appalachian_fox

Man, my first hard drive was 40 megabytes. 10-15 years later, I'm sitting on 40 gigs and I feel WAY outdated. And just the other day, my boss was talking about terabytes. Of course, the qualifying statement was "...if we had the money". We need some software more, and danged if that stuff isn't expensive. We could have a whole rack of nice new servers for what some of this software costs.

The Phantom Poop! Where is it? Where did it go? I can definitely enjoy a good article on the can. Especially in the house -- a good way to get away from the other crap going on, and nobody wants to bother me. I'm lucky that way at home.

I have no sound on my computer now (don't ask), was that first clip from Chateau Elan in Georgia?

Good plan. Make sure you can turn around that fixer-upper, though. My uncle did a good job with his, but it ended up being a lot more work than he ever expected...Much of it wasn't to the code of the time it was built, which wasn't exactly stringent. But he made it out alright and came out on top. It's possible, just keep the ambition and best of luck! And better to put some away as equity than to dump it down the rental toilet. Oh, another thing I almost forgot: My loan officer said one extra payment a year on my loan would end up dropping my 30-year mortgage to 21 years. How's THAT for something else? I didn't check the numbers myself (partly because amortization is a beast and I'm lazy) but it sounded good enough to me and she was a family friend, so I'm going to try my darndest to come up with it. I just thought that was worth mentioning.

I just bought a house, and I can tell you what I considered in the process: -Location: Neigbors? Road network -- Can I get to where I need to go? I had the advantage of living in my town for many years and I had an idea for traffic patterns, too...How is it during rush hours? Can I get out of my driveway? -Condition of 'stuff': We passed on a bigger house because it was much older and things like the water heater were going to need replacing soon. It became much less of a deal then. -Utilities: What does the house run on? Can I get decent broadband (yes, that was honestly a criteria ) -Property value growth rate: A house is your biggest investment. I picked a house in an area of town that had a high growth rate to ensure my investment would keep pace with inflation. Also, think about it...will it stay high? -Potential improvements: Makes the house more "home" and gives you more return later. -Cost: I wanted a monthly payment as high as I could afford for a house. Again, this is an investment policy so it is a personal thing, but the more valuable the house the larger the corresponding investment growth. Also, it's easier to sell a 3-4 BR house than a 1-2 BR house, so by picking higher up I can better assure resale potential. I know I left many things out, but this is getting long...

1791

Mmmm, Autocad...Haven't used that since the early 90s. Good program, though, wisht I had more money than sense...well...more money. I'd waste even more time on household projects.

Arright! Way to bust donkey! If you need any help on the calculus, just ask. I'm sure someone can help you. I'm a bit rusty, but if I'm good for it I'll try my best. Way to go!

Oooh...Irish Car Bombs! Fill a pint glass roughly 2/3 full of Guiness. Take a double-shot glass and pour in one shot Bailey's Irish Creme and one shot Jameson Irish Whiskey (any Irish Whiskey will do, it can be left out / substituted with more Bailey's). Drop the shotglass into the pint glass and chug. It tastes fine with just Bailey's and Guiness (indeed, many bars around here serve it that way), so if you don't drink much Irish Whiskey it's a way to save some green. Oh, and a great way to liven up your coffee -- add some Bailey's. Tastes great.

Hmmm, I had a v2 Linksys of the same ilk, power supply died and I sent it in RMA. They sent me back a v3...When I get an internet connection, I'll have to watch for this. Haven't hooked it up to broadband yet. Thanks for the heads up!

I really enjoyed the team aspect of it. Guess I'll have to get an internet connection now that I have a better video card...

1758

I agree. It's one thing to die. It's another to be subjected to what Jesus was subjected to. It's kind of like the (very) old cliche, everyone wants to go to the party but nobody wants to stay and clean up.

Happy B-Day, killer!

My favorite drink is a single-malt scotch, never less than twelve years old. Oh, and NEVER over ice. Not a single malt. So, unfortunatley, I guess I'm not much help However, there's a couple of hints I CAN give off the top of my head... 1) Punches are always good. And they're easy to make...Get a couple of cheap liquors, pour them in a bowl and add fruit juice to taste. 2) Never mix drinks too strong. You're not doing your friends a favor because they can easily come back and get more alcohol on a second go-round, and if you keep mixing heavy when you clean up tomorrow you're going to find a lot of half-full drinks you'll pour down the drain. That can add up to a LOT of wasted alcohol if you mix drinks strongly. This isn't to say you shouldnt' follow the recipe of course...If it's supposed to be a strong drink, make it that way. Just don't give someone a glass of vodka and call it a screwdriver. 3) I know it's not as classy, but if there will be many people, a keg provides hours of entertainment. From "how will we get the money" to "how will we get it up there" and "do you think we'll lose our deposit if we do THAT??", loads of fun for everyone. And if you don't kill it, it can be a living room centerpiece until it's empty. That's all I can think of without being a wiseguy for right now...I know there's more. Have my years of experience faded already? Oh, yeah, and I wouldn't feel right without saying "drink responsibly". Even if that means your living room looks like Jonestown the morning after, don't let anyone drive home if they've had "a few" without at least inviting them to crash on your couch. Overbook the couch if need be, when people pass out they don't notice the difference. They're all adults, but if possible, two of the things that SHOULDN'T be mixed are drinking and driving. Bad news, that. *gets off soapbox* That said, go have fun. And if you get any scotch, drink one to me.

