taks

i had to give up zoloft last thanksgiving. supposedly the cognitive effects with zoloft aren't "significant," but it was enough that i took a hit in the career department. unfortunately, while i have gotten to the point where anxiety is a non-issue, my ears have been ringing since i first started cutting back on it. edit: ironically, one of the cures for tinnitus: zoloft. yay. taks

if for once one of these things wasn't being presented by the usual suspects, there'd be more to discuss. a good example: richard hoagland is mentioned in salla's article. the link takes you to some story regarding the pending revalation (by obama) then references a "paper" on hoagland's website. the "paper" is actually three parts, the third of which is pending. in the second, he goes into some detal, mostly conjecture and rhetorical questions, about NASA's LCROSS mission - which turned out to be a dud - to crash part of a rocket into the surface of the moon. anyway, he tinkers with some photographs then suddenly declares there is "proof" of structures on the moon. i looked at the pictures every which way i can imagine and see no structures. there is no geometry. calling it a stretch would be kind. the guy is simply delusional. he has a point that there should have been more to the crash, and the "plume" that NASA "discovered" looks almost photoshopped, which is also worth discussing, but he throws in nonsense that any reasonably intelligent person can easily dismiss, which just destroys his credibility (oh, don't even bring up his hyperdimensional theories and torsional physics, what a joke). too bad, because hoagland is such an interesting character and i soooo wich he was right on this. there are others that are much more scientific in their approaches, but they aren't spouting nearly as much nonsense, either, and thus don't get as much press. taks

salla has been spouting similar stories for years. i suppose if obama comes out and does what salla claims, then he'll be vindicated. i'm not holding my breath. taks

not that i've ever heard. narcotics me jittery. they cause constipation, too i'd listen to the voice. better safe than sorry. taks

i got everything ready for my first day on the slopes, which is less than 12 hours from now. picked up my skis from getting bindings installed, put on a fresh coat of wax, got new poles, installed the ski racks and... hmmm, oh, got all my stuff ready so i can hop out of bed and leave in the morning. of course, the ski racks plus skis on top of an xterra = too tall to get out of the garage, so i'll have to put them in the racks after i back out. copper mountain here i come! taks

interesting point. from what i understand, until recently, the chinese basically broke patents they coudln't come to favorable terms on anyway (read: we'll pay you nothing and you'll let us infringe, capiche?). taks

yeah, i'm sure there are some that are just born bad - or suffer some tragedy beyond the control of their parents (assuming said parents are still around) leading to psychosis/neurosis/narcissism later in life. i mean, look at damien: his parents were wealthy, loving, and truly concerned for the welfare of their child and he turned out to be the antichrist. who'd have guessed it? taks

hmmm... methinks walsh may have been a bit sarcastic, no? that is, the curse of being valuable is not necessarily a good thing? taks

i did, actually. see above post. that's what i misinterpreted. you have earned a cookie for the day! there is a movement among the hard-core capitalist economists to get rid of copyright and patent law, btw. i agree with their arguments but haven't been able to convince myself to fully support them (i don't know why... habit maybe). i have a patent*, but it does nothing for me and, ultimately, patents don't really do anything for anybody as they are easily busted (copyright is a bit more useful for the owner). taks * actually two patents, with a 3rd on the way, but they are all for the same idea. i haven't figured out how or why they keep the process going for something that really isn't worth anything (to me, at least) nor what i would consider all that original.

ah, gotcha. thanks. yes, i agree, the lawyer dude and i are on the same page. numbers man has thus recognized what i stand for! yay! taks

