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OTFPOTD 1-5-09, I Haven't Done This In a While Edition

Tiny by seattlebruin on Comment 872 comments

Happy New Year, all! Hopefully 2009 goes better than 2008 on any level you want it to, but for all our sakes, let's apply this first and foremost to the Seahawks and Mariners.

Matthew just posted an OTFPOTD Guide which I suggest everyone read and familiarize themselves with. It's my opinion that the OFFTOP has been a very good influence for LL overall, though it's certainly come time to reign it in a little bit. Just remember what our old threads used to look like - lots of zany off-topic banter, but no personal 1-1 communication.

If you need to communicate 1-1 with another poster, many people post their e-mails on their profile pages; also, there's a LL Facebook group where many of us are friends and can use FB chat and messages for non-LL appropriate discussion.

I usually stay out of the music discussions, but I discovered the band Shiny Toy Guns over break thanks to my brother, and I thought I'd pass it along

In case any of you are wondering why the hell I'm posting the OTFPOTD at 4:30 AM PST, my flight out of Seattle got delayed three hours on the tarmac after already being delayed an hour pre-flight. They kept telling us "de-ice. fifteen minutes!" every ten minutes for three hours, so when I finally got to San Diego, I decided not to bother driving the half an hour home and just to stay at work and leave really early. Plus this way, I get to watch the Texas-Ohio State game!

Who else has travel horror stories that end up with them working ungodly hours, or travel horror stories, or working ungodly hours stories?

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Read More: happy new year, sorry nola, bringing sexy back, well tom tango is bringing sexy back, unlike carlos silva, even ot posts have standards, dont mess with matthew, seriously

Comments

Display:

Ahhhh, back to work.

It’ll be nice to get back into a routine.

Now if I could only get some Fallout time in here.

Most days I work what average office dwellers would call ungodly hours (I come in at 7A and leave at 8P or so most days). The only time I feel that I actually worked egregiously long hours was my shift of 6A Monday – 10P Tuesday one day (2 days?) in my company’s warehouse in LV.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 5:30 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I have no clue. I got it yesterday morning,

and never got a chance to play it.

I did have time to load it onto my hard drive during halftime of the Phi/Min game (Damn you Vikings)

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 5:46 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I got it several weeks ago

But then my HDD melted, so I’ve been having some technical problems.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:36 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I've been hitting the couple hours a night stage of things

I’ve taken to just wandering the wasteland and enjoying all the weird little stuff I come across. Wonderful game

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 8:44 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

"It's like The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion

but with assault rifles."

~Ben “Yahtzee” Crowshaw.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 9:40 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

And less bugs

And radiation poisoning!

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:42 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

And descisions with consequences.

I am the leader of the Mage Guild. However no one knows who I am and I still have to hunt wolves for the money to buy things?

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 9:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Or, how about this?

You’re a member of the Thieves Guild. Your mission is to steal the sceptre of the leader of the Mage Guild.

But you ARE the leader of the Mage Guild. Shouldn’t the Thieves Guild know that?

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 10:02 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is why open ended games will never be better than linear story driven ones.

Seriously, give me the Witcher over Oblivion every day of the week. Hell, look at Mass Effect. It had a open ended feel, but there was an actual story that gave consequences for the decisions you made. Holy hell do I miss the golden era where we had Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 10:06 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

And VATS.

The VATS really makes it Fallout 3 more of an RPG than Oblivion ever was because your character’s success at things is now tied to your character’s skills, rather than your skills as the player.

This is why shooters and RPGs usually don’t mix. Mass Effect dealt with the problem well, and now so has Fallout 3 (in an entirely different way), so the problem may now be behind us.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 10:00 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

You can probably expect an official announcement about that in Q2 2009.

BioWare likes to promote only one game at a time, and Dragon Age is being released at the end of Q1.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 10:06 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I probably spend more time on BioWare's site than I do here.

Though under a different name.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 10:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Fuck I'm so excited, I just got my 360.

But I have a question. Do I sign up for Xbox live on the console, or do I have to buy a cd? Cause I saw online they are selling Xbox Live cards. Any help would be appreciated. Oh I got CofD World at War too! So geeked.

by brayden04 on Jan 5, 2009 7:02 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

If you just got the 360 new, it should come with a month of XBox Live Gold.

When you start up it should ask you in the opening sequence what all you want to sign up for or buy (Live Gold Sub & Microsoft Points).

The Live cards are for Parents and Grandparents to buy for their kids or as gifts, completely superfluous. You can do everything right from the console.

If you bought it used you should be able to find the System Setup in the settings somewhere, and it’ll take you through the first setup again, which includes the xbox live account setup and all that jazz.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 7:21 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's also more expensive to buy it through the console.

If you do it through the console, you pay $50. If you buy it from, say, New Egg, it’s only $40. Though the only way to really make ordering it from New Egg make sense is if you’re getting other stuff, otherwise paying the shipping is going to cancel out most of the savings.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 7:36 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Interesting, I didn;t know this.

I just knew from brick and mortars I had seen, the point cards were right in line with the console prices.

I guess I’ll have to start shopping online for them.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 7:46 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

So, wow, I'm FINALLY getting around to watching Michael Palin's "Around the World in 80 Days".

Has anybody seen this show? It’s a little dated (1988), but Palin is hysterical (as usual), and he does some really fascinating stuff.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 7:43 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

It's really interesting but be warned

all his subsequent travel shows are a case study in diminishing returns. They’re not bad, as such, but the first couple were so good that the rest seem like he’s just sort of going through the motions.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 7:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, I really only have an interest in the first two.

That being said, has anybody else seen Ewan McGregor’s “Long Way Round”? I think it’s about equal to Palin’s “Around the World in 80 Days”.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 7:48 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think the first two are a good stopping point really

the second was almost as good as the first. I haven’t seen Long Way Round, but I’m curious about it.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 7:51 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Pole to Pole worked.

He travelled from the North Pole to the South Pole following 30° East. I liked that one.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:38 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's his second one, isn't it?

Pole to Pole came out in 1991.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 9:39 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

oh by the way not to be pedantic

but it’s “rein it in” not “reign it in”. Think horses, not kings.

Since you got to work at 4.30AM are you only working until noon?

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 8:01 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

BrianL, or anybody else with some computer knowledge, I need help.

I had my 500 GB Western Digital external hard drive die on me a while back. I’m pretty sure it’s a power supply issue, so I took apart the case, yanked the drive out of it, and was going to install it in my PC as an internal hard drive. However, this being the first time I’d ever done something like this, I realized I didn’t have everything I needed. For one thing, I didn’t have the right equipment to turn the ex-external hard drive into a slave internal drive, which required jumper pins (?). Is there somewhere I can buy a kit that has these in there?

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 8:12 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

If you only have one CD-ROM installed, you may be able to take it from that. (Look at the back and make sure it doesn't require it)

Also, look at your motherboard and see if there is a jumper that is only attached to one pin. Lots of times, the BIOS password reset jump point has a jumper attached, but not on both pins so it is not active. If you have a non-massmarket machine (Not a Dell/HP/etc), sometimes the motherboards will have other spots that have extra jumpers as well.

If you’re friendly with your IT guys at work, lots of times they will have some, especially if the company has older HW sitting around somewhere.

Other than that, you could put it on your second channel (with your cdrom), set the CD to slave, and see if it works. It has for me before, depending on the drive. One thing that made a difference was make sure to put the HDD on the middle spot on the cord, and the CD on the end.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 8:40 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Oof, that just went way over my head.

