taks

um, thanks for the kind words, but i was a cub scout, webelo, and boy scout. i quit not long after becoming a boy scout. interestingly, i can no longer even volunteer since i cannot claim reverence to a higher power as is required of members and adult volunteers. john doesn't know what that means, so he gets to ride it out till he understands. for the most part, it is a social club for kids. most of john's kindergarten friends are going to be in his pack, and he does not otherwise have any in our neighborhood (there are a few his age, but for various reasons, he doesn't associate with them). he is good friends with the two kids in the family we normally camp/ski with (one is 17, his babysitter, and the other is 9), but, obviously, they are older and he needs kids his age. in general, the scouts like to camp. that's our summer gig. not sure if they ski in the winter. that's our winter gig. john will be doing double blacks within two seasons and he is learning all the outdoor stuff from our busy summer camping schedule, too. i'm guessing he'll tire of the scouts at some point and stop attending just as i did 30 years ago. taks

we're gearing up tomorrow for the first cub scout camping trip. should be a joy... no beer. taks

oh sure, pick the guy with the disease that has a 99% mortality rate in the first few years... taks

ok, MJ makes 4... what gives, gfted1? taks

my dad's "grave" is a box in the closet at mom's house. she was going to use him to prop up a shelf at one point. our family is not the hard-core sentimental type, except when we're drunk. we went to red robin for lunch and then went to see up. good burgers and a good flick. i'm not hungover from last night, either, woohoo! taks

up, just got back from it. quite a good movie. very sad at parts, but overall a heartwarming and fun movie. not at all what i expected. the short film intro was hysterical. taks

i bartended last night for the first time in over 14 years (may, '95). it was quite awesome - i can still sling 'em. it's my usual hangout anyway and i was the "guest bartender" for a birthday party for one of the owners and one of the regulars. the regular, we call her lo-lo (laura) drinks like a russian. it was happy barf day for her. she wasn't looking none too good by the end of the night. neither was i for that matter. free drinks all night... hell yeah! got a ride home from one of my pool teammates, too, because they had DUI checkpoints set up (100 days of heat they call it). we actually went through one that seemed to be breaking up (they didn't stop us, but my ride was sober anyway). taks

because you like to... taks

aw, the howling one will be disappointed. let's not even consider your preferred attire. i know, it may be close minded of me, but hey, a guy's got to have some standards. you in a chainmail bikini... get outta here! taks

then learn how to reply properly. if you aren't replying directly to me, then don't quote me. it is an automatic consequence of quoting someone that implies you are replying to them. taks

and you can't read, either. the whole point of playing role-playing games, einstein, not the whole point of your own post. where do we find these geniuses? and exactly how do you think they are discovered? jesus... taks

um, you're missing the whole point. yes, you are the guy that got lucky, the one that hit the lottery, the one that worked harder and moved ahead or simply knew the right people and just climbed the ranks faster, the one that got all the breaks. you're role-playing bill gates, michael jordan, tiger woods, or any other superstar that has existed. what's the point of role-playing the guy that goes into work, puts in his 8 plus lunch, then comes home to a beer while his wife yells at him? or the poor sop that got cut down in his first battle? who wants to role-play the squire that scrubs his knight's armor and tends to his mount? you role-play the heros, and there are always heros, even in real life, because those are the roles that are interesting, exciting, challenging, and even dangerous. there's no sense of role-playing the guy that never did anything or went anywhere in life simply because he never went anywhere or did anything; and any story that lumped the fate of the nation on that guy's shoulders requires an even greater suspension of disbelief than the hero story ever could. oh, and for the record, this whole "heros are made" nonsense is just that: nonsense. they are not made, they are discovered. taks

People for the Ethical Treatment of Insects: PETI. taks

^lady: not sure. never checked, never really cared. i'm probably in the 10k neighborhood, which pales in comparison to the alt masters like visceris and who knows how many others. quite frankly, i've always assumed there are really only 10 posters in these fora, the rest are all an alt of visceris. ^aristes: didn't you used to post at the black isle website, too? if so, only a year here? taks

i want TBH to be like a sims game. it's just a simple family setting and they have an old black laborador for a pet. they sit around and play 4e games, of course. what's the over/under on how long it takes for ramza to pop after that announcement? taks

a mystary. oh, and for the record darth, your post count, and consequently, your rank, won't change posting in WoT. not sure how i've managed nearly 2000 posts in the past 5 years (sheeeeeesh it's been that long) posting primarily in here. taks

we already have one, sitting about 15' from where i'm currently seated. i met her playing pool, btw, so the homer angle of buying her pool equipment to use for myself wouldn't work quite right. taks

any night i spend at home with the wife that does not involve extreme cursing, particularly of the hall sex variety, puts me in a good mood. i actually was out buying her birthday gifts a bit ago. bunches of stuff from bath and body works. they're having a sale. tomorrow is her birthday. tomorrow is pool night. conundrum. taks

hehe, notice i'm not commenting. i don't understand the segue myself. taks

two months, actually. and that was a marketing ploy by de beers to get people to buy diamonds as a symbol of love back in the 30s and 40s. i spent about one month of salary on the two rings my wife and i got. mine is just a $250 band (which i have misplaced recently), and my wife's is a pretty simple ring with a 76 point diamond. she recently told me she actually wants a wedding band, too. her ring is not really set up for a separate band, so i did not get one at the time. given that september marks our 10th anniversary, assuming we haven't divorced by then, i'll oblige her. taks

smokin aces: over the top violence though underneath the hood, there was a reasonably interesting twist and a bit of a story. well, interesting for such an otherwise messed up movie. i found it entertaining enough to watch from about a half hour in till the end. started watching right before all the killing began. needless to say, i missed enough that i had zero clue what was going on and was simply amused at the cluter f*** on the screen. it's one of those everybody dies, even the ones with significant roles, type flicks. it was almost funny, but not quite. lots of mid-level stars in the movie. of course, i watched it on tnt or something similar so every other word was bleeped out and all the boobies were fuzzied over, hehe. finally watched taken the other night, too. worth the rental fee, but nothing i'd want to watch repeatedly. cool action flick with zero plot. taks

a) what part of what i said was contrary to this? b) what does a 4WD have to do with anything i said anyway? 70 across KS is a loooooong, flat, boring drive on an interstate highway, i.e., a 4WD ain't the optimal vehicle there, either. it continues on into UT, at which point you run into a sign that says "this is your last chance for gas, next gas station 300 miles" (or something like that). it is also your last chance for electricity, unless you bring your own pedal power. the highways usually contain large vehicles, and more importantly, 18-wheelers pulling 55 ft. trailers doing 70 mph (in KS, 75 mph in CO). the point is that these little electric jobs are great for tooling around town, but not so great on a highway (or anywhere rugged). you want a bigger vehicle on the highway for longevity (they have larger gas tanks) as well as control and safety. taks

hehe, 27C and no rain here. finally!!! maybe my cough and non-stop sinus drainage will go away now. i'm allergic to something, that's for sure. taks

the ferrari wins. hands down. when i get rich, i will own a ferrari. taks

some stuff is referred to as "embarrassingly parallel" and as such, knowing how to program for parallel processing is not really necessary (only superficially). the simple fact that much (if not most) of the graphics processing is done on a separate processor is testament to the inherent parallelization of games, and the ability of programmers to do it, even if they aren't obviously aware of the details under the hood. ^Maria: you are not allowed to ever mention that store again without making them put one in colorado. taks