$66.57 for the digital deluxe edition. yes, you must be used to lower price point games i think. most AAA PC games are between $50 and $60 (DA is $49.99 for the regular), and console games (PS3 at least) are >$60 (as i recall, uncharted 2 for the PS3 was $64.95 plus tax). taks

yes. the mage story intro. taks

i started a while ago as a mage then had to bug out for cub scouts (my son, not me). now i'm back and... let's just say there's a character in the beginning sequence that has its reverb turned up so high it is almost impossible to understand what it says. thankfully, the few items you really need to understand they put the sentences at the top so you could read them. is it supposed to be that way? taks

i'd go a step further and say "simulated violence." i agree. however, i conducted a pretty good cause/effect experiment with my son that indicated at least some children may act out the violence they experience in a violent game. punishment involved removing said game(s) from his library for the past 8 months along with some relatively in-depth instruction about the difference between the game and playing with friends at school. we no longer have the same issues and have since completed the game together (uncharted, did both in the past 2 weeks, actually). taks

now that my son and i have gotten through uncharted 1 and 2 on "easy," i'm replaying both on "hard." makes a big difference, btw: the enemies are better at dodging your shots (and targeting you), it takes longer to "heal" from wounds, there is less ammo to be found. now that i've got a handle on the way their controls work, it shouldn't be too tough, however. i recommend both games, btw. not the longest i've played, but very enjoyable, both with rather cool stories and tons of movie cut scenes (some are rather lengthy). waiting on my dragon age key to unlock, too. taks

i cried, too... because it was a waste of good meat. eviltaks

my guess: you've got an HDD issue. taks

can't help you walsh... i wear ski coats (usually just the shell) almost exclusively. i have a couple leather affairs, too, one of which i don't really like and the other is dying a rather painful lining death - but they don't get worn very often. taks

just finished uncharted: drake's fortune and went out to get uncharted 2: among thieves. the 2nd one, so far, has more action/gunplay than the first did, and it's a bit harder, but outstanding thus far. it seems like this one has more cut scenes, but they are so well done i kinda like 'em. it's really like watching a loong movie with lots of interactive bits along the way. we, my son and i, are through 6 or 7 chapters i think - about 4 hours. my son didn't really play any of this one, but he helped me finish the first. he gets to play it tomorrow (recall, he had issues at school back in january and we took violent games away from him). anyway, i highly recommend both uncharted games. extremely entertaining, and worth the $59.99 plus tax. taks

which is why i noted that it's really more about reliability. agreed. it's a weak link at best, and if they do use it for that reason, i'm a bit baffled. taks

reliability, actually. i'm guessing you won't be denied a job unless your rating is really, really bad, and then probably only certain jobs. the certain jobs that come to mine are those that may require a clearance, for which a good credit rating is an absolute must. if you are in debt, your likelihood of being compromised (bribed) by a non-friendly country looking for information is much higher. i'm guessing the insurance you'd be denied would be other than health, but i don't know for sure. same reason as a credit company: they want to make sure you'll alwayts pay, and pay on time. someone with a really, really bad credit rating may also be assumed to be financially crooked, e.g., they may look at that as a sign that you like to write bad checks, for example. dunno for sure, however. we shall be debt free other than house and car (mine, the wife's is paid off) in a few months. paying for a degree while still living like you aren't does damage to a credit card, but kicks your rating through the roof, too (as long as you pay on time). the solution: american express. you get reamed if you go over a month! taks

what Guard Dog said... always blow smoke up everyone's ass if necessary, including your own. intentionally fail to see your own deficiencies and even if you do, find something else in a related area that is actually a strength and highlight that instead. in the end, nobody gets hurt if you get a big raise, so you might as well go for the gusto. if you haven't earned one, they already know that and their response will be something irrespective of what you put on your self-assessment. there's probably some silly lawsuit behind the implementation of these wretched self assessments. maybe TQM or something is responsible, which is political correctness run amok in the business world, and probably also the result of some silly lawsuit. should i own my own business (i'm guessing in under 5 years), there will be no self-assessments of these sorts. might as well just have 'em do a song and dance number with a top hat and cane. taks

that assumes, of course, they are not one in the same person. i'm almost sure only handful of people, including me, post here. taks

were the sheep afraid? taks

there's a reason, thankfully, my last degree is referred to as "terminal." not just because it nearly killed me... i pity you poor folks still suffering through it all. taks