Posts by GrimJack

I have the first 10 collections in the series; I have lots of bills to pay off and computer games to 'own' so I had to stop buying them (and it may have been the last). Devil in the Gateway is available on Amazon; if you have their 'one click' you can look at a couple pages. Here is the widilink; it is beautifully done.

I just discovered this odd meme-ie thing

I just discovered this odd meme-ie thing

And a followup is that the succubus would screw a guy, 'modify' the sperm, and turn into an incubus and implant a demon in the woman.

Have you seen the graphic novel series "Lucifer" (a spin-off from Gaiman's Endless)?

Before Eve there was Lilith - she has roots in Gilgamesh and other (really, really) early stories; she appears in Jewish lore under various guises and, is either a demon, the mother of demons, or Adam's first wife who left him because she refused to be subservient to him.

Androgyny and hermaphrodites are pretty interesting topics in that they are (sort of) opposites in that one is both and the other is neither.

I hope this works:
nope doesn't work so click on image

good luck

I am sure you meant FAA but Yeah - they could not even collect taxes! So the flyers paid their taxes and the companies just smiled and pocketed the .gov loss.

I visited Australia back in 1985 - so did cyclone Muni, it was fun! Fiji was flooded. Green Island was nearly swept clean. A tour-sized trimaran can handle 14 foot swells.

We alternate homes with some friends; one year out at their farmette and next here with us. Sometimes, if we can roll out the door, we head over to the big bash on Beacon Hill. I do not have to drive (I'm home, duh) so I do not have to watch my drinking as much so we probably won't make it to the big bash.

Unfortunate, since that is where the beef co-op is meeting to mete out the meat (heh,heh). We bought into a cow again this year; our freezer is packed full and the sausage finally arrived. It usually takes a couple months after slaughter for the sausage to be properly cured so this weekend is it.

Happy T-day to all -- a warning from your local plumber, throw it out - do not try to run all that fat, skin, and so on through the insinkerator. Thanksgiving is their busiest day - all that food being disposed of in various ways.

Oh, and I signed up to see what they could teach me.

Hey, when Gingrich becomes president, he will teach free courses just like University of Phoenix or Kaplan. But he promises it will be free just like the afor-mentioned colleges (which are definitely for profit

That's not a smooth takedown though, I would think the process is defined somewhere?
It probably should be...

Since 1980, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has required government agencies to submit plans for an “orderly shutdown.” The plans require agency heads to “limit their operations to minimum essential activities” and to reallocate funds to avoid interruption of services as long as possible. “Those plans are obviously updated accordingly, but they’ve been around for a long time,”. A lot of what is shutdown is dependent on how they are funded - if the funding comes from annual appropriations, they are shut down; if they their funding has already been appropriated, then they can continue to work. The Congress and the President get their compensation from the Constitution so they will continue to get paid, but I think that Justice is not so they won't get paid.

The first Clinton-era shutdown had 800,000 workers furloughed. Social Security kept about 5,000 workers on but had to recall 50,000 because of all the backlogs, new claims, and delays.

When we were about to get shutdown at the IRS, all the managers and supervisors were going to be furloughed but those of us on the phones were considered essential.

Far Cry - the original (I did not really like Far Cry 2 because it seemed to be very repetitive). What I liked about Far Cry was that if there was a sniper somewhere, there was a way to get to him. Since Far Cry takes place on a series of islands and some places lead to sure death, it may not be as free-form as you would like.

Cheers mate - congrats again, I just got word that the recall is for 20 people and I start on Monday. I am a 'seasonal' employee, roughly 6 months on, 6 off; I was offered permanent status 2 years ago and turned it down, still not sure whether that was a good choice or not. If I can take some glass blowing classes next summer, it will help me feel better about it.

The Republicans are already planning on passing a legislation canceling the 'triggers' are supposed to kick across the board cuts. In fact the Republican half of the super-committee is saying that POTUS needs to get involved - I assume this is so that after nothing comes from the debt committee, they will be able to blame the President.

The whole idea of refusing to vote for the budget then voting for the across the board budget cuts if 'triggers' are not met is ridiculous.

maybe they could gm the local bananas so they travel, have no seeds, and plant the same thing all over,,
or didnt they already do that, & mess up

banana brandy travels well
so do brandied oranges
the diner/roadhouse, has a substantial bar
send the monkeys over, they'd fit right in

but OffThreadAlert I am really enjoying this holiday,
one sober day,, long wait perhaps
I will get the keys to the local museum from behind the bar, go down and open it up for the day, for me and the other tourists driving the Stuart Highway to Darwin

I went into Tennant Creek, 25km, picked up my stuff shirts oranges, then stopped at the hardware store to pick up a bunch of stuff ordered for the roadhouse
The storekeeper just gave it to me
said, "you wouldn be driving Nigel's truck if you werent goin back"
The keys are left in the truck
love small towns

Damn! I have to go back and visit Australia again. I visited in 84 and met cyclone Munie while on Green Island. The ride back to Cairns was FUN - 14 foot seas on a trimaran, it was like riding a bucking bronco. Got to hold 'the koala bear' for about 15 minutes while the zoo-keeper went to the loo. Koalas are not soft and furry; they are furry but are solid muscle.

but I digress - I like bananas and will …

The only thing that knocked off Australian bananas was a cyclone
sitting in a diner, 25km north of Tennant Creek, NT, Aus, now, eating local bananas, oranges and drinking bush plum wine

Yeah, they mentioned that the local Oz bananas were wonderful but just don't travel at all well.

