FlaSoxxJim

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 01:38 PM) His is not FireWire enabled. He also has 10.1 but does not want to upgrade. I have the latest version of OS X. We're basically looking to do this on the cheap, maybe thru Yahoo! Messenger.... I will say I'm in love with my PowerBook. It is a sexy beast. Sorry to contribute to the threadjackage. Get your Dad the hell off of 10.1. It's barely worthing running OSX if he's still stuck in what was basically the public beta for the OS. As for doing the webcam thing on the cheap, some of digital cameras with USB ports double as webcams, especially a bunch of low end ones marketed for kids. I got my kids a kids digital camera for $25 that will work as a USB webcam.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 01:15 PM) Hey Flaxx, do you know anything about cheap webcams for Mac? My dad wants to possibly buy a pair so we can videochat... Most of the USB cams out there are Mac compatible. It will say so on the box. My suggestion, though, would be to cough up a litttle more money and get the iSights if you both have firewire-equipped Macs. The image and sound quality is better, plus iChat and all any other teleconferencing software Apple rolls out will bbe tailored to the iSight.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 01:08 PM) I liked Amber Bock after a friend gave it to me......lol....my dad told me he thinks of me as a hard lemonade kind of guy...what do you think he meant by that? Dormant tastebuds??

Looks like a cool technology. No joy for us mac people though. Looks like I'lll be sticking with the Extra Innings cable package for ballgames.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 12:47 PM) It's a marketing ploy. Not really good wine. A good year for the Beaujolais Nouveau makes it drinkable alcoholic cherry koolaid. It was more a marketing ploy in the states a few years back, but consumers I think got wise to it. Plus a couple of years ago it was not very good so it turned some folks off. And it is absolutely a way for teh region to sell 1/3 of its annal production before Christmas. But like an unfiltered zwiekbier right out of the barrel, or an English ale out of the cask whose character changes on a daily basis until it's finished off, I really like the ephemeral aspect of the appelation. Did I mention I dislike wine snobs?

QUOTE(Soxy @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 12:11 PM) Oooooh, I've never heard of it, but I am a sucker for good wine. Yum. I'll keep an eye peeled (do NOT post the chien d'andalu or however it's spelled pick, though, please!), do you know how much it usually runs? OK, I promise, no more Andalausian Dog images. The awesome thing about the Beaujolais Nouveaus is that they come in at $10 or less a bottle. In all honesty, the vitners do take shortcuts with this one, the most profound being fermentation via whole-grape carbonic maceration rather than the more time consuming crushed grape technique with secondarry mallic fermentation and whatnot. This is simultaneously the reason why the Nouveau is ready to dring as soon as it is and also why it is unsuited for cellar maturation. There are usually 4 or 5 different brands that come in, with the DuBoeuf label (always with a floral design) being the biggest one. Get one of each off the bat and try them over the T-Day weekend with friends. If there are any real standouts pick up a few more bottles the next week. The year's winning brand will sell out in a few days and it will all be gone within a couple of weeks. The style definately has up and down years. 2003 was down. last year was pretty good. A few years ago (2000 or 2001?) was outstanding and is what made me a fan. If a particular year's offering turns out to be really good, you can get the same varietal grapes in a more refined and stable spring Beaujolais (NOT nouvous) that shows up around March. What I like about Nouveau is the hit-or-miss aspect and the idea that this is such an epemeral seasonal thing, a table wine meant to be enjoyed soon after bottling and not something to snob over. I dislike wine snobs. Beer snobs, on the other hand. . .

Despite being a dyed-in-the-wool beer guy, I have this important announcement to make: "The New Beaujolais has arrived!!" Well, not here quite yet, but it's coming. At one minute past midnight on every third Thursday of November (that's today), the year's sole release of Beaujolais Nouveau is released to the waiting world. Not intended to be laid down to age (in fact it lacks the structural complexity to mature well), the Nouveau is meant to be consumed within a few weeks to months before it is past its peak. They can be quite variable, even the same label varrying from case to case since the labels are owned by large "negociants" who buy up the grapes or even the finished wines of the smaller regional Beaujolais growers. The release is timed perfectly for Thanksgiving, and bottles should be showing up near you as early as this weekend. Any other fans out there?

Damn, that blows Kyyle. Heck of a way for the company to send you into the holiday season. Best of luck finding that kick-ass gig that makes you forget about the last one in a heartbeat.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 10:09 AM) Interesting statement. Just this moring in my email box at work, I got a "membership letter" for a PAC. Oh, what to do, what to do... I think PACs are useful and constitutionally protected entities, and that goes for all sides, don't get me wrong. They should not be allowed to be financial determinants of election outcomes though. How to regulate them and reform how/if they can finance candidates, on the other hand, I have no idea.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 08:13 AM) I'd try to argue that it is almost more unconsititutional to have a dollar vote decide our campaign cycle, vs one person-one voice-one vote. The system we have now denies the poor people any "free speech" because they don't have the means to engage in the speech that PACs and multimillionaires have. Does the campaign system we have truely reflect free speech if there is an entire sector socioeconomically that has no voice? 100% in agreement. No person, PAC, or industry should be able to buy themeslves or theyr guy into elected office.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Nov 17, 2005 -> 08:04 AM) For the next couple of cycles, don't forget to have PA add some religious angle, the government is a big fan you know. Katherine Harris Kosher holy water, anyone?

