Checkpoint

Help a poor man, please! I'm having the worst time ever with my computer right now. It started with a hard drive crash a couple of weeks ago. My IDE PATA drive died and I got myself a Western Digital SATA drive instead (I also have a Samsung Spinpoint SATA drive for storage that I bought about three months ago). The SATA drive was surprisingly noisy, sounding like a small propeller plane and entertaining my DVD drive with vibrations that women across the globe would have envied. That's why I thought my Windows freezing problems were because of the hard drive. They weren't. Now, apart from the annoying vibrations, my SATA drive seemed to get on really nice with the rest of the little technical forces of untamed evil disguised as computer hardware connected to my (probably pretty unspectacular) ASRock motherboard. That's until a few days ago, when the computer suddenly just froze during an intense session of NHL Eastside Hockey Manager '07. After this it started freezing more and more frequently until it basically just froze almost immediately after Windows (XP Pro SP2, that is) had started. The problem was present in failsafe mode as well. I tried repairing my Windows installation, but that proved undoable due to an apparently quite famous little full stop (not 'freeze' in the sense I'm talking about, though, where everything just hangs) with 34 minutes left (something to do with USB drives I've been told afterwards). Soon enough even the installation attempts started to freeze. I wiped the drive and went for a clean install this time. No dice. Naturally I blamed my aggravating-all-living-organisms-within-earshot-to-the-brink-of-insanity-with-its-constant-humming SATA drive for the debacle and decided to go for a refund. It was successfully obtained and I got a new Samsung IDE PATA drive (despite asking for a SATA drive, but I only noticed once I got home and figured "what the hell"). I got home and installed Windows onto my new drive and felt jolly good about myself. Then the thing froze. Now, I do remember having a somewhat similar problem in the past that could be solved through a simple BIOS change, but sadly I'm no BIOS wizard and also this problem isn't identical. What puzzles my brain, admittedly limited in comprehending these magics, is that the freezing problems waited two weeks before appearing and then proving ultimately non-related to corrupted Windows installations or broken hard drives. At the same time, can I really blame my motherboard when I've had the problem using both a SATA drive and a IDE PATA drive? Please, any help from people in the know on these things would be greatly appreciated. I'm in danger of going bald from pulling my hair over here. :'(

They were also the most intense band of their time. K blows me away to this day, if you catch my resum

Yeah, I thought this was about Sixpence None the Richer.

Somehow I can't seem to stand Phil Collins. Maybe it's the whole eighties thing, but I just don't appreciate him either as a composer or a singer.

Oh if you're a Floyd fan you ought to check Kula out. Just got the Revenge of the King EP off iTunes. Opening track sounds really neat! :joy:

Well "K" entered the British charts at #1, but that was, as you say, over ten years ago. They were really big for a while, but I don't know about their following around Europe. I'm probably their greatest fan in Sweden, but I reckon they're fairly big in the UK after coming back. We'll have to wait and see when the album arrives. Ask Launchie, though; she might have the scoop. She's an old fan as well.

Kula Shaker are back working on their third album! Jay is obviously not with the band, but I definitely get some good vibes outta this. Apparently this has been known for a while, so why didn't anyone drop the bloody bomb already? Best news in ages! Kula Shaker website

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

I'm too young to remember her in her prime years, but I just can't seem to understand what's so special about her. I guess drugs and age weren't very kind to her...

He's okay. I think he'll go far. I had the chance to watch the game against the Hawks, but I blew it... <_< Anyway, they won, but I have a hard time seeing this team make the playoffs. I reckon we've got a bit of a Catch 22 going on; Lowe won't be making any deals unless it looks like we'll make the playoffs, and we won't make the playoffs unless Lowe makes a deal. With GMs knowing the hole he's in regarding D, I don't think there's a ton of deals around waiting to be made.

That would be 1866 I think. Does the EU3 timeline get that far? I read somewhere it only goes ~1800 or so. Anyway, after the Austo-Prussian War in 1866, Italy united as a nation, as Prussia united Germany. Actually, the Kingdom of Italy was united in 1861 following the work of mainly Camillo di Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Frank Zappa - Camarillo Brillo

Why is it that a promised income tax removed can't cause people to lose money?

I saw Jethro Tull live about six or seven years ago. The concert was average and the tickets fairly expensive, but overall an okay show.

I hope EU3 doesn't have the same issue EU2 had, being that the AI liked to go after provinces according to province numbers. Ireland's provinces were among the first, so the Green Isle often ended up owned by a bunch of different super-powers...

Yes. Nothing as stressing as RT; I passionately hate not being able to sit down and have a good look at my options and act accordingly. Thank God for the pause button. And never play multi-player.

Isn't the full game out? Anyone got it? Friend of mine told me the demo sucked big time, and he's an long-time EU2 player and should know what he's talking about. He still was very excited about the full release, however, so I was wondering if anyone got their hands on it.

I'm currently working on a take-home exam, and I'm missing the succession AAR of Medieval II: Total War that me and my cousin have going.

The strangest part is that the graphics in EU3 look ugly, uglier than the 2D in EU2 as I think Llyranor pointed out. Why all this development hassle over a step backwards in terms of eye candy?