qt3.14159

Yeah... that's not gonna happen... lol. We have a lot of polish in our program, but at the same time, there is so much soul. The games are so much fun, the band, the alumni, the students... we're all there because we love the school and it just happens to have an awesome program. I'll go with your rankings... And yeah, the polls are messed up in that the big names always get the benefit of the doubt, even when they shouldn't. But, at the same time, there's not many years where more than a couple of teams finish undefeated. As long as those undefeated teams are in the running for the national championship, I'm ok with the end result. And yeah, I'm not sure how the Rose Bowl works, exactly... I know that when we played there (2003) there was a huge uproar about how wrong it was that it wasn't a pac 10 school or something... And honestly, we really prefer the Orange Bowl but since the advent of the BCS we've only been there twice (both times playing for the national championship), so we think the whiny butts can just get over it... I can root for Mizzou! Go Big 12!! Except Texas... Texas sucks. I'm the exact opposite. I'm from the Northeast (defined as being north of Blacksburg and east of State College), where we see college football for what it really is: the minor leagues. Just like minor league baseball, it's probably more fun (and cheaper) to go to a game in-person than it is in the NFL/MLB, but the ultimate interest is in which players will eventually be called up/drafted into the real thing. Also the whole "what the hell are major educational institutions doing giving scholarships to dunderheads who happen to play a game well and pouring millions of dollars into running a sports league that only turns a profit for a few dozen programs" question has always bugged me. Plus, my wife would not be particularly happy with me if I spent Sunday and Saturday watching football. I think you probably see it as the minor leagues because the local programs aren't really worth supporting... But, I can see your point, sort of. It's not in any way cheaper to go to one of our games, believe me. Our stadium seats over 82,000 people and is full every week... (in the good years anyhow, and most of them are good years...). What makes college football so much more interesting to me is its constantly shifting nature. Every year the team is radically different than the year before. So the game becomes more about the programs and how well they recruit and then train their new players. It's much more a test of coaching abilities and the soul of the players. I think I don't care as much about professional football because it is just that... a business. I have a hard time being that excited about someone else's business, even if it is regional. But my ties to my school are incredibly strong. My family has attended this university for generations. My parents grew up watching OU football, as did I. It's my school, it's my employer, it's my town, it's my team. And next year, it will be a different group of kids, but it'll be just as much mine. BOOMER SOONER! :D

The stories I've read with Atton & Carth have either made them mortal enemies because of Carth's trust issues and Atton's Sithy past, or have given them a comraderie because they were both left behind by the women they loved. I'm not sure which I buy, honestly. In a LSF Revan world, I think Carth would be a lot more sympathetic to Atton... but then again, he is Mr. Paranoia.

Yeah, that's pretty goofy, but it's still early yet. The polls have a way of working themselves out for the most part, I think. Who are you rooting for? I've tried to watch Austrailian rules football before... it makes no sense. Perhaps one day, you'll come to the states and you can sit with me an explain the damn game, but until then, I'm gonna have to pass... Bennie, Bud, Barry & Bob... Apparently we have a thing for B's... I wonder if it'll be a requirement for future head coach candidates... hopefully, though, we won't be looking for a head coach for looong time yet.

I'm a strong believer that alcohol doesn't ever make you do anything you didn't already want to do, it just gives you an excuse to act on your impulses. I think the saying is, "A drunk mouth speaks a sober mind."

Since there was an NFL thread, I thought I should start a college football thread. I don't follow the NFL at all, just because they can't seem to make me care, but I've always adored college football. My alma mater (and my employer) just moved to #2 in the polls. It's looking to be a great year! BOOMER SOONER!

