Fezmid

Yet another reason that smoking is bad for your health.

The solution is clear now -- have two homeless people feed each other. They go to prison for 6 months, so they now have a home and free food. Problem solved. CW

Actually, I believe that prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas as well, but is legal in other cities in Nevada. Unless that changed again when the city decided to change directions and not market itself as a family destination.

Happy Birthday!!!

Funny, Miami would be at the bottom of MY list...

I didn't realize kids were still playing - that's cool to hear.

Actually, the main penny cost is zinc, not copper... http://www.1728.com/projects.htm CW

It only costs an extra few million a year. The cost to consumers if the penny was outlawed would be FAR greater as you can be sure that retailers will make sure things round up a nickel instead of down. CW

You're right. Fight Club is another example of a TERRIBLE movie. I mean, it had to be terrible because it didn't make much at the box office. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/fightclub.html Serenity is still top-50 in Amazon sales, 8-9 months after release: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BW7QW...&v=glance&n=130 Other more "popular" movies are below it. Revenge of the Sith? 93rd. Chronicles of Narnia? 273rd. Harry Potter? 55th. Get the point? And Failed Sci-Fi series? Perhaps that's one way to look at it. It was also the 2nd most TiVo'd show in history. It's also STILL, years later, in the top-25 of DVD sales (and has been in the top 10 more often than not over the past few years). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AQS0...&v=glance&n=130 Was it the best movie of all time? No, not even close. But to call it a b-movie with bad acting is just SO far off the mark that it's not even funny. As was stated elsewhere in this thread, bad movies with bad acting do not get raving reviews from critics. It definately would've been better in TV series format -- beacuse the characters and plot twists are what really made the show exciting -- but the movie was far better than a "b-rate" flick"; if the movie/show were so bad, why is it still selling like hotcakes? CW

We usually get together with another couple to play -- so it IS family time for my wife and I (and the other couple's children are usually watching TV, playing with toys, etc while we play - one's 9, the other is ~2). CW

No it doesn't. You're still limited to doing only things that the developer thought of in the first place. Can I pick up a rock, throw it through the window of a house, jump into the house, run up to the second floor, start looting the place, only to find the owner of the house returning home, so quickly take the bedsheets, tie them together so I can climb out of a second story window? No, unless the developer wanted you to do all of those things. Or heck, can I decide to torch a building and deal with the ramifications of doing so? No. With pen and paper, you can do whatever your imagination lets you do (especially if you have a good GM) The only thing that's similar is that other people can talk/react to you. It's just not the same though. CW

The computer RPGs are completely different than the pen and paper games. They don't compare, and never will. The pen and paper version is a great way to stimulate the imagination, especially in kids. I played a ton growing up, and I know that helped with my vivid imagination, as well as my good storytelling abilities. Anything you do with your kids is only a plus, but if they're interested in "live storytelling" (which is basically what D&D is -- plus some dice to add a bit of randomness), I say go for it. The computer games are generally very linear. Even Oblivion (which I play), while open ended, doesn't let you interact with the world in any way you want like a real pen and paper RPG does. Of course if you were being sarcastic and I missed it, just ignore my rambling. CW PS: I still play D&D with some friends, although with schedules it's only about once every 3 months, and we spend about 8 hours talking and about 2 hours playing... If that.

So Tom, what's the verdict?

Better get the game in quick http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/06/07/18/136225.shtml http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2203666&page=1 CW

http://www.computerworld.com/action/articl...ticleId=9001803

http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/06/07/17/1342215.shtml

I seem to recall something like that happening to my wife's car years ago. The owner's manual mentioned that there was something by the gear shift that I could move with a screwdriver to "re-activate" it. I don't remember the details though... I think I had to remove some cap, then use the screwdriver to turn a dial in there and then things started to work. I asked my wife, and she doesn't remember any more info than I already posted... Might not be very helpful, but hopefully it gives you something to look at. CW

Woah, you're 1,940 years old?!?!?! 31 here.

As long as they're two separate receivers, you're fine. He can't watch the Colts and you watch the Bills on the same receiver though. Won't work because you can't see the satellites from that part of the world. Same reason that you can't use XM Radio in Hawaii (for example). CW

Dream Theater released the album, "A Change of Seasons" back in '95 because a few thousand fans on their mailing list all sent emails for a petition, which was then hand-delivered to one of the people who worked at the record label (I was one of the people who signed). So while it is a longshot, they do sometimes work. CW

Actually, most CC companies have been rejecting those for a long time before this vote. This will just make it worse. CW

Yeah, you're right - it does look like he's in front of a "green screen," just like the local weatherman. CW

I know what depth of field is.

The size/perspective of the guy on the CNN photo has nothing to do with it -- it's the stuff around him, and the extreme difference in contrast/shading between him and the rest of the photo.

I didn't notice the "AP" stamp across the right, so I'm probably blaming the wrong person. It still looks like a hack job. CW