I’ve got a friend who is pretty computer-savvy. I may give him a call to see if he can do it for me.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 8:44 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The second one is pretty easy to do yourself.

Just look at your mainboard and see if any jumpers are not connecting anything, or just hanging out. Other than that, maybe Brian can explain it better.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:01 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

hit the metal parts with a small hammer to get them loose, then tie the wirey parts together.

Then find the plasticy bits and arrange them in a circle.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 9:05 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think you've hit Compaq's business plan on they head.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:05 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The...

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:08 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

No, you fool

If you’re doing it that way then it needs to be a running shower

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:08 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

OHHH SHIT

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This sounds like quality advice.

Don’t forget to plug it in before you stick the screwdriver into the power supply.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:07 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

One thing he left out was that the jumpers are the small section of 8 pins, stacked in 2 rows of 4 (or something like that)

Generally there will be some markings on the drive that dictate what method will set it to slave

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:08 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It may be somewhere else, like on a label.

If you have a model number for the drive, I can look it up for you.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:10 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was just helping him find a jumper.

It sounded like he knew what was going on from that point.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:10 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Nothing wrong that you did that, really

But after seeing that it went past his knowledge of things, I figured that was a part of his issue

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:12 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Before you spend a lot of time on this

make sure the hard drive itself is okay. Open up your case and plug one of the extra D-shaped power connectors into the hard drive, fire up your computer, and make sure the hard drive powers on. If it doesn’t, you probably have a fried PCB on the bottom-side of the HD.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 9:36 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm having a similar problem, actually.

My second internal HDD became inaccessible, so I pulled it out and dropped it in an external USB enclosure to isolate the problem. The drive powers up and spins fine, and if I plug it in to any computer that computer recognises it as a HDD and assigns it a drive letter, but any attempt to read it (opening Windows Explorer, accessing that drive letter with a command prompt) causes a hang.

I’m still hopeful I can recover the data from the drive, but I’m not optimistic. It’s starting to look as if the best case is a badly corrupted partition table, with the only solution being a hard format.

Any data recovery suggestions?

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:50 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That sounds like the internal platters of the hard drive are going bad.

You could try a new PCB on it, but I don’t think it will help much.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 9:54 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If I told you that when it was initially failing

it would come and go (the BIOS would detect it some of the time, but not all of the time), would that confirm your diagnosis?

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:56 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My dad probably has the best system for digital pictures.

Every month he saves a copy of his picture collection to his desktop at home, his desktop at work, his laptop, and an external HDD.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 10:17 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

in a world where offline backup services exist

that seems like a lot of work.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 10:18 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

And?

I am under the impression that flickr doesn’t have an upload cap.

by Matthew on Jan 5, 2009 10:23 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I got a nasty email after 5GB in one month of uploading a batch of scanned pictures.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:24 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

(I have a pro account)

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:24 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My photog site has 150gigs.

I pay $~90 a year for it and my domain name. Every once in awhile I’ll bulk upload to my site. On top of filling external drives. For just more than double that, I could get unlimited storage.

I could spend a LOT more than $200 a year on external drives…

This signature space for rent.

by PositivePaul on Jan 5, 2009 10:45 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'll do that, thanks.

I know hard drives are becoming really inexpensive, but I’d rather just use one I already have if I can.

Here’s hoping it’s just fine.

Maybe you can tell from my experience what exactly is going on. It was a 500 GB Western Digital My Book external hard drive. I had it connected USB cable to my PC, and it was my K: drive. When I accessed the drive, I could hear the power kick in and the drive would start spinning, and a blue activity light would shine around the back-up button. One day I came home from work and the blue light (which is a ring, see this drive for a similar look…the two concentric blue circles) wasn’t spinning like it would be if the drive were in use. It was just lit up. I couldn’t do anything with it, I couldn’t access the drive, when I hit the button it didn’t do anything.

I decided to restart my computer. When I did this, the drive wouldn’t even come on.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 9:59 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Fuck.

At least I didn’t have anything vital on that drive, just some pictures and some music.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 10:04 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Rode a rustbucket of a boat for 18 hours one way to make one dive once.

After driving 6 hours to get to a dock waaaaaayyyyyy down in south Louisiana. Got on site, started setting anchors on a four point boat (4 anchors, 1 each corner) and an anchor literally fell off the boat. New anchor and some jackass had forgotten the critical last step of putting the pin through the little hole that connected it to the cable before we left the dock. Made one dive to reattach the cable, and the transmission for the cable winch burned out. Back to the dock. That boat was a real POS, floating tetanus shot.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 8:21 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I made a critical mistake over the Holidays.

I have only been seeing my girlfriend for a few months but I payed for her to come with me and my family to Hawaii. Then proceeded to buy her a ton of new jewelry and some fancy dresses. Plus fancy dinners and whatnot. I kind of spoiled her and now I hope she doesn’t begin to look at me as a cash register. I don’t think she is the type, but it still kind of scares me.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 8:54 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Whoa. After a few months?

I think I’d be a little scared if someone bought me jewelry and fancy dresses after just a few months, but if she’s not scared, then hey, she gets to go to Hawaii.

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 5, 2009 9:00 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Point of reminder:

Please try to make topics more open-ended. Adding questions helps.

by Matthew on Jan 5, 2009 9:24 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think this topic would have been talked about and spawned a discussion if so many people didn't have SOs that read these.

I, however, have no comment.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:36 AM PST up reply actions   1 recs

But at the same time, anyone who responds to the question posted at the top of the thread (long workdays/odd timing) would be guilty of the same thing.

What if SB’s question had been about over the top Christmas presents? Would his statement still have been acceptable?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:41 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

No, it's not the same thing.

Responding to a question brought up in the OP itself is legitimate.

by Matthew on Jan 5, 2009 9:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't see the difference, aside from that if the author for the day wants to talk about it.

I see no difference between my posting about getting back to work, and Wyrm’s about a money grubbing gf, except one spawned discussion about Fallout 3, and one didn’t do anything.

I don’t see how the offshoot of my comment spawning a discussion has anything to do at all with the fact that it was a response to the main post. The main post had nothing to do with Fallout, but that was the part that spawned the banter.

I think a better policy would be to have a blanket rule where all top level comments follow the guidelines.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:12 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The difference is it's an actual question

This:

Who else has travel horror stories that end up with them working ungodly hours, or travel horror stories, or working ungodly hours stories?

is a specific question that can guide a discussion. Thewyrm’s comment above (and really, thewyrm, I’m not picking on you, I’ve done it, as have most of us) was an open-ended statement that had no obvious answer to it; it didn’t say “was this good or bad” or anything, or ask for follow-up. That’s what the mods are trying to stop.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 10:17 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Why do you hate me?

Seriously though I was just curious if anyone had ever been in the same situation. Evidently not, so fair enough, topic can die.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 10:19 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't hate you in the least

but I think what Matthew is getting at is that things like that better serve the post as direct questions rather than as implied questions. Had you expressly asked “has anyone been in this situation”, at the end of your story, it wouldn’t have been an issue.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 10:22 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My problem with that thinking is that question from SB spawns a lot of top-level comments

that are not questions, and many wouldn’t lead to discussion.

Look at my post at the top of the thread. If I hadn’t put something about Fallout in it (and I almost didn’t), it never would have garnered more than one or two responses. In actuality, it was a weaker discussion topic than Wyrm’s was by far.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:22 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is kind of my point.

Maybe the questions from the author should instead be put in as comments at the top of the threads?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:23 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's a fine enough topic.

