes, I imagine its easy to call people idiots when they aren't interested in the same fields you are. I'm sure lots of scientists think I'm an idiot because I don't understand what they take for granted. Or perhaps they're not so elitist.
I would have agreed with you up until a couple years ago, when I first started working various tech support help desks. It is not a matter of not being familiar with computers. People will not read what is 12 inches from their face, they will not take initiative, they will forget their password and call asking for the president of the company....Basically whatever displays the least amount of brainpower and effort.
Not to say that *all* people are like that, but if I had a dime for every time i've had a conversation with someone along the lines of "(User) I forgot my password. (Me) Did you click the button labeled "Forgot Password"? *silence*....Uhhhhh...No.", i'd be halfway to retirement already.
So much wasted time that could be saved by a tiny bit of effort and some grade-school level reading comprehension.
I'd still be doing the same if my cellphone's reception didn't go to absolute crap when I was inside (brick walls). Still use it for long distance, but was finally forced to get the digital phone landline service from the cable company to have a reliable line for local calls.
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And some of us cat owners want everybody to live longer, so we keep our felines safely inside. If they really are "shitting in other peoples gardens", can't you call your local animal control or grab them and find their owner's info on a collar or something? I'm betting the misguided sense that the cats are somehow missing something by being kept inside would fade away pretty quickly after that.
Heh, good point.
I do have many fond memories of weekly trips (including the time my young self had a couple weeks off school thanks to leg surgery and got something like 20 NES games), but at this point I haven't been inside a rental place in years.
My wife and I have had Netflix for about 10 months now and love it, usually an average of 3-5 movies a month (on the unlimited 1-at-a-time plan), considering upgrading to 2-at-once though, the queue isn't really getting any smaller.
I always wonder why these sort of discussions leave out public libraries. Our local library has an amazing DVD selection (much of it purchased from a failed video store)
Because most people's libraries weren't lucky enough to have a failed video store to acquire a collection from - Netflix's selection is so much wider than any public library (or video store, for that matter) i've ever been in or heard of, there's almost no point making a comparison.
Personally, I'd put their use of Samuel Barber's "Agnus Dei" (the choral version of his Adagio for Strings) at the top of any games-related music list,
I don't know about being at the top of the list, but no argument that it was beautiful. And it perfectly suited the in-game events when it was used.
and the new pSX Emulator has revitalized Playstation emulation since ePSXe hasn't been updated in years and leaves MUCH to be desired.
Thanks for this link - had just yesterday decided to try and get espxe working again, 2 hours of tweaking settings didn't achieve what the new one does with no setup besides the gamepad configuration.
Same here, I used to run all sorts of SNES games in ZSNES on a 200 MHz Pentium, at normal speed. Heck, I even managed to get a NES emulator running on a 20 MHz 386 with 2 megs of RAM....Only at about 30% speed, but still.
Really, It's very common here in Canada and as well in a few places I've been in California. It's especially common for restaurants.
Yeah, I guess it was more popular 10-20 years ago, but it's vanished now (and heavily discouraged by the credit card companies, i'm sure) - speaking for myself, I don't even carry cash for my bus fare anymore.
The only thing i've ever seen that was close to a cash discount is businesses (often small grocery and convenience stores) not accepting credit cards for any amount under a minimum - which is technically not allowed under their merchant agreements, but most of them manage to slip under the radar unless someone loudly complains.
Many non chain stores will discount you ~4.0% for using cash.
Nobody in the US does this, or at least not anybody i've ever seen during visits to stores in 14 different states and DC.
Is this that rare? I'd think that any household that could afford to buy an xbox rather than more pressing needs is probably solvent enough to have a stay-at-home partner.
How much do you think an XBox costs, exactly? I don't about where you live, but I can afford all sorts of electronics (a Wii, PS2, decent PCs, a fairly large flat-screen TV, etc.), but if my wife or I suddenly stopped working, the loss of 50% of our income would cause the ol' bank account to implode pretty quickly.
If you read the article, you'll see that the laser is tuned specifically to a frequency that vibrates the protein shell on the virus.
I could be completely wrong in my interpretation, but it sounds like that would make it pretty easy to avoid targeting stuff like DNA and healthy cells.
Again, not saying you can't find legitimate purposes, but I think trying to pass that off as the majority use is extremely debatable.
And personal backups of your own media so that you don't have to buy a new copy when your friend/pet/child/"significant other" scratches it.
If that's what you would do, then great, but i'll bet you anything it wasn't what the people they seized this stuff from had in mind - I'm sure it makes a comforting thought to the vast majority that use mod chips and such to play "backups" of games they never bought, though.
Sucks for our rights, I agree, but the reality is that most people just want obscenely cheap/free stuff.
As long as the relationship STAYS online, it's fine... But meeting the person in real life can be a disaster.
Speak for yourself. I did the exact opposite - it actually got better once I met her in real life, and I couldn't be happier with the way things turned out.
or that other than Comcast broadband there is only dail-up as an alternative.
Yes, this is the case for a lot of us in the US. If you're lucky, you have one of the other megalithic cable providers as an alternative, and maybe a DSL provider or two.
