appalachian_fox

Dude, I looked up a sample of some "hi-def" video playing on one of those things last night and played it on my old 27" CRT...The video quality looks like crap. It's no better than my current TV!

You know, that's a really good question, at least the way I understand it being asked.

I use integrated sound. Mostly I work off a laptop these days anyway, but even on desktops I'd rather save the $10 or whatever a sound card costs and honestly my eyes and ears aren't that discerning. I could see the rationale if I were building a beefy machine for a specific purpose (gaming, for example) and wanted the bragging rights of the extra few frames, but that's just not the market I sit in. Of course, the other side of that is most gamers would cringe at my setup and that's probably part of the reason I am so bad.

Fair enough. I'm not sure I'm convinced there needs to be a creator to being to set a Universal truth, but I also think it would be a hard sell to convince me it is a solid rationale. As far as relative morality vs. democratic morality (where I was going with morality is similar to ethics) I pretty much agree with everything you've said.

Okay, now I'm curious on your take on it. If you don't mind sharing, of course.

Well, I'm not really sure myself, it's just something that came to mind. I'd be willing to bet that this issue has been addressed at some point, or at least there are some good responses. This debate has been going on by people more educated in the nuances of these issues than us formally for at least the past 1600 years, and likely it goes back much further. My knee-jerk reaction to my own thoughts is to say, "Why does a set moral code need a God?" Rather, the existence of a "Universal Good Idea List" doesn't require a Creator being to exist. Like I said, I haven't really seen anything about this yet, but it's honestly from lack of looking into it and lack of discussion with people who might be more knowledgeable about the common thoughts about this. There's also the concept of the framework of "Right" and "Wrong" (absolutes) vs. right and wrong (gray areas) vs. everything is value-neutral. If every action is value-neutral, the entire concept of good vs. bad pretty much gets thrown out the window and you evade that sticky wicket. Of course, then, there's no need to judge yourself internally, either, and when reduced to the absurd anarchy rules. Of course, that isn't the necessary endpoint -- We look to society to allow for the improvement of the whole despite our individual failings. Again, to call back to business ethics, or some aspects of accounting, generally agreeable guidelines of right and wrong are established and in gray areas, intent is a factor. It also is reminiscent of background checks for security clearances: There's a bunch of Yes and No rules that seem hard and fast, but then there's a whole list (as long, sometimes longer) of "mitigating circumstances" that provides a chance to counteract a discrepancy (but there's no guarantee...). Anyway, that's why I asked...I figured someone in this community would be either (1) more familiar with current/historical apologetics on this topic or (2) has done far more thinking about it than I have.

Sweet, if it makes everything else obsolete, that means I can buy obsolete technology at obsolete prices!

Out of curiosity, do you believe in a universal standard by which actions should be judged? Granted, you don't think there's a person out there judging everyone, but you don't need an agent to still have a standard. I'm really curious, because it raises a lot of questions about the concept of personal judgement in the larger context of society if everyone is allowed to pick their own standards. I guess I'm asking if you think there is a spiritual analog to "ethics", where people agree that there are certain "good" and "bad" things (whether or not they live by them). For this question, I assume that actions are context-oriented, and that there is not necessarily such a thing as a "right" or "wrong" action, but rather that the general "feel" of an action is dictated by the circumstances surrounding the action. Rather, I'm not asking for the Ten Commandments of generic spirituality, though if actions are absolute that would raise another series of questions.

Actually... http://www.gamrs.co/forums/in...&hl=surface They have a Popular Mechanics (or something similar) video linked there. Different video, same great taste.

This sounds like a great book, but I want to also suggest "The Problem of Pain" by C.S. Lewis. It's a bit meaty, but it's really good.

QFT! Quantum Field Theory? I'll have to remember to stock up on 'shrooms, then, because I think I should be getting SPM today or tomorrow. Wait, you meant in-game...

I think the monitor's been around longer...You may need to put the young lady out to pasture. That beast of a monitor of yours is probably heavier, too. Plus, you could always wait for her to leave on an errand and change the locks while she's gone. I really think you need to consider your options.

Way to get to the heart of the topic, Mav! +1

It's cool, and has its places. It'll have applications in vertical spaces, too, if there's enough space to put one or they can refine the process to miniaturize it enough (maybe with some mirrors/lenses?). I'm not saying it'll be thin enough to replace LCDs everywhere, but there's lots of spaces with enough room for something like this, like that CityWall thing. Interactive theme park maps would be cool. I imagine Disney having these all over with Tinkerbell constantly buzzing around while you're trying to work. Perhaps some things are better left undone...

Man, those are huge routers. I'd hate to see a packet dump.

I believe that's where they're rolling them out first, or at least in similar locations. I hear there are plans for Westins and some other places (where, I don't recall, it's in the video). $5,000 - $10,000, according to an article I saw. These are very early numbers, though. Very. First, it seems to parallel the research of Jeff Han (in fact, he's featured in the video), which works with "Frustrated Total Internal Reflectance". Or, in English, how light going through a material behaves when the material bends. Check it out in the video, and get a better behind the scenes look at: http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/ Second, because of how different the sensing engine is, it is a multi-touch screen. That is, you can use two fingers to perform commands such as resizing and rotating (pictures, videos, etc.). Also worth pointing out is that it appears the intention is for multiple users to be able to touch the screen at the same time. If you're just asking how is it different than touching any other screen, then besides the multi-touch, potential multi-user capability that's basically what it is, but in a new format: A large piece of furniture around which people can gather (formally or casually). It's like asking how a Wii is different from a "last-gen" system: It's a new way of interacting, and it's not for everyone or every purpose. At the very least, the difference is huge...This one costs $5,000 - $10,000. "Ours goes to 11."

