General J

I think the boards were switched completely on the 18th. That will be the earliest that anyone would have. Looks like 19th people, like myself, are defeated... Can we get an archival image from the old board?

How long until the machines become aware? Where's John Conner?

Who really thought that name was a good idea?

I have also heard a few times that once you go synthetic, it is not advisable to switch back. So, you will be paying more every time you change the oil. Synth lasts longer and doesn't have the break down that traditional does. Don't know about the higher mileage vehicle thing though. Search the net. I am sure this has been written about and debated by many many car people.

It may not be the beacon of technology at the moment, but my Blackberry Curve can act as a tethered modem, and Sprint doesn't charge me anything extra.... In fact, I pay one price for unlimited everything (data, SMS and MMS, mobile to mobile). The only restriction I have is minutes to landlines. ATT and Verizon's prices for data coverage are ridiculous.

I plan on upgrading to the HTC Evo come December. Unlimited data usage with a mobile hotspot phone. YES PLEASE!

Started playing on the LuckyCharms server, then found out about Mmmm. Those were the days... I remember seeing a write up in Gamepro magazine about a game called counter-strike that was the craziest new concept in gaming. Rushed out and bought Half-Life and downloaded CS before I ever even played HL. The retail release ruined it for me for a while. The entire game seemed to change with that one. It may have had more people playing it, but pre retail betas were where it was at. Anyone remember the bunny hop?

No, I didn't sell it. I never really caught a lot of interest, and decided to hold on to it. Looking at the new Asus G series notebooks, mine looks like a lamb. And, they have come down in price for just about the top of the line.

I was a person who always believed a cell phone was just a phone to talk on. That was until I purchased my Blackberry. I use the out of it. And it has really come in handy in many situations.

Sprint has the plan to beat for smart/data phones in my opinion. The only limit they place on the plan is your regular minutes to a land line. Unlimited data, text (sms and mms), mobile to mobile (any carrier), nights and weekends. If you use your phone a lot for texting and data alone, this plan is unbeatable. ATT and Verizon are pretty high on their data plans for my taste. I should also mention that I get a discount through all 3 companies from my employer. Even with a discount, ATT and Verizon data plans WITH limited data plans were higher than the Sprint unlimited plan. As long as you can get coverage in your area, you don't HAVE to have the iPhone, and you are wanting a smart phone, go with Sprint. My two cents.

Anyone else have strong opinions on the health care debate? Speech at 7 (central, that's where I am so that's what I post ) tonight. They say that we will all "understand" what the white houses plan is after the 30 minute speech. I'll believe that when I see it.

I personally don't like the public option. Being stuck with one choice and not having any say in it worries me a bit. I don't necessarily like every aspect of my private coverage either. But I know that I am not completely stuck with it. My employer offers 3 options currently, and I would have new choices if I chose a new employer with better plans. My costs out of pocket really are not that bad. They are a bit higher than they were 5 years ago. But name something that isn't more expensive than it was 5 years ago! I heard a good take on this a few days ago. If you complain about how much a cutting-edge life saving procedure is, think about the $40,000 (plus interest, figuring in a loan) you were willing to shell out on new car. Which is worth more to you, a car or your life?

One of the biggest things that bothers me is that the senators all balk at the idea that they might take the same coverage they are heaping on all the little people. How dare we ask that Harry Reid might take the same coverage as someone who voted him to his position.

I also have some big concerns from a career stand point. My wife is planning to go back to school for nursing. I am planning to pursue pharmacy. We have both discussed what sort of impact this whole deal might have on our potential future.

Anyone else have similar/different concerns? Does anyone else care what happens on this issue? I don't know if he is still around, but I know MrDuke is a pharmacist. I wouldn't mind getting his opinion. If anyone else is in the health care field, I would be highly interest in their thoughts as well.

FX, I generally don't agree with most things you respond with. But you usually have 1 or 2 points that I might side with you on. This is not one of them.

This is more than just Van Jones calling Republicans a**holes. This is about views that he has openly expressed with in the last year that are racist, inflammatory, extremist, or just plainly against any American value or any combination of those. People aren't twisting his words or making a "smear campaign" (as he put it) against him. What people have brought forward are real clips of him, in his own words, stating his views. And, furthermore, they are not clips from his college days. These are clips that in some cases are only a month or two old. One's views that are stated as openly and clearly as his were are not changed in just a few months.

What I want to know is this: Did the president ask for his resignation? There has been nothing said about our current admin demanding that he step down. To me, that just looks bad. They should have made a public statement regarding Van Jones and separating themselves from him. Now it just looks like what we have all feared. That the admin's views follow right in line with that of this idiot. But the president doesn't have to worry. None of the mainstream media outlets are going to raise an eyebrow from any of this. Instead, they will continue to belittle people who hold conservative views and paint us as racist, right wing nut jobs.

I personally hope that he people asking questions about the "czars" don't stop. I don't care whether this admin is left or right leaning. What they are doing is undermining the constitution and eroding freedom from the people all while laughing in our faces that they are "smarter" that the collective. We will see who gets the last laugh when people realize what is going on.

Thanks Thrux. Shameless bump by me. Still hoping to sell this. I have it listed on the local Craigslist, but it seems like there are more bots on there than people any more.

I still play... When I can... When children are sleeping... So, yeah, I play about 15-30 minutes here and there.

