FlaSoxxJim

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 10, 2010 -> 02:03 PM) Check out the slide show in this article. It's newly released photos of the 9/11 attack. Stunning. I don't look at any of the old photos/videos — I can't do it — and I will do all I can to avoid seeing these as well. After about the first 72 hours when I was glued to the TV with the rest of the world I realized that I'd seen all I could bear, and I still am not fre enough removed to take in those visuals.

QUOTE (Rooftop Shots @ Feb 10, 2010 -> 03:10 PM) Hmmmm! Kind of disappointed that no responses came in. Been doind a lot of searching, but I hate to go purchasing something if it is not what I am looking for. The small tutorials and reviewed infos don't seem to tell you a whole lot. Was hoping that someone here with different photoshop programs experience would have been able to steer me in the right direction. Since that didn't seem to work out, anyone else have any suggestions?? There are actually a bunch of freware/shareware programs with rippling water algorithms. Open up a jpg, define the area to ripple, adjust a couple of parameters and you're done. Google "rippling water image algorithm" etc., and you'll get a bunch of them. They have been around for about 10 years, so there are going to be some older programs out there. Some of those other images you linked are just animated gifs, and gif animators are also out there in abundance as freeware.

QUOTE (SleepyWhiteSox @ Feb 10, 2010 -> 02:01 AM) Yup. Hank Rearden annoyed me too. Anyways, I'll go with Travis in Taxi Driver too. One of my favorite movies. Was kinda thinking of another one of my favorite movies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but I dunno if it fits and, sadly, I haven't read the novel... The book and film were equally brilliant, and their portrayals of RP MacMurphy were along similar lines. I consider MacMurphy to be a hall-of-fame antihero, but not morally ambiguous i don't think. The book is worth going back and reading. Told from the Chief's perspective it really gets you inside that wonderful, tragic character. It also gives you a good look at Ken Kesey's mental state at the time, basically when he was off on his the Merry Prankster/Electric Kool-Aid trip. Kesey swore he hated the film treatment and vowed never to watch it. It's one of my all-time favorites.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 9, 2010 -> 11:01 PM) I'm going to the Galapagos Islands in October. Yay me!!! :headbang On the downside, I have to pitch a $50K project to county government tomorrow, and I'm limited to 5 minutes in which to do it. I'm thinking about riffing on Abbot and Costello's "Who's on First?" routine, and if I get some laughs maybe I'll get the money. . .

23/25, forgetting completely and then blanking on friggin' last name, even though I could picture him clearly in my mind coming up big mid-season when when we needed it. Aargh! It also took me an entire minute to spell Pierzynski correctly.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 9, 2010 -> 02:15 PM) Sweet...passed my physical and drug test for my new job and officially start on Feb 22nd!!!! Beckman Coulter...here I come Cool and congrats. I'm fairly confident I've logged more time using a Coulter Counter than anyone else here. And that makes me cool, right?

I'm going to the Galapagos Islands in October. Yay me!!! :headbang

QUOTE (chwhtsox @ Feb 9, 2010 -> 10:06 PM) The worse you treat a woman the more she'll want you. Nice guys finish last, always. This doesn't mean you have the green light to smack the s*** out of her. It's a very fine line that should only be walked by an experienced ***hole. This is helpful for the next time. You won't be able to pull it off now because she knows you too well. Being an ***hole won't come off as natural at this point, it will seem forced and backfire on you. For now, be the rebound guy. Be the shoulder she can cry on and once the moment is right, take full advantage of the situation. At this point you're just trying to get whatever you can. So, to sum up, work hard art it and aspire to be an a**hole.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 9, 2010 -> 07:39 PM) That's okay. I have organized the awards voting 3 years in a row, do the PTCs and fantasy leagues, make the offseason List events, most birthday posts, and make the monthly wallpapers. I never have won an award yet. You are the Susan Lucci of SoxTalk.

Hope you score some plushy tushy.

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Feb 9, 2010 -> 12:08 PM) This. I've been wanting to do the "This." thing for a long time. Now I feel so cool. Lie down until the feeling goes away.

I'm also going to have to add CocktailDB's Night Flight Cocktail to this evening's winners' circle. Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain 1 1/2 oz Rhum Negrita (4.5 cl, 3/8 gills) 1/2 oz fresh lime juice (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) 1/2 oz maple syrup (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) I can't get Rhum Negrita here to save my life, so I sub'd Rhum Clement VSOP, a fine Martinique rhum agricole in its own right, though probably not quite as dark as Negrita. Substitution or not, this recipe yields a glorious traditional daiquiri-style cocktail that I'll definitely add to the regular rotation. Yum! You may notice the common unusual ingredient this evening is maple syrup. Out of the ordinary by today's tired and lazy bartending standards, maple syrup used to be considered a drink mixing staple alongside real pomegranate grenadine and gomme syrup. It's a shame maple syrup has been relegated exclusively to the breakfast table, because it sure does add depth of flavor to the drinks it is used in.