I've had lots of crushes in my life... three stand out though... In third grade Mike was my best friend. We hung out together all the time and anytime there was an event at school that required boy girl pairing (square dancing in gym, christmas program, etc) we would always make sure we got each other. Everyone always gave us crap about being boyfriend / girlfriend, but we pretty much ignored them. Probably because neither of us really minded the idea, just never had the courage to make anything official... of course we were eight, so I'm not sure how much more official it gets than sitting next to each other on the bus everyday. When I was a freshman in high school I met Matthew while we were working on a school musical. He and I didn't get along at all, but I was so attracted to him and madly in love with him that he sort of worked his way into my psyche. I always thought something would happen between us, and I hoped I'd get another chance later in life, but I found out a few years after high school that he'd died from a brain tumor. It's been a while since I had a dream about him, but he does show up every so often and everytime he makes me wish that the night we were pretending to make out to fool the rest of the people at the drama club party we actually had been. The third crush that stands out was much more recent. I was in my last semester of college, 26, married with two kids and I honestly can't even remember his name. Mostly because I *refuse* to think about him long enough to remember it. He was in a couple of my classes and was in my Business Admin capstone group. Any time he got anywhere near me I broke down into a babbling idiot who couldn't string two thoughts together. I have no idea if he knew the effect he had on me, but damn... did he ever. Nothing ever came of it, and I haven't even seen him since we both graduated, but I'll always remember the way he reduced me to a silly giggling school girl anytime he was around... ah, crap.. you guys made me remember his name!

Shhhhh.... I need more pipe smokers around, damn it. Other than my ex, the only people around who smoke pipes are the old professors here on campus. Of course, everytime I get a wiff of pipe smoke, I get this overwhelming desire to follow the scent wherever it goes... but I can usually force myself to keep walking straight. Those pied pipers haven't betwitched me completely... yet...

Bah, there's no point if you're not smoking. The reason the pipe makes you look more credible is because to keep a pipe lit it takes very controled and regular draws. Having to stop to puff occasionally gives you time to think, and better phrase your response. Not to mention nicotine is a stimulant and helps your brain work better. And pipe smoking really isn't that bad for you. For one thing, it's not something you do all day every day like cigarettes. It's an occasional thing, that helps you relax and think. It's good for the soul!

Go back to a save just before you enter the academy and when the handmaiden asks you for your weapons, don't give them up right away. For some reason that option sometimes triggers this bug.

I adore pipes. My old boyfriend used to come over and smoke his pipe in my room and the whole place would smell so incredibly fantastic. Pipe smoke is seroiusly intoxicating. *sigh*

alanschu & SirPetrakus - It sounds like both of these girls are trying to keep you leashed in. My most romantic relationship ever became my most painful relationship when after a break up neither of us could actually let go of one another. I was a mess for well over a year as we tried to be friends both wanting more, but knowing things wouldn't work out. It seemed that everytime I finally started to get in balance emotionally, he would call up and be desperate to talk to me. It was like he knew if he let me go much longer I really would find my balance and not need him anymore. I think, Allan, that your girl is trying to keep you off balance, emotionally dependent and on the line. You have to decide if that's where you want to be. If not, then don't let her continue on this path. If you're not sure, you can give it a few months and break it off when you're sure you're miserable... SirPetrakus, I think you did the right thing. It doesn't sound at all like you were too harsh, and in my opinion, it's *much* more harsh to let a relationship carry on in that interminable state of "maybe".

I think it'd be smartest to tell her to cut it out. It sounds like she's using you as an ego booster and an emotional surrogate. If she really is unhappy with her boyfriend, she should end it. If she's trying to test the waters to see if she has something to fall back on if she does dump him, then you wind up looking like the bad guy when she hooks up with you afterward. If she doesn't leave her boyfriend, she will continue to use you to make her feel better when she's annoyed with him and that puts you in a bad place. At least that's the way it looks from here.

For in game atmosphere, I adore Dxun. I love the thunderstorms in the jungle. Such great ambiance. Korriban is pretty cool too. non-game, I alway though Myrkr was a cool place.

I think Archie's would turn out better if he mirrored his face picture... his face is always oriented wrong. And why would I want to do something like this? My yearbook pictures were dorky enough, thanks.