The reason I ask is that the Cavendish banana is doomed. Bananapocalypse started in the same area where bananas evolved, southeast Asia; of course there is a correlation, the place where bananas evolved is where all its pathogens and parasites are there evolving right along with it. So Fusarium oxysporum as the fungus is known has wiped out all Cavendish bananas in Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Australia; it is expected that there will be no more of this banana by 2013. Once a plot has been contaminated it can't be used to produce bananas again for 30 years. It takes from 9 months to 3 years for the infestation to show; it travels dirt, weeds, water... it is carried on the shoes of workers and so on.

the Cavendish is seedless - well, almost they strained 400 tons of bananas and managed to get about 13 seeds so cross-breeding into a new species is out. Europe will not accept GMO foods and there is breed of banana waiting for its time - the last time this happened was in the 1960 with Gros Michel (Big Michael) banana blight. If you have ever had a 'real' banana you know that the seeds are huge and run the length of the banana right down the center.

Such is the problem with monocultures. There is a variety called 'goldfinger' but it does not travel as well after harvest.

Congratulations!

I just got word that I might be recalled from furlough next week - if it happens we should have a celebratory beer together in different bars.

I did not even realize it was an MS ad until the end. I imagine that you will go over your 'minutes' pretty damn quickly.

On a more pleasant note, I really, really want to see this movie. It has charm, thrills, and won't cause insulin spikes.

The strangest cover of Lady GaGa you will ever hear - played on glass instruments

I am listening to this

Sitting in the office listening to the sound of printer printing out the pay slip XD

We used to make computer music by sending files to the printer - the old chain-train drives worked really well for this.

Craig opened his show tonight with him being interviewed(??) by a zombie but was interrupted by bunny singing "There is a light over at the Frankenstein place" then zombies climbed out from behind the furniture for the chorus. Geof somehow made it to the middle of the stage for a short duet with Craig.

Loved it!!

Instead of trying to take the gear off the axle, I took the hammer and removed the axle from the gear - I propped the gear up and whacked the axle and it came right out.

As soon as I read a walkthrough, I lose interest. When I am playing, I like to think I am doing it for the first time. The fear-factor of not knowing what is going to come out of the dark is wonderfully creepy to me. I play dark, dystopic first person shooters - even the bright and beautiful landscapes of half-life2 are scary at first. I am not a very good player as I tend to lack finesse and just go in shooting but I have fun.

How about this:

I struggled for a couple hours trying to twist a gear off of its axle - the axle was 3 inches diameter and the gear was approximately 24 inches in diameter. I sprayed it with wd40, pried at the gear, whacked the gear all to no avail.

Then I shifted perception and got the gear off.

WaltP is making all sorts of category errors starting with John making 1 mill. He does not say if that is John, John, Inc or John and sons. They each get taxed differently so it is important to know wtf he is going on about. Then there is the marginal tax rate - If you are taxed 25% on 250k, when you go up to the next bracket (say 30%) 251k is not taxed at 30% 250K is still taxed at 25% and 1k is taxed at 30%.

He is setting up some pretty wimpy strawmen then whacking them; he does not actually have a very good argument - at least not as stated.

Chinese probably spend 3x less money on schools, but they get 2x the education in US. Not all problems can be solved by money *gasp*, some require change in attitude *gasp*.

Yeah, and their schools collapse on their kids - they get what they pay for.

Truthfully it's more about my right to own one than wanting/needing one.
You can get one now if you pay the tax (like $200 extra), but they stopped allowing in NEW machine guns, meaning all the existing ones are now worth like 10 grand a piece (at the minimum) and will only go up in value unless this is repealed. So basically people are just getting the shaft on them at the moment, but they're still available.
I would like to see a criminal pay 10 grand for one them (never going to happen), so why do regular joes get the shaft?

Grenade launchers, shoulder-fired missiles, quad-.50s all cost more because they are not legal - do you propose that there be no line between legal arms and illegal arms?

I wonder how many of those who voted for one browser now use a different one?
Would you change your vote now, if given the chance?

On an old fashioned phone you can '*69' and ask what the number is (ymmv depending on what your carrier thinks is reasonable service). I believe '*68' blocks the number from being read.

Well, if you want to get rid of the black birds you might want to use a 6 gauge shotgun but I recommend NOT shoulder-firing it. Rumor has it this is the gun that wiped out the carrier pigeon. Also, the same rumor-mill suggests that the carrier pigeon was wiped out on purpose - for the same reason you want to get rid of the black birds. When a flock of carrier pigeons came by, it would leave bird poop inches deep that would destroy crops.

The gun law doesn't seem to be the issue, I support repealing the hughes amendment:
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/push-congress-repeal-hughes-amendment-fopa-and-nfa/FWXhjh9s

The man knew what he was doing, it's his fault.