The fun new cocktail of the night is the Apple Blossom, courtesy of Martin Doudoroff and Ted Haigh's indispensable online CocktailDB. Apple Blossom Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain 1 1/2 oz applejack (4.5 cl, 3/8 gills) 3/4 oz apple juice (2 cl, 3/16 gills) 1/2 oz fresh lime juice (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) 1/4 oz maple syrup (6 dashes, 1/16 gills) I had a concern that the maple syrup woud be overpowering here, but it's not at all the case. Rather, the maple shows up just enough to balance out the tartness of the lime juice which in turn lets the apple juice and jack take the lead roles in the flavor profile of the cocktail. It's funny. I've long-considered Laird's Applejack an historically significant yet obscure enough ingredient that it hardly warranted a spot in the already cramped liquor cabinet. Now that I've finally decided I need to keep it on hand, I find myself staring down a full 93 recipes in the CocktailDB that call for it. Supposedly George Washington was the product's biggest fan and evangelist, so who am I to argue with history?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 06:45 PM) So tomorrow is forecast for another 10-20 inches of snow tomorrow (it will be the same storm that hits the Midwest apparently). If the last 2 storms are any indication, by about 1 pm tomorrow they'll upgrade it to 15-22 inches and then it will be about 2 more feet. So... 50 inches in about 4 days... yeah. Just not things that happen every year. This is getting ridiculous Did you go out and buy your step-daughter a nice, new, shovel?

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 10:19 PM) I unno, it's hard for me to call Snape ambiguous he showed altruism constantly and never seemed to personally have a moral failing. Being a death eater might have merely, and likely, been out of self preservation. And that self preservation led to the saving of the boy who killed the dark wizard. Self-preservation had nothing to do with saving Harry — either time. As per Deathly Hallows, Snape was a Death Eater until he overheard Trelawney give her prophesy to Dumbledore. Once he realized Voldemort's interpretation of the prophesy meant the death of his love Lilly Potter (as well as Harry and James who mattered little to Snape), he sought out Dumbledore to beg him to save Lilly. Dumbledore asked Snape what he would do/give to save Lilly, and Snape said, "Anything." Only then did he become "Dumbledore's Man", and prior to that he was as morally corrupted as the rest of Voldemort's followers.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 09:44 PM) Did we read the same book? Where he was always working with dumbledore out of love for HPs Mamai, and then protects the boy throughout his entire life? Was it ever written expressly that he killed for Voldemort? I don't remember it. Some of us read them more closely is all. Snape was a Death Eater. Killing for Voldemort is never indicated as a prerequisite for becoming a Death Eater, or Draco Malfoy would not have become a full-fledged Death eater in his father's stead in HBP. The penseive flashbacks on Goblet of Fire portray Karkaroff on trial singling Snape out as a Death Eater, and this is confirmed by Dumbledore who also adds that Snape renounced Voldemort prior to his fall (His love for Lilly bears directly on this, naturally). The current-day events of Goblet indicate that Karkaroff, Snape, and other former Death Eaters are feeling the pull of a newly returned Voldemort via the burning of their Death Eater marks, etc. That Snape was able to deceive Voldemort into believing him to still be loyal is not only a testament to the occlumency prowess of Snape, but obviously to a past history in which Snape must have been wholly devoted to the Dark Lord. Yes, by the time of Voldemort's demise immediately prior to the beginning of Book 1, Snape had been put on a path of redemption aided by Dumbledore. But the need for redemption comes from the dark past that Snape spent the rest of his life trying to atone for. Maybe the distinction between a morally ambiguous character who continues down a path of moral ambiguity and an antihero seeking salvation for past sins is the dichotomy we are wrestling with here, yes?

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 09:36 PM) Isn't it pretty clear by HP7 where he stands? That only means he ultimately found redemption. As a former Death Eater during Voldemort's first reign, I'd say he qualifies for moral ambiguity.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 09:08 PM) They do have some standards... Quality collegiate football not being among them.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 09:21 PM) Holden Caulfield Antihero, yes. Morally ambiguous. . . open for discussion.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 09:07 PM) In that case, I decline as well... Rats. . . When did this become the sexually ambiguous thread?

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 08:33 PM) But that's why I don't find him to be morally ambiguous. It's pretty clear cut where it would stand based on what you are putting him in. My assumption in this exercise is that it is society's mores that define moral acceptability and ambiguity, and not those of the sociopath in question.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 08:28 PM) I thought about Watchmen characters, but I thought that not many people would get the reference. Ow hell, there's a $hitload of you geek-types on this site.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 08:25 PM) And so would Comedian (and Rorschach to a lesser extent, IMO). That book/movie would be a great topic for discussion on moral ambiguity. I think you could throw Dr. Manhattan into that mix as well, although eventually he became more amoral/above morality at the human perspective.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 08:21 PM) Are Dexters morals really ambiguous though? He has a code that he describes in detail. The same argument could be made for several of the above, basically all of the archetypal vigilantes. But the ability to rationalize away moral dilemmas to your own satisfaction doesn't mean the rationale carries weight with society at large. The hallmark of these characters as sociopaths is going to be the personal moral relativism that allows them to behave the way they do.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 8, 2010 -> 08:19 PM) http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas...-weather-cities South Bend, IN Average Annual Temperature: 49.5°F Average Precipitation: 39.7 inches Average Snowfall: 70.9 inches Just as I suspected. South Bend doesn't even qualify as a real city!