It's in my list of things to get. I think it's coming next. Glad to hear such good things about it. Also, glad to hear it is way too easy...I'm really bad at playing games, so that evens out

Great game, if that kind of game appeals to you. Not for everyone, for sure. I enjoy it, but the sheer size is intimidating and I find many times that when I'm looking to play a game for even an hour or two, I'll pass it up because I feel like even in that amount of time I might not accomplish anything. In that way, it can be pretty frustrating at times.

I just got an e-mail...We close our office at 3 today! Now I just gotta get all my work done...one quick detour, obligatory pick on the mac guy... Ah but do I pay MS every time Windows updates? dunno, did you pay for vista? 10.4.x updates were all free - just like xp sp1, sp2, etc. 10.5 introduces a new gui I believe we call them "Themes". Besides, I'm good with Windows 2000's GUI. Is a new GUI really necessary every year and a half? You mean Virtual PC? Hasn't that been around awhile? And, while we're at it, you're saying it's a plus that Mac OS runs Windows programs? Man, I wish they'd get that MacOS emulator finished for Windows... (Actually, I really do, but that's another story). As opposed to slamming a CD in a drive once? Again, to run Windows (NOT MacOS)? Definitely worth my hard-earned dollar. All-in-all? Meh. I'm sure it will be worth the money, but the feature list itself just seems so underwhelming. In all seriousness, there's a new Mac store across the street from where I work, I think I'll be swinging in there to drool over a MacBook Pro in a few minutes...

Man, it ruled when I had "The Ocho" free for a month. The sport that's like "Roshambo" (sp?) with whips was the greatest.

Sorry, I have to back out. Not a good month, so I didn't get permission. That's a great price for that monitor, so I highly suggest someone grab it while it's still here.

You see, this is why I disapprove, in general, of time travel shenanigans (that's in Firefox's spell checker...wicked). Now my head hurts, and I'm not even trying to figure it all out! *Argh!*

Thanks for clearing things up. If the episodes are all online, I intend to go back and watch the ones I missed, otherwise the set comes out August 27 or 28, I'll catch up then. Good call on the whole Nikki thing. Dude, that skillset got gimped back in 1.22ish, when Sylar "unfroze" time for himself. Apparently it only works when people aren't expecting it now, or whatnot. Lame. Hiro should totally respec when 2.0 comes out. It looks like they threw in his trainer in 2.0 beta, though, so maybe that's their intent. Yeah...the ending to this felt like they just wanted to throw everyone together. It would have been fine to basically have Hiro, Nikki and Peter going after Sylar by themselves and could have been awesome. Instead they gave us an overly dramatic "fight" that barely held any fighting. I don't think you're alone in wanting an all-out slugfest between Peter and Sylar. Fair enough. You raise valid points, but I didn't really get that wrapped up in it. I think they could have done a lot better, but I was happy with the ending, all things considered. Lame, but at least it wasn't completely WTFizzle. Of course, maybe Lost was so bad that my standards have fallen that far.

I was only mildly disappointed. I'm surprised you were so upset. Of course, I missed some episodes, so I want to go through some things: Yeah, but that's the way these things are. If you can't confirm he's dead, you can't make assumptions. I saw that coming a mile away. *shrug* that's just TV. Guess that's not really a question, though... CAN Peter fly? I've never seen him do it (again, missed some eps). I was under the impression he only got powers that were used on him, or whose effects were felt by him (Ted, for example). That doesn't explain Claire, but it better explains how he's missing several powers (possibly flight, time travel, super-Jessica strength, etc.). For that matter, do we know how his "absorb other powers" power works? And did Nathan die? Remember Noah Bennet and Ted, he had to leave because it burned so badly? I think Nathan dropped his brother at some point (or perhaps burned to death) before Peter went supernova. But I have no problem with him dying, really. Since this has turned into a commentary...Seriously! And what about, "Go back to your family." How about, "Rip him in half and mash the halves into pudding? I'll only take you ten seconds." I was under the impression that they intended to say he stopped time successfully but maybe forgot to make the effect clear. Either way, the silly little Japanese man didn't finish the job...WTFizzle? It was kind of like a "pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey" style fight, where everyone gets a whack...ONE whack...at Sylar. "Okay, stabbed him with a sword. I'll go over here now." "Hit him with a parking meter, I'm done." That was a bit disappointing. However, with Sylar still alive and things not happening as expected (no bomb, for one) it leaves a lot open for Season 2. It's clear from Future Hiro's work that there are many potential ways for things to go, but it also seemed that the bomb was a linchpin, and missing that...I dunno. I'm not entirely convinced the bomb won't go off in Season 2. Of course, all of the prophetic dreaming / painting makes me think of Classical mythology, where the prophecies themselves drive the ultimate result, so maybe that's why I'm still waiting and can rationalize this all away. All in all, meh. I liked the ending, but I was expecting a lot more considering all the other action scenes. Five years later was my favorite episode. I want a Sylar / Peter faceoff like that!