I am looking to sell my laptop. I love this thing as it has enough power to do just about anything, while still having the ability to pick it up and run. I have run the Crysis demo with decent settings, Far Cry 2 with mid range settings, BF:H and CS:S full out with no problems. System has Power4Gear power settings to extend battery life. Battery lasts quite a while on "battery saving" setting. But I won't lie! "High Performance" setting eats through the battery in about 1 - 1.5 hours while surfing the net and doing general tasks. You could do some short term gaming on the battery, but I have always used it plugged in. Laptop also comes with the Asus backpack and Asus-branded logitech MX518 mouse. I will ship my copy of Far Cry 2 with the machine as well.

Here is the Newegg link. I paid $1,699 new on 8-23-08. Asking $1,100 shipped. Trying to judge how much interest there is for this here. Will probably end up on Ebay if no one is interested.

I am looking to sell this to buy a netbook. I am looking at an Asus 1005HA, but I am still researching. I have hit a point in my life where I need less gaming and more mobility.

PM me if you are interested.

*EDIT* Mine looks exactly like the display minus the "Alone in the Dark" sticker.

Some of the Mmmm/GC vets might remember me, but I wanted to share our family's newest arrival. His name is Elliott Ryland. He is our 3rd and final addition. Everyone is doing well, even if we are a little exhausted.

Hope everyone in the community is doing well. I have not played CS in a long time, but I have been enjoying the heck out of Battlefield Heroes.

I do agree with fx that Beck is an entertainer, and goes a little overboard now and again.

But, I will say that Glenn Beck (being the entertainer that he is) has been pretty fair to both sides. I have heard him rant about the Republicans just about as many times as he goes after the dems. The Dems just happen to be the majority right now, and have put themselves center stage. Democrat supporting journalists had about a non-stop attack on Bush for 8 years. Now the roles are reversed. Beck also has brought up stuff that no one else seems to want to cover. Most recently it was the $700,000 social security manager outing. I haven't watched a lot of news, but haven't seen this anywhere that I have watched.

As far as the topic goes, I personally don't think it is going to happen. And, if it does happen the way it is set up right now, I see it being a disaster. I think this whole plan is just another entrance for government to step into our lives. What we really need to do is look back, taking inflation in to account, and see how much and why health care costs have increased.

I have the GeForce 9700m GT in my laptop. Anyone know if the regular drivers work with the mobile versions of the card? I am a bit in the dark as far as the real differences in the desktop vs mobile cards, other than the obvious.

3.5 seems to move much faster and smoother than 3.0.X that I was using before seeing this post.

Ever since discovering FF, I haven't used anything else. IE is very buggy for me with Vista 64. Google Chrome seems to be alright, but for some reason I lose my wireless connection with my router after using it for a while. Reset router and everything is good to go again. But that's too much hassle.

My in-laws are mac lovers and they have even dumped safari in favor of FF. Safari was closing out with no warning or reason after a short time of use. No such problem with FF.

game name: General_J

Edit: when you add friends, should we be adding character names or profile name?

As far as I know fx, the only difference between the 650 and 650s is the front fairing and wind screen or lack thereof. The S model has them, the 650 is a "naked" bike. If you like that look, check out the 650

(which is a great bike from everything I have ever heard), the Yamaha FZ6, Triumph Street Triple ( or bigger brother, the Speed Triple), or the Kawasaki Er-6 or z1000.

At any rate, see if you can find a 650 forum. I bet you can find ways to change the appearance of that S to the regular old 650 with little to no effort. May just be removing the plastics up front. Good luck getting a new bike... I try to keep my dream of a new one

If it is true that Republican leaning dealerships were cut, can you say political persecution. Liberals do tend to be the "You are with us or completely wrong and ignorant" types.

Frankly, it scares me that the government (namely the president) can openly joke about being the "biggest auto executive." That joke of his should have sent shivers down every freedom loving American.

So, to put everything out there. The government (god bless them... no really...) dumped a boat load of our tax dollars into saving 2 automotive companies. Anyone with half a brain knew the answer was going to ultimately be both companies in bankruptcy court. Then, the government starts making decisions for said companies. Now, we have slapped new CAFE standards on them with a nice "good luck getting the money together to retool your current process. Oh wait, you're broke? Too bad!"

I keep reading these comments from people with the "answer" saying these car companies should be making the cars we "need" not the models we want. I personally buy cars that I want because A) it is what I need; and B ) It is what I want. I just can't wait for the federal gov't to start telling me what I need... That sounds dandy terrific. Maybe next they could tell me what clothing I need, or what food I need... How about housing? Where will it stop?

If they can do this to large companies, who's next? Small businesses, family run store fronts, every citizen? I don't like to over react to things, but I am honestly starting to fear for our personal freedoms and liberty.

Spam Bot? 5 posts by this wenzi and all are junk with links to the same sites... Account delete time?

Nice car! I personally like the looks Mazda has to offer on their cars. I really like the redesign of the 3's. I didn't realize they bumped them up to 6-speeds. My wife and I took a 5-door w/ manual tranny out for a test drive about 1 year ago, and absolutely loved it.

IMO, hands down, the best bang for your buck out of all the other compact cars out right now. So many standard features for fairly low price. Good choice!

As someone who dealt with selling a lot of furniture on craigslist before a move, I am glad I didn't come across THAT guy! That was classic, even if it is a fake.

Operation Flashpoint could almost be labeled a realistic simulation on top of being a 1st person shooter.

A very similar game is ArmA. And ArmA II is also coming out later this year. Both games look pretty nice. Watched the trailers for both games yesterday and I could get pretty excited about both of them.