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=2 0010430
:)
It's a rather old expression, and one used in The Wizard of Oz, among other places. Learn something new, and quit complaining
I hate people like you, always slowing everything down while the cashier checks back to base for your card. To hard to carry around a few dollars or pounds for even small item.
I hate people like you, thinking they have to use cash for everything, slowing down the checkout line while you wait for everything to be tallied, you dig the change out of your pocket, the cashier counts everything, opens the drawer, gives you change, waits for you to put the change back in your wallet....
Meanwhile I've swiped my card while the cashier was still scanning my items, and the receipt is printing by the time they're done putting stuff in a bag. For small amounts ($25 or less, I think), I don't even have to sign the slip most times anymore.
Can you really say that you have no problem with EVERYBODY knowing what you buy, where you have been. Even if you don't do anything wrong, that still annoys me.
No, I don't. If some corporate busybody really gives that much of a damn about the minutiae of my shopping, they're welcome to obsess over it. If the government wants to do it...well, they'll probably manage whether I use a credit card or not. Sorry that annoys you.
I can't speak for the person you're replying to, but the same is (almost) true for me as well. I live in Northern Virginia, and before that in Central NY state. The only thing i've used cash for in the last 6 or 7 years is laundry money and highway tolls.
Food, gas, subway/bus fare, shopping (even just a few dollar's worth to grab breakfast in the morning), doctor bills, vet bills, etc.....All paid for using a check card that's treated as a credit card. Rent still has to be paid for with a check, I don't think they even accept cash though.
Are you entirely serious? Where do you live? I believe that the U.S. still has dollar bills in wide circulation, and by today's standards that's a small amount you're likely to get in your change.
You don't necessarily have to deal with random change - just go to the bank every few weeks, use the ATM outside their front door to withdraw $20 or whatever, walk inside and ask for a couple neatly rolled stacks of nice shiny quarters. Generally highway tolls will be in multiples of 25 cents, so no change there, and likewise with laundry machines.
I think many people just don't realize how far the range on some of these devices reaches - or they just automatically assume it will be stopped by the windows/wall/floor/etc.
I had the same experience when I got my Wii - it picked up probably 6 or 7 networks within my condo building, with probably 3 or 4 of those unsecured. Even my DS still manages to pick up 2 or 3 other networks from elsewhere in the building.
It's not an issue of tolerance (and I agree that you can be religious and tolerant at the same time), it's an issue of people being so deeply immersed in their religion that they'll believe insanity like this Creation Museum stuff. And whenever something like this pops up (with some exceptions), it's more than likely somewhere in the midwest or the south somewhere.
And for the record, I lived in Central NY state for 24 years, and i'm now in Virginia. Plus I still have relatives in Kentucky & Ohio, so i'm somewhat familiar with the general area of the museum. Luckily I don't think any of them are the type to waste time on something like this, even the deeply religious ones.
I see you live in the midwest somewhere - be reassured that there are plenty of areas of the country not quite as full of religious nutjobs yet, despite the people in the White House at the moment.
Yeah, no doubt that was part of the problem - I have 2 long-haired cats that enjoy hanging out around the computer, and they definately contributed some fur (though I did clean it out as best I could, and it did help a little, to be fair), but not enough to where I really felt safe with the temperature readings if I did anything but websurfing.
I think it ran me about $30 + shipping for the new cooler, if memory serves, so it was easier than trying to futz around with the old one.
Maybe I just had a slightly defective unit or something, but the stock cooler on my Intel CPU (Celeron D 351 3.20GHz) would routinely idle around 50 C or so, and hit 70 degrees C or higher under load, even running an ancient game like Starcraft - my fans would rev up high enough to sound like jet engines.
In contrast, I swapped it out with one of the reviewed coolers (the Arctic 7 Freezer Pro), and I see at least a 10 degree difference (or more) in pretty much everything i've run since then.
I always found the PS2 controller really uncomfortable compared to the GC one.
I've found that the Dual Shock starts out comfortable for a while, but develops into causing some noticeable hand pain if I don't take breaks, even playing a relatively slow-paced RPG like Dragon Quest VIII.
Meanwhile I can play SSBM on the Gamecube for hours upon hours, moving fingers at a comparatively frenzied pace, and not feel anything unexpectedly painful.
Yes, I imagine its easy to call people idiots when they aren't interested in the same fields you are. I'm sure lots of scientists think I'm an idiot because I don't understand what they take for granted. Or perhaps they're not so elitist.
I would have agreed with you up until a couple years ago, when I first started working various tech support help desks. It is not a matter of not being familiar with computers. People will not read what is 12 inches from their face, they will not take initiative, they will forget their password and call asking for the president of the company....Basically whatever displays the least amount of brainpower and effort.
Not to say that *all* people are like that, but if I had a dime for every time i've had a conversation with someone along the lines of "(User) I forgot my password. (Me) Did you click the button labeled "Forgot Password"? *silence*....Uhhhhh...No.", i'd be halfway to retirement already.
So much wasted time that could be saved by a tiny bit of effort and some grade-school level reading comprehension.
I'd still be doing the same if my cellphone's reception didn't go to absolute crap when I was inside (brick walls). Still use it for long distance, but was finally forced to get the digital phone landline service from the cable company to have a reliable line for local calls.