Btw repealing the hughes amendment will make machine guns more affordable, currently you can get one but it will cost you thousands of dollars, which is stupid when criminals have them anyway.

wtf?!?! what do you need a machine gun for?

I think you need to create a video about how to watch videos - har,har.

Actually, youtube comments are just plain nasty - there is nothing to be learned from the comments. The only places where the comments are nastier are on ace of spades or freeper. There is even a FireFox add-on to block youtube comments - so not to worry.

If you are a liberal try wonkette dot com; for conservatives try sodahead dot com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Handguns will soon be allowed in bars and restaurants in Tennessee under a new law passed by state legislators who voted to override the governor's veto.

The legislation that takes effect July 14 retains an existing ban on consuming alcohol while carrying a handgun, and restaurant owners can still opt to ban weapons from their establishments.

Thirty-seven other states have similar laws.

The state Senate voted 21-9 on Thursday against Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto, a day after the House also voted 69-27 to override.

They overrode critics, including Bredesen, who said it's a bad idea to have guns and alcohol in close proximity.

Well, who could be surprised by this outcome:

In what is almost too predictable to be true, the lead sponsor of a Tennessee law allowing handgun permit holders to bring guns into bars “has been arrested on charges of drunken driving and possession of a gun while under the influence.” Pulled over in Nashville, Tennessee late yesterday, state Rep. Curry Todd (R) “failed a roadside sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer. A loaded Smith & Wesson 38 Special was found in a holster stuffed between the driver seat and the center console.”

You can get a little more info here

I guess I bottle of bear after every line of code I program might make me happier because I think being drunk makes you happy and believe in almost anything. Better buy 500 bottles of bear for this next small script I'm going to do :). I wonder what I will be like by the end of the 500 lines of code.

So who bottles bears? Sounds pretty disgusting; is this a sample of how well you code on bottles of bear?

I worked for an on-line, after-market auto supply store - what we sold was mostly add-on glitz like head units, speakers, lights and so on. This is an extremely high fraud market place so we had verify every card and over a certain amount, we had to call and speak with the cardholder. On one call, I contacted the cardholder about a $12,000 order; she had no idea about the order so I went over the fraud steps. I was fired for this call because a co-worker overheard the call and reported me as having called the cardholder to tell her about the fraud rather than calling to verify the order.

Thanks good thread - will check out the HeadCandy and Sennheiser MX360 and the skullcandy if it is different from the headcandy

Still love to play Project IGI & IGI 2, waiting for 3rd release but unfortunately Innerloop studio no more exists now.

Yes! IGI is a pretty cool game. I have found a lot of pretty cool games in the discount bins - ie Far Cry.

When I have lived to age 147 and still have money left, I will have lived long and prospered.

Yes - spider silk is being used for improved armor and in parachutes; it can be used in automobiles because it can be given 'memory' so that the energy of the accident will be taken up by the product and released as it resumes its original shape.

In Canada, some goats were modified to produce 'spider silk' in their milk. The spidergoats are the product of a company called BioSteel.

Craig Ferguson.

I just found this article on using changes in your wi-fi signal to average your breaths per minute and/or figure out where you are in your home. If variations in wi-fi signal is fine enough to count your breaths, it can certainly track you in your home

You have snuck up on Gödel's incompleteness theorem as applied to the 'Liar's Paradox' - The liar paradox is the sentence "This sentence is false." An analysis of the liar sentence shows that it cannot be true (for then, as it asserts, it is false), nor can it be false (for then, it is true). A Gödel sentence G for a theory T makes a similar assertion to the liar sentence, but with truth replaced by provability so you can replace provability with truth. Philosophy and logic can often be stated in terms that look very like mathematical formulae. It can be restated as:
Thus the following two statements are equivalent:

This statement is false.

This statement is true and this statement is false.

Ravel (of Bolero fame) had a drinking group of like minded musician who were some of the best in the world. Along came WWI, the war to end all wars - most of the group became pilots; poor Maurice could not get into flight school and he ended up a truck driver. One of the old gang was shot down and lost his arm - he begged his friend Ravel to write something for him - he had been one of the best pianists in the world but with only one arm, he had no place for his talent.

Ravel a couple of pieces for a single left hand that are so complex and difficult that you can't tell by listening that the pianist is using only one hand. Modern pianists cheat by grabbing one side of the piano with their right hand to help then get across the keyboard.

I long for the days when the VAX was king; I coded DCL but before that I coded COBOL and BASIC - I even tried my hand at JCL (actually, like most people, I just hacked someone else's working code so it would do what I wanted). I am in my rocking chair holding my breath.

In 1913 when Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was premièred in Paris, the music was so revolutionary that the audience rioted; the police arrived but could not restore calm. Punches were thrown, the seats were torn up and the crowd spilled out into the city - it was 3 days before the city calmed down. Twenty seven years later, it was the score for part of Disney's animated "Fantasia" that also had Mickey Mouse as the "Sorcerer's Apprentice".

Elephants are the only animal that can't jump.

For the sake of clarity, I would change animal to mammal because snakes can't jump.