I agree, g00t. Worked for me! Sodas and excessive sugars are bad. Natural sugars work well, though (fruits and the like)

I'm not sure that soemone who read the Bible could base his faith on his fear of Hell alone. I mean, the big message in the Bible is salvation, hope, a future with God...and it's already been given to you, just stand up and take it. It seems that if the only reason you believe is because you're afraid of Hell then you don't really believe in what the Bible as a whole is saying. If that's the case...well...it just doesn't make sense. Of course, if one hasn't read the Bible (someone whose sole experience of Christianity is from fire-and-brimstone Hell-condemners?) I can understand why they would be afraid of Hell, but that would seem to be more a result of the verbal and mental abuse of the preacher.

Bad. The Atkins Diet's selling point is that it puts your body in a state of ketosis. The claim is that it more efficiently burns fat and reduces the ability of sugar to turn into fat. This is true to an extent, but only part of the story. Your body is burning fuels in a method that it isn't used to, so it is utilizes them less efficiently, which is good for fat burning, because you have to burn more fat to get the same amount of energy, but it requires a larger energy investment, which will lead to a lower overall energy level, and it requires the body to shape itself around the fuel, changing complex biological processes. It's like running your car on alcohol. Alcohol will burn in the engine, and the system will run...But how long, and what damage are you going to do? If you consider it, I recommend talking to a doctor about ketosis. WebMD has a short page on it: http://my.webmd.com/content/article/46/273...C-9531713CA348} Or just go to Webmd and look up ketosis. Standard "duh" moment, a web site is not a doctor and anybody with serious health concerns should see a licensed medical professional. Also, there's talk that the Atkins diet, being high in protein, is good for building muscle. This is absolute garbage. An increase in protein is warranted (protein = muscle building blocks) but you need a high amount of energy to build up your muscles, and you get your best bang-for-buck energy from (you guessed it) carbohydrates. Effective workouts require a proper balance, and the longer you want to go the more carbohydrates you need. Marathon runners "carboload", or store up on energy deposits, before their run to ensure they can make it. It's all about balance, and the Atkins diet lacks that balance. Of course, that's just one opinion. I encourage you to look more into other avenues and to follow up on my qualms.

I know what I'd like to do. Firstly, I wouldn't think my life would be in very good hands anyway, so I wouldn't exactly bank on getting out alive either way. But, even if I was given the chance of pardon, I would like to think I would say Yes. Why? Because I believe it's true. If you ask me if the theory of gravity is true, I'd say yes. that's how it appears to me. Gravity has never been proven...Granted, there's a more scientific base to it (that's why faith is the big word with belief in God) but the theory is accepted on an educated guess, which is nothing more than part observation and part faith that we've got the model down and it will never change. To me, it's fact. If they want to kill me for it...well, being killed for one's beliefs isn't the ideal end of life, but it's not unprecedented. There are volumes of accounts of Christian martyrs and many who are persecuted but still survive. Some martyrdoms are particularly gruesome. God never promises a worry-free life without prosecution, in fact, we are promised the opposite: We still have to live as people on Earth. It's just the end result that's changed. Well, that's a little long-winded. I won't know unless I'm actually in that situation, but I would like to think I would say Yes.

*Drools*

*Sigh* my poor internet...I plan on ordering it over the honeymoon, so it should be in my hands and set up the day I return (whenever that is, near the end of May). However, I have finals (No matter what your level of education, there's ALWAYS finals) and projects all due in the first week of May, so if I get antsy...May 6? The cheapskate in me says, "Post at work and get paid, don't pay for internet this month," but the kid in me says "Fuggedaboudit, get the internet. And a few new multiplayer games. Charge it. And forget about the final projects. You don't really want to pass these classes, anyway." Choices, choices...

Laz, make sure to get ahold of Slappy. I have some Arctic Silver V you can use. That will definitely make a big difference. Slappy and I ran a test on the generic garbage vs. ASV and got some pretty tremendous results. I can't remember them off the top of my head, but it was something on the order of 15ish F cooler under normal conditions to 20-25is F cooler under stress (roughly 8 C and 11-14 C respectively). I think those were right, perhaps a little optimistic but not much. I think I have the results at home. Slappy, do you remember? BTW, this was done testing the compound itself at dissipating heat, not under full production settings. In a computer with fans pushing air through the case effectively (what many people would consider normal) the marginal benefit is decreases as the average case temperature decreases (heat dissipation is a function of many things), but rest assured the Arctic Silver still kicks donkey.

A good thing to think about, if perhaps simplistic...If God has created everything, putting Him outside of space and time (He would have to exist before space and time at the bare minimum), could we ever honestly claim to be able to comprehend Him? I.e., can we honestly wrap our minds around the extents of the universe (another noun we humans have not been able to fully explain). There have to be inherent mysteries if we cannot contain God in an equation. I really like how Dweez explained it from a believer's perspective...I think this issue has to be tackled that way.

I agree with Dweez. Ultimately, a person's eternal situation is between himself or herself and God. People in the Christian faith believe (hopefully) that the Bible is in some way God-inspired and transmits His will to anyone who wants to take a crack at it. Specifically, it tells you that you are saved by faith in Christ Jesus and faith in Him alone (One example, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12, NIV)). Assuming Christians are right, the rules are already laid out. But again, I agree with Dweez...I wouldn't stand on the street and tell people they're going to Hell. I don't know what's on their heart, mind and soul. If you tell someone they're going to Hell, you're stating that as a fact. In effect, you're judging the other party: Filling God's shoes for Him. While that's darned nice of you to try and help Him out, I highly doubt He would be appreciative. ("You shall have no other gods before me." (Ex 20:3, NIV) First commandment). So, I think it would benefit you if there were other Christian role models around. I'm sorry you feel that a standard Christian is a Hell-belting condemner...I promise that's not the standard.

Good call! That C.S. Lewis, smart man...