Oblarg

even the guy responsible for Revenge of the Sith openly said that the third movie was ****. The fact that he's responsible for Revenge of the Sith doesn't exactly make that any more credible. Anyone who enjoys the first two movies but calls Return of the Jedi **** is fooling himself, because there's simply not enough difference between them (other than the ****ing ewoks, obviously).

He doesn't like Return of the Jedi or KotOR2? I am disappoint.

No, and I haven't claimed to be. Well, I've heard directly from a family member with a Ph.D. in physics that the thought that the LHC could end the world is absolutely absurd. So you'll excuse me if I don't take the doomsday prophecies too seriously.

WoD, are you a physicist?

Too bad there's no empirical evidence for this. And since you know so much about science, you should know that the derivation of the Hawkins radiation has already been proven to be incorrect. It's probably still true that the micro black holes are unstable, but there is a set of assumptions under which they would in fact be stable, and could grow slowly over time through collisions with other particles, until it reached enough mass to start attracting other particles, at which point it would rapidly grow and consume earth. As far as collisions in upper atmosphere, they don't prove anything, as any black holes formed would move through the earth at near the speed of light, and thus wouldn't have a chance to grow to a dangerous size. The LHC apologia has already moved on to claim that since white dwarves don't get destroyed by cosmic ray collisions, the earth won't either. There's nothing to "apologize" for, because nothing will happen.

Best ending: Total Annihilation ARM campaign ending. No, really, it ends with the ARM commander stepping on the CORE commander's face. How awesome is that? Worst ending: Gears of War 2 - I really have no clue what the **** happened, they have to hire some new writers.

No more harm will come of the LHC's collisions than of those that happen in the upper atmosphere on a fairly regular basis.

Agreed, but at least there are only one or two countries that can even do it. A more realistic threat to our infrastucture is someone firing off a high altitude E Bomb. Thats when you'll really see the poop hit the fan. The sun might do that for us one of these days, though.

So how are those rabbits treating your ecosystem these days?

Impulse is nicer than Steam, but it's a niche product.

Mike Tirelli must be the best heavy metal vocalist of the past decade or two. Seriously, he's like Dio meets Dickinson meets Eric Adams. Why the hell is this band so obscure? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFZ8yGy6zNQ

In terms of energy involved. Cosmic particles collide with similar energies up there on a fairly regular basis. It might be common in the high altitudes, but keeping 10.000 tonnes of measuring equipment completely still 40-80 km up in the air is just such a hassle. Not only that, but then you'd just have to wait and hope that there's a collision in the space where you're measuring! But that wasn't my point - I was responding to WoD's world-ending absurdity.

In terms of energy involved. Cosmic particles collide with similar energies up there on a fairly regular basis.

The LHC doesn't do anything that doesn't already occur in the upper atmosphere.

DC summers have always been just as bad as FL summers. They just don't last as long.

Wood cutting boards, even when hand-washed, are more sterile surfaces than plastic ones. Look it up - people have researched this.

The only thing Yellowstone immediately brings to mind for me is that godawful ****ing smell.

I disagree about the paring knives. Get two or three *really good* paring knives. Trust me, they're worth it. Expensive, yes, but a good investment - I probably use a paring knife more than any other tool in the kitchen. And there's nothing wrong with automatic washing machines, even for your good knives - that's just paranoia. My all-purpose cookbook of choice would be The Joy of Cooking. Superb cookbook, especially for technique. Get a large wooden cutting board. Plastic cutting boards aren't terrible, but nothing beats a good quality wooden cutting board. Size matters - if you only have one cutting board, it must be a big one.

My mom's side of the family has a long history of cooking, so I learned most of my cooking from her (mainly Armenian and Greek cuisine). Traditional Armenian food is absurdly time-consuming, but worth it. The main problem is that I can't spell any of the dishes, only pronounce them.

I will share my family recipe for chicken soup for the sake of the thread. Amounts are approximate, I never actually measure them. As a rule of thumb, the key to good chicken soup is *lots of vegetables.* If you're ever in doubt about the amount of vegetables you have, add more. Ingredients: One whole chicken Two whole onions, peeled and cut into quarters 3-5 cloves garlic One cup parsnips or two cups carrots, peeled and chopped Three stalks of celery, chopped One sprig fresh dill, or a teaspoon dried Two teaspoons thyme One tablespoon salt, or more to taste Two teaspoons ground pepper Place all ingredients in a large pot, and add cold water to cover chicken. Place on stove, uncovered, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and partially cover, let simmer for at least five hours. Taste periodically. When done to satisfaction, separate the solids from the liquid (I use a calendar). Discard the vegetables - you may keep the chicken for the soup, though it will be rather flavorless and won't keep well. Refrigerate, skim off fat once it solidifies. Serve with noodles and/or matzah balls (you can find a recipe for these on the back of any matzah meal container). Notes: This makes a *huge* amount of soup. Unless you have a family of four (it would generally last mine for two to three meals), you're going to have too much to consume before it goes bad. Fear not - after skimming off the fat, you can keep it indefinitely by bringing it back to a boil, and then freezing it (preferably in meal-sized portions). Noodles and matzah balls should always be prepared separately for each meal. Do not boil noodles or matzah balls in the soup itself to cook them - you'll cloud up the broth and the texture will be wrong. Instead, boil them in salted water. In the case of Matzah Balls, after this they can be added to the soup and remain there for a fairly long period of time (about a day or so) without degrading. Noodles cannot be left in liquid for any significant amount of time without turning to mush. Well, that was long-winded.

I want to pick up bass at some point. Seems like a fun instrument.

Just nailed this guitar solo. Not bad for only having played for 11 months, eh?

At least Kim Buck lost the election here in Colorado. He sort of shot himself in the foot with his recent comments on social policy, but it was still too close for comfort.

Wat. No, really, if there were ever a situation for which "wat" is the only possible response, this is it.

There's a Tea Party candidate with a chance of winning here in Colorado. I would go out and vote against him, but I'm still a Maryland resident.