The idea is to make it more conducive to responses and as far as that goes, flat statements are inferior to questions.

by Matthew on Jan 5, 2009 9:39 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

F'rinstance

“I have only been seeing my girlfriend for a few months but I payed for her to come with me and my family to Hawaii. Then proceeded to buy her a ton of new jewelry and some fancy dresses. Plus fancy dinners and whatnot. I kind of spoiled her…” could have been followed with

“…was this too much too soon? Did I overwhelm her?”

or that sort of thing.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 9:42 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sorry, I thought the question was inherrent.

I was looking to see if anyone else had invited a relatively new significant other on a huge vacation/holiday and what effects it may have had on their relationship.

I don’t see that as LLLJ at all, but I have less of a problem discussing somewhat personal things here than most.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 9:53 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I always try to come home from vacation a day or two earlier than I have to.

I just can’t do the whole “get off the plane, go right to work” thing. Airports irritate me, so when I finally escape, I just want to go home and watch a movie or something.

by Teej on Jan 5, 2009 8:55 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I do the same thing dude.

I always plan for my leave to end on a Friday. That way I’ve got the whole weekend to recover/get ready for work again.

by coolguyrob on Jan 5, 2009 8:58 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm the same

I book-end every vacation with a day, just so I can unwind a bit before getting back into the swing of things

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 8:59 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Make sure you take advantage of getting off early by playing CoD for like 15 hours

That will help

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:14 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

't played in like three weeks. Hopefully my mic will be waiting for me when I get home...

but honestly, I’m going home, eating and then crashing until the game starts. I’m beat.

by seattlebruin on Jan 5, 2009 9:19 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was joking, of course

But go ahead and sleep when you get home, you wimp

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:34 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Has anyone else ever done phone surveys as a job?

Eight hours a day is much rougher than I thought it would be.

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 5, 2009 9:01 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Yes. It is not fun.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 9:04 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Taking or giving? I'd imagine taking would be harder.

I never talk, so I’m not sure I could do an hour of talking to people, let alone 8. Hats off to you either way.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:04 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Are you on a computer dialer system?

Like it automatically calls out for you, and you’re calling places in the midwest and the like, so that you don’t get people you know? That was how it was for friends during high school. Just sit down, grab your headset, and begin your surveys. Sounds terribly repetitive, and you are a strong person for being able to put up with that

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:37 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Probably 85% of my High School did that

I stayed the hell away from it, but it kept everybody busy. Of course, 85% of my school was working that job while high as fuck, so that probably made it more tolerable for them

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:10 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I did.

I quit after 20 minutes.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:39 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I had a roommate who was hired by a company that does this.

On his first day of work, he made it to the front door and just stopped. Turned around and came back home.

by Teej on Jan 5, 2009 9:46 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was actually doing political polling.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:53 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Twas part of my first state government job...

Interviewing CPS workers for a study. So not quite survey stuff, but reading the same q’s over and over again — having to make sure you’re reading verbatim and collecting open-ended question responses as verbatim as possible.

And I’ve never really been one to love talking on the phone in the first place…

This signature space for rent.

by PositivePaul on Jan 5, 2009 9:44 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Totally def

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:10 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

f'sho

Big Z is the MAN.

by Taylor H on Jan 5, 2009 9:12 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Watch for the price of apple shares to drop.

OMFG without Jobs the company will never survive!!!!

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 9:09 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I imagine thats why they kept it a secret for so long.

I dislike the cult of Jobs and the things that I have heard about his personality but the man deserves a right to keep his health private.

by Robert on Jan 5, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't know about that.

He runs a publicly-owned company. Do shareholders have a right to know about the mental and physical health of the person in charge of their investment? I think it’s an interesting topic.

by Matthew on Jan 5, 2009 9:27 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Ever? Sure.

Ford Motors in the 20’s and 30’s comes to mind. Recently? Not so much.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 9:32 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I believe so, yes

and my timeframe was a bit off, I think he was more dominant as a driving force (no pun intended) in the 10’s and 20’s.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 9:45 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think they definitely have a right to know

but Apple’s an interesting case because the people that love Apple LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Apple and see Steve Jobs AS Apple, so a mere statement about his health can have a huge and ridiculous effect on Apple’s share price where, say, if the CEO of Boeing got sick, it wouldn’t make as big of a deal.

Apple’s just like any other company, in that they in all likelihood have a succession plan in place in case Jobs decides to stop working, but he’s so identified with Apple that it’s hard to separate the two in a lot of people’s minds.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 9:30 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I am sure there is one in place,

but do shareholders (and here I mean in general, not just Apple shareholders), deserve to know the likelihood of that plan being executed? I will use another example to illustrate my question, and there shall be no further continuation on the direct line that I am about to open up; should people running for public office have their general health status public? Do I as a voter have a right to know if the candidate for office that I am voting for has cancer (for instance?)

Do not continue this along political lines, the corporation one is adequate. I just used a political-arena reference to frame the question.

by Matthew on Jan 5, 2009 9:36 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

People running for office DO make their general health status public, though

at least presidents/VP’s/US Congress level-politicians. CEO’s of publicly traded companies are under the same umbrella – they aren’t “required” to make their health status public, but if they are in a state of health that jeopardizes the future direction of the company (if they have cancer, etc), they do generally make it known, if only in passing, just to reassure shareholders.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 9:41 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

But clearly shareholders are concerned about any succession plan.

When someone posted a report on CNN’s iReport that Jobs had had a heart attack, Apple shares dropped 10%. I’ve never known any company whose fortunes were so closely tied to the health of its CEO.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:46 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Funny this came up, I recently ordered a book The Machine That Changed the World.

  At this point I’ve often thought there is a big difference between CEO’s that own a majority of stock in the company, and management that is only appointed and has limited stake in the future of the company besides a paycheck. It came up in a thread a few days ago in a different fashion in regards to management of Microsoft vs. the Big Three management, but currently I feel the underlying principle remains the same.

I’m not sure the specifics of Steve Jobs level of controlling interest, but people associate him with the creation of the company much as Bill Gates. The similarities between Gates and Ford are interesting. And even though he’s officially stepped out of management, if Gates took ill, I’d expect a drop in stock value. Whether or not Gates being ill is relevant to the stewardship of the company, I’d still expect to see a drop.

  What happened to the Ford Company after Henry Ford left and his descendants took over is kind of interesting, whether or not this specific issue is discussed in the book I don’t know yet, but I’m really looking forward to reading this.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 11:13 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yep another computer question coming up...

I just got my copy of Vista in the mail today. I can use this to put Vista on both my laptop and desktop correct?

by coolguyrob on Jan 5, 2009 9:45 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

No

Well yes but after 30 days whichever copy you didnt activate will be gimped.

by Robert on Jan 5, 2009 9:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

It seems like I should be able to use the same program for all of the systems that I own. It’s not like I’m pirating it.

by coolguyrob on Jan 5, 2009 9:49 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, but that never effected me because I had multiple (legal) copies of XP laying around.

I just rebuilt my desktop and decided to go with Vista. Meanwhile my laptop died (was XP) so I was hoping that I could just put vista on both.

by coolguyrob on Jan 5, 2009 9:56 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Seriously, why would you do that?

XP is still a vastly superior OS to Vista.

And if you really want some Vista feature XP doesn’t have, download Windows 7. Windows 7 already does everything Vista does better than Vista does it.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Not for the second machine he didn't.

I’m abandoning Vista. My new Desktop machine came with Vista, and I’m going to reformat and install a triple-boot of Windows 7, XP, and Win98 (for retro gaming).