I just spent the last 3 weeks or so watching all four seasons of Lost for the first time. Maybe seeing them all back to back affected my perception (likely) but I didn't find season four to be implausible at all. The frozen wheel was an odd representation of the technology, but I think my current thought is that the island didn't actually move, but as the rabbit did, "appeared" to disappear because it was thrown forward in time. I also think that the turning of the wheel changes the compass bearing at which you can enter / leave the island. But of course that's all speculation. Here are the thematic elements that I think are fundamental to understanding what's going on in the show. Backgammon - two players, one light, one dark - I think the most interesting thing about the link to backgammon is the fact that in the game, you use your checkers and your rolls to "reset" the other players' checkers back to the beginning. Also, Ben's comment that "he changed the rules" suggests that he was fully aware that they were playing a game of some sort. Con Games - There are just waaaaay too many con men involved in the back stories for this to be a coincidence. Someone is being conned somewhere. Psychics - I think it's interesting that the psychic who sent Claire on the plane and the "medium", Miles, who spoke to the dead, both seem a little disgusted with their abilities. The psychic even told Eko that he was a fraud, even though it's pretty obvious he must have had flashes similar to Desmond's. Miles is a really interesting case, too. He obviously has the ability to hear the dead, but at the same time he seems to treat it like it's a scam. I'll definitely be interested in seeing more next season. Christ Imagery - There are a lot of them, but when Locke is carrying his father's body back to the Others' camp he is visibly carrying his "cross" over his shoulder, is the most obvious example to me. Christian (Jack's Dad) - I think Christian is the key to understanding everything. When we find out what his actual connection to the island is, I think it will all make sense. There's a lot more, of course, but those are the ones that stand out to me the most right now.

Argh, there are just waaaay too many... I think I voted for most of them... If I had to choose just one, it would have to go to Sara Kestleman just because she's so incredibly well done. But I don't like her as much as Roger Guenveur Smith or Nicky Katt.

I also have already reviewed it, but I'll reiterate... I actually would give TDK 8 of 10, so it's not that I didn't like it at all, just that I found it to be seriously overrated. I am one of those that did not like the ending, but not because it was "sad" (even though it did leave me with a horrible nasty feeling of despair) but rather because the last third of the movie is horribly unorganized and all over the place. It felt like Nolan used Heath Ledger's death as an excuse to include *every* scene he'd shot with the Joker in it... I also had a problem with there being no likeable characters in the movie (other than Alfred and Lucius). Everybody else were self absorbed jerks. I, personally, have a hard time enjoying a movie where I can't connect to any of the characters.

You should have told her exactly this, that's obviously where you went wrong. Make sure you tell all future girlfriends. They'll appreciate your honesty. I think what really went wrong was that she still loved her ex boyfriend and it was a safer bet than me because I lived far away where as he lived really close to her. I mean, I know you are making a joke, but I still have an intense need to justify what happened in the relationship any chance I can get. But yes, I think I'll take your advice. I mean, nothing else seems to work, and this is just the type of crazy scheme I need! Just make sure you tack "modest" on the end of that chain of descriptors...

If he really insists he doesn't want to talk about it, I'll usually let it go. What I really hate is that time frame when I know that something is wrong and he's acting like I'm just being crazy, not actually picking up on whatever vibe he's sending. I'm not crazy damn it.... well, at least not when it comes to picking up emotional states of the people around me. Alanschu - I was that girl for a long time. Looking back on it, I think I stayed in my marriage as long as I did because I had married him against everyone's advice and I really wanted to be right about him. I wanted it to work out a lot because of those romantic notions that made me cling to something that was absolutely nightmarish. It took a long journey to finally admit how bad the relationship really was and I couldn't have gotten there without my own "homewrecker" friend. Though, honestly, I think that he helped me more by just being a good man and providing a contrast to the bastard I was married to. Anyhow, I'll be the first to admit that most women have very screwed up notions when it comes to relationships until they've been through a few and learn to let go of the crappy ones. Usually they become a lot more reasonable somewhere in their mid to late twenties... (at least in my experience).

It's at #3. #303 is more like it, even thats generous I would just like to refer everyone to my post here http://forums.obsidian.net/index.php?showt...9860&st=308 I was saying TDK was overrated when it was still unpopular to do so.

I'm actually trying to buy a house right now as well. Unfortunately the community I want to live in has very few houses on the market right now. Here in Oklahoma, our housing market has actually improved a tiny bit in the last couple of years. I guess that's what happens when a good portion of your economy is made up of the oil and gas industries. Anyhow, there's only one house out there that I'd even consider living in and that one has weird problems. I *really* need to be closed by the end of September, though... so I'm considering it anyway. That or hoping something else shows up very, very soon.