Part 1 = :notworthy Part 1 = :notworthy :notworthy Part 3 = (Where is the 'sucks balls' smiley?)

QUOTE(Soxy @ Nov 16, 2005 -> 10:15 PM) NSF grants = the Sux NSF grants = teh rOxOrz the NSF grant proposal process = teh Sux

If it is a glass pot from a coffee maker just scrub with Barkeeper's friend or, if you can't find that, Comet. The vinegar method is good for cleaning drip coffee makers that have builtup hard water scale in them. If you do, then running 1/4 of vinegar and a pot of water through the machine in a brew cycle will dissolve the scale.

Good deal, DISH TX. Coincidentally, if the right sponsor can be found I'm up for changing my town's name to Hot Sex Slave, FL.

And if this paraphrased account is true, it removes any doubt as to whether the outing was intentional: EDIT to add update: That original wording above has been backed off of, and it is now not sure whether Plame's cobert status was leaked as the original story suggested:

Hadley, huh. This is in conflict with what was reported earlier, but this is the story that seems to be breaking. If so, then don't you thing the frigging National Security Adviser would be better about not blowing the cover of a government operative?!?

Who needs a Psycho Mom God Warrior bobblehead??

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Nov 16, 2005 -> 03:56 PM) Banned at the manhole I thought that closed a couple of years ago.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Nov 16, 2005 -> 03:48 PM) Maybe we all just need to head down to the Blue Oyster Bar and talk this out over a couple of cocktails... [pushes thread back on track] Why, are you still banned at the Cell Block?

The Glenn Greenwald Diary entry on Kos does a really good job of putting the new development in perspective. What it means for the White House, Woodward, etc.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Nov 16, 2005 -> 03:32 PM) There's two different things going on here. One is scary and one is violent. Maybe that is it then. Scary moments come and go in films as in daily life. Usually, there is resolution and a sigh of relief. I worry that the violent imagery and themes have more staying power and potentially more severe consequences in the minds of kids.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Nov 16, 2005 -> 03:27 PM) I have a problem with the movie Shark Tale. I think it's message is subversive. "I can't stand living a lie" "why won't you accept me for who I am". These things are ok on one level, but manipulative on another. Not everyone believes these things are universal. A shark that just doesn't fit in with other sharks, so he dresses up like a dolphin. I know "it's just a cartoon", but that's why I have a problem with it. We put adult messages in cartoons and our kids are just left with confusion. From working at blockbuster and seeing parents rent these "cartoons" for young children makes me very upset. anyway, just my 2 cents. At least were are kind of back on theme in this thread. Shark Tale, the Schreck films, etc., are good examples of films with a lot of adult themes and parents have to do their homework and decide if the film is appropriate for their kids. I don'y think the films are intentionally subversive in any way. The are just trying to tickle the funny bones of adult audience members as well as kids. Our household does not go in for a lot of potty humor, so movies like Schreck push things a little. But for the most part, the films creators do a very good job of making sure the adult-themed bits fly cleanly ovver the heads of the kids (potty humor notwithstanding) and hit their adult targets.

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 16, 2005 -> 03:19 PM) Wow.. I nominate this thread for '05's biggest twist. We all need ritalin.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Nov 16, 2005 -> 02:56 PM) Oh, and aside from the first appearance of the robot in The Incredibles, my son LOVES That movie. But it is VERY violent. Lost of henchmen crashing in their flying cars, getting blown up etc., with the unspoken subtext being that there are casualties not shown on the screen. And what about Syndrome being sucked into a jet engine – or any of the hero demises in the "no capes, darling" montage? Or Mr. Incredible finding the remains of Gazer Beam and the other missing Supers in the cave? Heck, the premise of the film is that the bad guy is KILLING OFF ALL THE SUPERS! Take a minute and compare the content of those scenes (in a film your 2+ year old is comfortable with) to anything in Chicken Little, and tell me what is more violent. C'mon, seriously. The Chicken Little cornfield scene – intense yes. But only corn plants actually got cut up in it. The seeming sisintigrations of the characters – intens yes, but they don't hold a candle to being sucked up by a jet engine. I agree the film was intense for young viewers. I disagree that it was any kind of "Disney pull" that got the film a G and not a PG. Did a Pixa-produced film not have as much clout and hence Incredibles' PG rating? I doubt it. Rather, it was the more intense and REALISTICALLY VIOLENT of the two films, and was rated appropriately.