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 10:05 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I do.

But some stuff just isn’t that retro.

Baldur’s Gate has never run well under XP. There’s some annoying flicker of the transparent effects.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 10:33 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't see a lot of software demanding DX10.

With Vista’s small market-share, requiring DX10 just reduces your customer base.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 10:03 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't want DX10...

I want a DX7!

(Couldn’t resist…)

This signature space for rent.

by PositivePaul on Jan 5, 2009 10:05 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Well, I failed to keep the product keys with the multiple legal copies of XP that I had.

Meaning I have 3 worthless copies here. So I would have had to buy a new copy of XP anyway and just decided to check Vista out.

by coolguyrob on Jan 5, 2009 10:00 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If you buy a site license, then yes.

This is what companies do.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 9:55 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Repeatedly

In the tush

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 9:48 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm starting to freak out about my Xbox lately.

All of my close friends who have Xbox’s have red-ringed within the past month and a half (two of these friends have had it happen twice). This includes four Elites.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 10:02 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Seems a bit odd.

Do your friends have a problem with putting their consoles into a place that doesn’t have much ventilation?

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 10:07 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

As far as I know, yes.

They’re all out in the open, not on carpet, not in a closed space, etc. etc.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 10:08 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's why I'm freaking out.

By the way, I mistyped there. That’s actually TWO Elites. Not four.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 10:13 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I sent in 3, if you count the one I sold to my brother

I’ll never forget how pissed I was when I finally booted up my launch box after a 23 hour wait in line and had it freeze repeatedly while playing Perfect Dark Zero.

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 12:31 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They come with a warranty from MS.

And they are supposedly very good about enforcing it.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 12:35 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I know, I've heard nothing but good things about the warranty,

but that doesn’t help me when it craps out in the middle of a game or something.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 12:43 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Anything could do that.

I work in IT, I know what happens to electronics. I’ve had blackberries die from just starting up. The failure rate on them is higher than average, but not horrendous. You just hear it more because it happens to the most vocal aspects of online society.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 12:49 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I suppose.

I just never heard of these things happening with PS2’s or anything like that.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 12:53 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

There wasn't a giant online community of asshole PS2 users.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 12:54 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Correct

My neighbor/good friend went through more of them than I can remember. Towards the end we just started to repair them on our own

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 12:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My PS2 died five times.

My PS3 is dead and needs a new optical drive.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 1:03 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Really?

My PS2 has worked perfectly ever since I purchased it.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 1:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

In Pullman, there was an electronics store that would open it and clean it for you.

It cost about $15, but it always did the trick whenever the machine would start having problems reading discs. I didn’t trust myself to do it, so once I moved away, my PS2 eventually died.

by Teej on Jan 5, 2009 1:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I gave up calling Sony on my PS2 and tore the thing open myself.

I don’t know why, but that thing is a dust magnet. Also had a problem with the optical drive’s laser going out of alignment.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 1:11 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Huh.

I’ve never heard of people having problems with PS2’s other than it might occasionally lock up during game play. They just reset and moved on.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 1:23 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The early PS2s had all sorts of weird problems

and if something went wrong Sony gave you the highway salute.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 1:34 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

By the slim ones, they were golden though.

The only problems I had with those was disc reads.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 1:35 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The PS2 slim is awesome.

Mine is over 4 years old now, had continuous use for 3 years, and still runs like a champ.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 1:39 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think mine is one of the old ones,

and it still runs like a champ. Even after being abused by my teenagers.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 1:41 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I bought mine the first week

I worked great. Plus, the backward compatibility was awesome.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 2:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

huh

googling “xbox 360 failure rate” in an attempt to back up Faux’s post with a low number to assuage Thingray, it seems that the failure rate was once reportedly as high as 68, most retailers reported it peaking at about 30, and it seems to be somewhere around 15-16% now. Even that 15% rate is still kinda high.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 12:53 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

For a small form factor computer it's not horrible.

It’s above average, but not Vidro level bad by any means.

When my company bought a bunch of small form factor Dells we had tons of them fail, like a 35% clip, and the tech I talked to at Dell said that was par for the course for the smaller machines. Just not enough air movement.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 12:56 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That makes sense.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 12:59 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sounds like they need better fans.

I keep my consoles nice and cool though, and I don’t play for days on end without turning them off, so I should be fine.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 1:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Better fans can only do so much.

The main problem with air movement (ie heat dissipation) and SFF computers is that you have a certain decibel limit that people will allow before they complain. If you’ve ever played a 360, you’ll know that the fans on that are pretty loud right now.

The reason behind this is to get proper airflow, you either need air volume by fan size, or air volume by fan speed. Increasing speed on a fan increases noise, and also the likelihood of fan failure. And due to complaints that the original XBox was too big, you couldn’t fit standard 80mm fans in it, so they had to go dual 60mm, at a slower speed to cut down noise.

I would read this interview of one of the hardware designers, it’ll give you another take on basically what I just said, but probably a lot more eloquently. What he tries to explain is it’s basically a balancing act between power, heat damage, and aesthetics.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 1:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If you follow the instructions not to let it overheat

you’ll be fine.

If you have a cabinet where you normally store game consoles, don’t put the 360 there.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 12:43 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They are much more reliable these days

They learned from their mistakes with hardware and have continuously been updating the chipsets. The warranty for the red ring deaths is phenomenal, and again the hardware reliability is much better. Besides, it’s completely worth it, even with the issues. Hell, with as many as I’ve burned through I can attest to them being worth it. I could have given up long ago

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 12:52 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The Elites are supposed to be better anyway.

My friend has only had just one for about six months with no problems, so hopefully that’s normal.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 12:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm hoping that installing all my games to the hard drive will prevent the red rings.

I was on my third 360 in the first year of owning it, but that third one lasted two years and was fine before it got stolen a couple of weeks ago. Now I have a brand-new Elite, but I still paid for the extended warranty. There will always be a little bit of fear there.

by Teej on Jan 5, 2009 10:17 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Even without decent ventilation, as long as they don't get too hot I find they're fine.

My 360 is sort of hidden in a cramped corner with furniture all around it, but it sits on the floor, which is a hardwood floor directly over an unheated parking garage. That floor is always cold.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 10:34 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Since the OT today is littered with technophiles,

has anyone used (consistently) a Solid State Drive yet? I’m assuming the prices will start dropping shortly as a.) this is always the case with technology and b.) flash drive technology has become dirt cheap.

Any concerns with reliability?

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 10:03 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

My Asus EeePC is loaded with a solid-state drive

same with the fanless Mini-ITX machines I purchase for the company I work for.

I love them. Quick boot-up, low failure rate because of the lack of moving parts.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 10:05 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They are still a little iffy during power events, so I wouldn't consider one for a desktop machine.

But for laptops they are much more reliable than platter based drives.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:16 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Depends on the desktop.

I love them in headless devices, but I wouldn’t use one for my regular-use desktop.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 10:18 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

What I mean is they tend to be power-sensitive, and I wouldn't put them into a desktop because the fluctuations would get to them.

But laptops have much cleaner power all around, and tend to treat them better.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:46 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Kotaku is reporting

that Sony may be axing thousands of employees and entire divisions within the next couple of months.

As unlikely as it seems to be, does anyone here think that the money-hemorrhaging Sony Playsation and Games division is at risk?

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 10:13 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Not while that's their biggest source of BluRay push.

I’d look more for a slimmer, cheaper gaming console to come out next instead. I mean, the PSP is still doing well, isn’t it?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:18 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think I read some doom-and-gloom outlooks for the PSP from a few outlets.

How far off would that cheaper, slimmer console be? From everything I’ve read, the PS3 doesn’t have much room for price drops. Would this be a completely separate console?

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 10:21 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't see how it wouldn't be.

I can’t find the links right now, but Sony America poached a few digital download company execs and high level workers a year ago or so. I can see them coming out with a completely online based console, bypassing the disc sales entirely, and talking to a few Sony reps at trade shows I’ve been to didn’t dissuade me of that. People at Sony have been talking about that for a while, and I think with the hardware sales failure of PS3s it becomes a definite possibility.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 10:29 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't think the console was the only problem.

I think they have to try to make more fun games that are exclusive to Playstation, kind of like Xbox has Halo and etc, and the Wii is probably in a whole different league as far as gameplay goes.

by Fin on Jan 5, 2009 10:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I got a book called "Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer" for Christmas and I really enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed “How Soccer Explains the World” and found it to be great. Does anyone have any recommendations about similar, fun to read metric football books?

by HARRYP09 on Jan 5, 2009 10:41 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Not football, but I'm finishing up "Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler"

I’m not a fan of billiards, but holy shit this book is enjoyable. Kid Delicious is such an engaging personality. It’s definitely worth a read, even if you don’t like pool.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 10:46 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm not sure what you mean by "metric football books"

but The Miracle Of Castel Di Sangro is a great read – it’s in a similar vein to Bloody Confused but it focuses on a single team in Italy.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 10:50 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

"Soccer" instead of the american version of "football" I think.

As for the American version, I just finished reading “Then Zorn said to Largent” about the Seahawks. Pretty good book.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:03 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

ah, got it

then you would definitely enjoy the book I linked to above.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:15 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's the one where people actually use their feet

and it was around first.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:19 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I played it,

but I don’t enjoy watching it as much. If it’s a big match I’ll check it out, and I’m trying to get into the Sounders (but it’s hard until they actually play some games).

My primary sport for watching is the NFL though, closely followed by MLB.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:21 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

"Tor!" - "Morbo" - "The Glory Game"

and, yes, you probably have to put “Fever Pitch” on there as well.

by marc w on Jan 5, 2009 11:21 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I did not walk by you on New Years Eve

so no. Did you attempt to speak to Mr. Clemens?

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:20 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Hell no.

Me: Roger Clemens!
Clemens: ::ah shit::
Me: I, uh, I…. I am a Mariners fan.
Clemens: … Good for you?
Me: Yeah, I just thought I would say hi.
Clemens: ::rolls eyes::

He looked pretty intent on getting through the casino as fast as possible.

by Wilder. on Jan 5, 2009 11:33 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Only through you, more details!

Hot babe on his arm that was not his wife? Needle tracks? Look like he’s in shape? I’d say pull a Brett Favre, but Clemens kind of started that crap of not really retired yet.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 11:21 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Magic Johnson's to blame for that one actually

and Jordan’s just as bad.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:22 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Magic had that "I was forced to retire because of HIV thing though".

Jordan (it is rumored) was something to do with his gambling issues.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:24 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

For Jordan?

It doesn’t.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:26 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I've alway had my suspicions about the Jordan thing. Nothing like a good conspiracy.

It was just the timing of his baseball hiatus with the revelation of the gambling issue. I’ve often wondered if basketball realized they didn’t want to have a Pete Rose situation, especially with an icon of Jordan’s stature, but needed to punish him. Banished to the minor leagues! I’m probably not the only ding dong that’s had those thoughts though.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 11:26 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's the rumor that was flying.

His gambling problem was about to go all Pete Rose, so they told him he had to come up with some reason to leave the league for a while. I don’t know if I buy it or not, but it’s fun to think about.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:27 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If they pulled that off, it's the greatest cover up since...(fill in the blank).

Dragging Jordan down would be a huge coup to a reporter. Don’t you think?

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 11:30 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

At that point, yeah

but now, it’d just be a shoulder-shrug moment.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I would think so.

Plus the NBA let him into and ownership group which seems odd if the stories are true.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:39 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's right, he owned a piece of that craptastic team he played for at the end.

Did he have a piece of the Bulls before that?

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 11:41 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Don't think so, just the Wizards.

Doesn’t he have part of the Bobcats now?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:44 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Dunno

My interest level in basketball waned and died after high school, and I tried to block out all anything related to Jordan after he came back. I want to remember him in his glory.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 11:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I know he's affiliated with them.

I think there’s an ownership stake included.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:58 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yes, he's a part owner

as far as we can tell, he doesn’t actually do anything but occasionally show up at games wearing an orange blazer and sign some autographs

by seattlebruin on Jan 5, 2009 8:15 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Was he having a party with Brian McNamee?

Was Jose Canseco there?

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 11:22 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

random steroid joke!

Obligatory Canseco reference!

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:23 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

actually that wasn't a steroid joke. The allegations involving McNamee

were somewhat hinged around whether or not Clemens attended a particular party thrown by Canseco.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 11:26 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yes.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:27 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

either way it was only a matter of time before someone brought it up

so I figured I’d get it out of the way.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:28 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

All of this talk of what does and does not constitute an OFFTOP post

made me wonder. Do we need a 2009 edition of the Dead Memes post? It seems that memes are pretty well under control for the most part (and by “under control” I mean “beaten to death within a day or so never to be seen again”), but if we need it this might be the time to do it.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:26 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

"Meme" might be a meme.

Sometimes I think people are trying to be the quickest on the draw to label something a meme.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 11:28 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The word "meme" is indeed as overused as the concept it represents

but I can’t think of a better word to describe “unit of common cultural reference” so that’s what I used.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:30 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My sentiments exactly. I had only heard the word meme used sparingly up until recently.

In fact, it is more frequent of OT’s than the word Ichiro.*

*I will not substantiate this claim with data.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 11:33 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

or even maymay

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 11:44 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

what you mean is that's such an overused meme.

A meme itself is not positive or negative.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 11:59 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

row row row your boat gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream

How about that? Ricocheting around in there like a stray bullet isn’t it, how do you like me now?!

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 1:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Just kidding around with the meme thread, viral thoughts, that kind of thing.

Nursery rhymes play hell with my head, I have dreams revolving around them sometimes. I find them more annoying than just about anything I can think of, most of the time.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 1:52 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Perhaps at some point once the season starts.

game threads are the hive centers for memes.

by Matthew on Jan 5, 2009 11:29 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

true enough.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 11:30 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Going to be rough if the team gets better. What are you going to say then?

“Oh, Sexon would have hit into a GIDP right there!”, or “Remember Vidro? Yeah, only this guy is good.”

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 11:36 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Interesting.

Didn’t seem like a need for them.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:41 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Makes sense I suppose.

Didn’t you rotate DH’s last year?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Burrell should be better.

I didn’t realize it was that much of a cluster.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 1:47 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Well, it wasn't all season.

Floyd, Baldelli, and Aybar missed time due to injuries.
Gomes was unlucky.
Hinske was hot in the first half then regressed.

Plus Hinske played right when Floyd DHed most nights, so um, yeah.

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 5, 2009 1:51 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Lurker

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 8:17 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Even with the auto updates

Sounds needy

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 8:18 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

C and Shift-C for me

Especially with the way that SBN automatically highlights a new comment, meaning a press of Z will blow out a comment without you ever being able to see it. Drives me insane

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 8:20 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I approve.

Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.

by P Brady on Jan 5, 2009 11:41 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

For sure

I wasn’t much of a fan of Burrell, but this is a great price.

by edddgar on Jan 5, 2009 11:58 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Once again, kudos to the Rays.

I know we normally don’t think of things in “roles,” but with that roster, it seemed like DH was their only real hole. What a nice problem to have.

Fangraphs has him as being worth $12 million last year ($8-$10 million the two years before that), so this looks like a solid signing. And he’s so awful in the field that being a DH should actually improve his value.

by Teej on Jan 5, 2009 11:55 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Airplanes are terrible

As soon as you get on there’s that distinctive smell that reminds you that you’re going to be spending the next couple of hours having your legs fall asleep and staring at the video map telling you the exact location of your plane. First class seats should be reserved for the taller people that need the leg room and not babies and small children who do not grasp the luxury they have been given.

by Fogel on Jan 5, 2009 11:52 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I read somewhere that we Alaskans are gonna get hosed.

Due to some kind of Earth shift Siberia is going to get all the beautiful Northern Lights we used to get. I will say, once you se them over the Arctic Ocean you will never forget them.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 12:31 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, magnetic north moved.

The aurora are always centred around that because that’s where all the charged solar particules get funnelled by the magnetic field lines.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 12:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Next thing you know

you’ll be reading stories of how the aurora are buying yachts and English Premier League clubs and islands off of Dubai just like all the other damn oligarchs.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 12:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I know

It’s why I stare at them instead of watching actual TV

by Fogel on Jan 5, 2009 11:56 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I've never flown on a plane with a video map.

That’d make my day, because I’m a scenery watcher. I always am curious about what lake or mountain I’m seeing.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 11:58 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Neither have I.

That would be awesome.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 11:59 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's nothing that special.

You get a map that’s so high up just to give you a general spot where you are in relation to the ground. If you’re lucky you see a couple city names on it.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 11:59 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Still, it'd be nice.

I can never tell exactly where I am. “Am I in Idaho, or Wyoming?”

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 12:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Does it even matter at that point?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 12:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is what I love about LL.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 12:07 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If that's true, I'm sure glad Jeff doesn't love sheep.

(I will now wince as I wait for someone to google that)

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 5, 2009 12:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm so banned.

http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=Jeff+Sheep+Loving&word2=Idaho+Sheep+Loving

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 12:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Okay, Robert just did

Jeff’s dick vs. Robert’s dick

by Wilder. on Jan 5, 2009 12:29 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm not a Muse fan

but the question of “short list of greatest albums of the 00’s” is an interesting one. Gotta ponder that one for a bit.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 1:11 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I like Black Holes and Revelations better.

But no…though I’m probably gonna go 100 deep with my best albums of the 00s next December.

by SethGrandpa on Jan 5, 2009 1:31 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I used to like Shiny Toy Guns back when the stunning and talented Carah Charnow was the lead singer...

But they recently booted her out for one of the losers of the Pusscat Dolls reality show. I wish I was kidding. She not any good. Bail on the band now.

by SethGrandpa on Jan 5, 2009 1:32 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Worst.

And it’s not particularly close.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 1:51 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Evidence for the prosecution

Cherub Rock:
Hipsters unite
Come align for the big fight to rock for you
But beware
All those angels with their wings glued on
‘Cause deep down they are frightened and they’re scared
If you don’t stare

Rocket:
Bleed in your own light, dream of your own life.
I miss me, I miss everything I’ll never be, and on, and on.
I torch my soul to show the world that I am pure.

Today:
Pink ribbon scars that never forget.
I tried so hard to cleanse these regrets.
My angel wings were bruised and restrained.
My belly stings.

And that’s just from one album.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 1:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

And he maintained that level of quality for seven albums

eight if you count Mellon Collie And Oh My God Even The Title Is Horrible as a double album.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 1:58 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yup.

Plus some solo stuff. Amazing, isn’t it?

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:02 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Zwhat?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 2:04 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Zhit.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Zfucker.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 2:07 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yep.

I really wanted to go to the reading he did at Powell’s here when that book came out, and treat it as some sort of comedy revue, but I realized that I’d probably get angsted to death as soon as I started laughing out loud.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Early Scorpions albums

Steamrock Fever

Wed like to introduce tonight the kings of a brand new style
Theyre hungry to play
Wed like to introduce tonight the new heavy steamrock style
Quite different and strange

Alright, how do you feel tonight
Get up to see and cry the name of the band
(steamrock band, steamrock band)
Steam right with hands and feet tonight
Get up to see and cry, and they will begin

Here they are

Steamrock fever, screaming rock believers
Steamrock fever in L.A.

Speedy’s Coming

You look at a poster
You look at the wall
The wall in the room where you live
Where you live with your stars
Just listen to his records
Now hear what he says
For he says, “I love you little girl
Come to see me today”

Speedy’s Coming
You live in his house

But then, they couldn’t speak English; Klaus didn’t know what he was saying.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 2:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Those are indeed pretty bad

but I exempt most metal as they weren’t trying to make a serious statement about their feelings, like Billy Corgan was/is. They just wrapped some lyrics around killer riffs and went on with their business. I mean, KISS is one of my favorite bands, but you want to talk about inane lyrics, they got a million of ’em.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

No english.

Plain old R&R is a little different though. It’s not like KISS ever wrote deep lyrics.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 2:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

great minds think alike.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Still.

Speedy’s Coming / You live in his house. I always giggle at that one.

And I’m a big fan. I saw them live last summer.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 4:16 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

You're forgetting the solo album.

A100:
Fools like us remind me trust
The way I feel surround you up

Some might say my love is reaching you
Some might say that life is waiting:
Alone

YOU ARE LOVE
YOU ARE SOUL
YOU ARE TEARS
YOU I KNOW

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 1:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

THAT'S A TORTURED SOUL AT WORK YOU CALLOUS UNCARING NON-HIPSTER

oh, Billy Corgan, nobody understands you….

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 3:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was the same

I started to sing it and just began to laugh uncontrollably. We had to restart the song. I could have sworn that it was a joke by the developers or something

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 3:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Hetfield popped into my head

but like pdb said, metal/hard rock should be exempt.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 3:52 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

No it shouldn't

at least not when they’re trying to be serious like Metallica often does

by JI on Jan 5, 2009 3:53 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Them most heavy metal ranks as horrible.

It might as well all be Dethklock.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah but the point is

it doesn’t matter how heavy the music is, if they sincerely try to be serious and fail miserably it’s no different.

by JI on Jan 5, 2009 4:04 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I said most.

But somehow it is different to me.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 4:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Old Metallica had descent lyrics.

Something like Disposible Heroes is fine. It’s the new stuff that’s awful.

St. Anger was appalling.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 4:17 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Although I would think that any Scott Stapp lyric might be as bad as Corgan

I think the Pumpkins win for sheer longevity.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 1:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Stapp, is that Creed?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 1:59 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yup.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 1:59 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Agreed then.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 2:03 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Nickleback might be getting to that point.

They are ushering in the era of crunk rock with alarming quickness. I’m almost looking forward to the feud with the next Fred Durst.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 2:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was surprised too.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They've gone the way of rappers,

and are now “singing” almost exclusively of money, women, and sex.

Rockstar signaled their decent into crunk rock.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 2:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

At least they were kind enough to announce their intentions.

The song pretty much says it all.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 2:11 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Of course, I'm through with standing in line myself,

but only because I’m too old and lazy to.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 2:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's because there was a time when music was actually scary

but now it’s all prepackaged and myspaced and sanitized and hot-topic’ed and get off my goddamn lawn.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:18 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

true enough I suppose

it’s just been a while since I was an angry suburban teen so I’m not up on what they listen to as much as I used to be.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:27 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Lucky you.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 1:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's a great song

it has some really fucking weird lyrics

by seattlebruin on Jan 5, 2009 8:20 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I just stumbled on to a great older song

“Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart. Can anyone recommend anything similar?

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 2:00 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

I love that song.

Somewhere on Youtube is a live recording of that song with John Farnham singing the lead.

by BrianL on Jan 5, 2009 2:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

AC/DC are about the only mainstream band

that’s done as well or better with the new singer as with the previous one, at least off the top of my head. They had no choice but to replace him, but still.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

was, not so much

they didn’t really become mainstream until Phil Collins took over.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:56 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I didn't say "liked better" or "were better"

but they have sold as well or better as Bon Scott-era AC/DC.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 2:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Really?

Not one tolerable song from the DLR days?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:16 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think EVH is talented as hell.

But something about his music and Roth’s insufferable ego makes my skin crawl.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 3:19 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

There are worse things.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 3:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

oh by the way

I see you accepted my friendingness on FB – did you want/need Portland advice? If so drop me a line on FB (I’m never on the chat thing so sending a message would be much more efficient) and I’ll be glad to help you out…

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 3:22 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think we're planning the Portland visit for a separate vacation.

But I’ll definitely contact you when the time comes, thank you!. (end LLLJ)

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:25 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Not much different than Panama.

Why is one awful, and the other one “okay”?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:47 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't know. Roth just seems so vampy and ridiculous to me.

The dude seriously makes me queezy.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 3:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

He is vampy and ridiculous.

But that was the style at the time.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 4:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

And Unchained in an awesome song.

You want campy, listen to DLR’s solo stuff. Especially the second album “Eat ’em and Smile”. He assembled an incredible supergroup for that album (Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan?, but then he made a David Lee Roth record with it.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 4:20 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

One good DLR song huh?

Panama is okay.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 3:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Okay then.

I figured there must be one decent one in your book.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:47 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Top Jimmy is a good song.

There are lots of good DLR-era Van Halen songs.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 4:20 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

DLR sucks hard

and so does Van Halen

by JI on Jan 5, 2009 3:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

To each their own.

They’re not my favorite, but I can groove to a DLR or old Van Halen song now and then.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:56 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

So tonight is my little brother's 21st birthday.

I’m taking him out for drinks, but I want to introduce him to “adult” drinking, not “under 21 let’s get fammered and stupid” drinking. Does anyone have some suggestions for drinks for him?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:30 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

A good martini is always nice

as is a Manhattan. Sazeracs are good, mint juleps are nice, and you can never really go wrong with a well-mixed gin rickey.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 3:32 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I may need to work up to those.

He’s drank before, but only Jager and cases of crap beer (pretty much). Gin & Tonic might work, but even I don’t care for those much most of the time.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:33 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'd go with something sweetish, then

like a mint julep, a caipirinha, or a mojito.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 3:37 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Just make sure he knows that the goal

is to enjoy the taste of the beverage, not to knock 9 of them down in an hour in an effort to get shitty drunk.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 3:41 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Whiskey sour and mojitos are good calls.

What is a caipirinha?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's Brazilian

1 part cachaca
2 tsp superfine sugar
lime wedge

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Serve over crushed ice (smaller than cubes, but not like shaved ice).

Any serious bar should have cachaca, but if not, a little tequila and light rum in the same volume as cachaca (for example, if you use 2 oz cachaca, use 1 oz of tequila and 1 oz of rum) will suffice.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 3:54 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

How about superfine sugar?

We’re humble people going to a humble bar.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

As with the cachaca, any bar worth its, uh, salt would have this*

but if not, normal sugar works just as well.

*your corner dive bar may not, but then corner dive bars are for ordering G&T’s and greyhounds anyway.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 3:59 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I may be getting him G&T's and greyhounds then.

Although my corner dive bar does surprise me quite often.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 4:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

or a vodka cranberry

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 4:03 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Or a cape cod

Damn it pdb, you just beat me to it.

by marc w on Jan 5, 2009 4:04 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

A Cape Cod has a wedge of lime

or other splash of lime in it.

the other angels fan

by Eyebrows on Jan 5, 2009 6:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Still, for the didactic portion of the evening

I might get a nice bourbon like Basil Hayden’s or Woodford and just sip it verrry slowwwly to show that maybe there’s something to this whole enjoying-the-taste thing.

by marc w on Jan 5, 2009 4:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yes, definitely, Scotch works at least as well.

I can’t believe my Glenlivet is almost gone. I’ll grab some Balvenie….

by marc w on Jan 5, 2009 4:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

We'll just have to see.

I want him to have fun, but I also want to show him the more mature side of drinking.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 4:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Do they make a Sidecar?

Then they have appropriate sugar.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 4:22 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I got laid to waste by drinking Washington Apples the whole night of my 21 run

Get ‘em on the rocks and you’re good to go. That or Jack and Coke, since that’s always tasty as well. I was much the same as your brother, where I had never really drank much before that point, and it was always shit when I did drink.

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 3:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

He's not new to drinking,

he’s just new to drinking anything of any quality. Washington Apple might be funny though. Jack or Captain and Coke is always safe as well.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 3:51 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Coke should be mixed with Rye.

Only with Rye.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 4:22 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My drink of choice is the Greyhound.

Vodka and Grapefruit juice.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 3:39 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My friend came up with a good drink (variant on a Duck Fart):

1 1/2 oz. Gentleman Jack whiskey
1 1/2 oz. Frangelico
1 1/2 oz. Godiva chocolate liqueur
2 oz. milk (or half-and-half)

It’s called (drum roll please) The Moneyshot.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 3:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My drink is a vodka gimlet.

Though a vodka cranberry is good too if I want to get the drink specials.

the other angels fan

by Eyebrows on Jan 5, 2009 6:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Piggy-backing on the music thread I present to you the 5 best albums of the 00's.

5- Jimmy Eat World / Bleed American
4- U2 / All That You Can’t Leave Behind
3- the Mars Volta / De-Loused in the Comatorium
2- New Order / Get Ready
1- Muse / Origin of Symmetry

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 4:02 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

You lost me at Jimmy Eat World

I’ll have to go through my records tonight and see what my list would look like.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 4:03 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

As I sit here listening to Pet Sounds I beg to disagree

but that’s what I love about music – “best” means so many things to so many people that it makes for interesting lists.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 4:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Isn't it actually just self-titled now?

They had to change the album name post-9/11.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 4:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They are back to calling it Bleed American. Even on iTunes.

They call it Bleed American when discussing it in interviews too.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 4:22 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Good for them.

I was pretty pissed when all that went down, even though I’m not a fan.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 4:23 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

In a good or bad way?

They had a song a long time back with a nice pop hook, I keep thinking I’ll check them out.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 7:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Er, my taste runs way more poppy than most on this site

but that album (and The Middle, which would be the single you are referencing) are more of anamoly in the Jimmy Eat World catalog. Also, I tend to think it lacks coherence.

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 5, 2009 7:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Poppy works for me, I like a nice poppy hook sometimes.

Different playlists for different things for me. I understand the concept of coherence in an album, but I’m all retarded when it comes to music. Except for a couple of albums I don’t really get the coherence thing. On to iTunes!

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 7:54 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Have you heard Chase This Light?

It’s a straight up pop album. I love it. But it’s pop.

by SethGrandpa on Jan 5, 2009 10:25 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

See my top six list below.

I would also argue that CTL is not, in fact, straight up pop. It is actually closer to Clarity than anything they released after that album, with the exception of the Stay On My Side Tonight EP. Calling Chase This Light pop is ignoring both the history of the band and the subtleties of the music.

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 6, 2009 7:27 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is also my problem with lists

I’ll list 10 records tonight, then tomorrow go “dammit I forgot these five” and the whole thing’s out the window.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 4:04 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I just did that over at the USSM music post.

I’m kicking myself for all of the records I forgot.

And it’s only for 2008! A records-of-the-decade post would eat at me for a month.

by marc w on Jan 5, 2009 4:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

it's already driving me nuts and I haven't even started it yet

for instance, I hate the White Stripes now, but De Stijl has to deserve consideration on my list – but can I overcome my current hatred of Jack White long enough to list it?

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 4:07 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Self-Titled and De Stijl are both awesome.

White Blood Cells was quite good too, but they lost me at Elephant, and especially Get Behind Me Satan.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 4:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Elephant killed it for me too

and everything since then has been like nails on a chalkboard.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 4:11 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My version

5: Emily Haines/Knives Don’t Have Your Back
4: Brand New/The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
3: BRMC/Howl Sessions EP
2: BRMC/Baby 81
1: BRMC/Howl

by Graham on Jan 5, 2009 4:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

BRMC?

I bet I should know this one.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 4:11 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

it sounds just like it's spelled

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 5, 2009 4:11 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'll be nice

“Black Rebel Motorcycle Club”

by marc w on Jan 5, 2009 4:24 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Me too, actually

Of course, I’m the guy that really, really can’t stand Muse, so I don’t think we’d have a lot of overlapping albums on our respective lists.

(But you have the best avatar on LL).

by marc w on Jan 5, 2009 4:37 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Hey Graham-

I had never even heard of either Emily Haines nor Metric until I read your list. I have been checking her out. Thanks! She sems cool I’m gonna grab some of her/their stuff.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 4:35 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Dunno, actually.

My comment was a poorly executed, obscure This is Spinal Tap quote.

by Phildopip on Jan 5, 2009 5:19 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

So the Ben Stiller show was right?

He is the hardest working man in showbiz. Although Kid Rock does release a new album every month.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 4:43 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Not to say I HATE Kid Rock and his music,

I just don’t think it’s any great accomplishment. It’s party music, and that’s about it.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 5, 2009 4:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If you eat three times a day

you should be having a bowel movement three times a day.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 5:23 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Mine

5. Hell Hath No Fury – Clipse
4. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? – Of Montreal
3. Ratatat Remixes Volume 2 – Ratatat
2. Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull – Ian Anderson
1. Be – Common

I guess my list could be “Best Albums from 2005-2007” but whatever

by Fogel on Jan 5, 2009 7:24 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My likely to be pissed on list

in no order
Songs for the Deaf – Queens of the Stone Age
Is This It – The Strokes
Wonder What’s Next – Chevelle
A Crow Left of the Murder – Incubus (I know this isn’t their best supposedly but I listened the shit out of this)
H.A.A.R.P. – Muse

by Mariner John on Jan 5, 2009 7:51 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I have an iTunes problem I need help with:

I accidentally erased the folder on the left hand side entitled “Music Videos” and I cannot find a way to get that folder back. It makes watching music videos a pain because I have to go and look for them amongst my music library. I haven’t been able to find out anywhere and I don’t want to call Apple or re-install it.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 5:19 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

File - New Smart Playlist

Video Kind > Is > Music Video

Update Automatically

At least it should be that.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 5:26 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

You sir, are a motherfucking genius!

thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 5:31 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The drive to Wyoming from McCall takes a long time

Has anybody else done that drive?

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 5, 2009 5:44 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Why not?

Do you dislike 80+ MPH winds and snow drifts?

Which..speaking of that…how stupid are semi truck drivers sometimes? I’m in my Jeep Liberty and don’t feel comfortable going more than about 50 in those winds with snow drifts blocking visibility and I can feel my car being blown around the road. They’re in semi-trucks with a center of gravity like 5 times higher and are 5 times more top heavy and feel totally comfortable passing me in said situation at 70 MPH

And then on that same 50 mile stretch I drove by two semis sitting on their sides in the ditch

people are so stupid

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 5, 2009 6:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I get enough of that noise in Alaska.

When I leave here it is to go to places that make me forget where I came from.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 6:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Makes sense

I have no desire to go to Alaska after driving cross Wyoming

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 5, 2009 6:16 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Well the good thing about driving in AK is you get a lot of different environments along the way.

I think you would absolutely LOVE the drive from Anchorage to Seward along the Seward Highway just of the coast of Cook Inlet. You have a Mountain Range directly to your right and the ocean directly to your left. When the weather is nice it is the most beautiful drive I have ever done. That includes my trip down the Pacific coast highway from Seattle to LA.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 6:20 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That sounds pretty cool

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 5, 2009 6:28 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think you would truly enjoy yourself.

Fly into Fairbanks and rent a car. Then drive down the Parks highway all the way to Seward. Then when you turn around take the Glenn Highway from Palmer to Tok, then turn left to get back to Fairbanks. You would get to see most of the great sights like the Inlet and Denali. You may want to spend a litle more time on the Peninsula though, maybe shoot over to Homer.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 5, 2009 6:41 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Did you head north through Riggins then cut over to highway 12?

I like that drive in the summer time, but I really don’t think I’d like that canyon in the winter time. Then again it’s always been slow in the summer, with all the RV’s and river rafters tooling through there. I heard they were going to widen 95 out, did that ever happen?

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 7:34 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I love that drive too

but it’s 400 miles further then going through Salt Lake

They’ve almost finished widening 95 from Lewiston to CDA, but the road from New Meadows to Riggins is still total crap (and I’m not really sure how you’d widen that road without some serious demolition to the mountainside)

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 5, 2009 7:36 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They've been talking about that nearly my entire life, but then the salmon runs and ensuing lawsuits etc also.

Being right there on the river the entire way doesn’t help much when it comes to construction.
My grandparents on both sides used to ranch up in that area, above Pittsburgh Landing anyway. So I’ve got some ties to that region. Keeps the ear to the ground a little bit.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 7:45 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They've talked a lot about extending Idaho 16 up through Indian Valley to Council as a 4 lane expressway

which is certainly doable and would provide an alternative to US-95 and Idaho 55

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 5, 2009 8:02 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Just get the Olympics

and suddenly all the roads they’ve wanted to twin but haven’t managed to magically become twinned.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 5, 2009 11:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Holy crap, I just mapped that. For some reason I figured it would be faster to hit 90 then drop down.

I forget how deceptive those back highways can look on a map. Never quite as straight as they look on paper…

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 5, 2009 7:52 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Seriously though

How do you straighten a lampshade?

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 5, 2009 5:58 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

It's easier when it's not on your head.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 5:59 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I bought it and have still only played it once, with Phildopip and a couple of his friends

Totally great game, I just wish I had more chances to get together with people and play it

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 5, 2009 7:23 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I would be in if I didn't suck balls.

Console shooters are hard to get used to aiming. I’ve found I do my best as door or hall guard, blocking and pushing back while crouching so others can do the mowing down.

In other words, I’m the shotgun king. I did finally make it through a “Normal” campaign with the Hunting rifle, so there’s at least improvement. Give me a few weeks, and I might be good enough to play with other (non-retarded) people.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 5, 2009 7:33 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs