ManifestedISO

They deep-fry everything at the county fair ... I wonder could you batter and deep-fry chunks of avocado and wash it down with pizza.

The best 'long-term for gaming' solution (price to performance) is a smallish SSD for the operating system (Windows 7) and a regular hard drive for game storage (Steam library). That way, you never have to worry about upgrading the drive installed with Windows, and can concentrate on future-proofing the other (much easier) components. Or leave them all in place for each build, like I do. Being able to play new games in a year depends on the resolution of the monitor. If it's 1920x1080 or less, that 7870 will have no problem supporting High and sometimes Ultra graphics settings, likely for two years or more with good driver support. In some game benchmarks, it's even surpassed the 7950, slightly, while using less power and making less noise/heat. The extra GB of frame buffer memory shouldn't matter too much at 1080 resolution or below, but more is usually better. All of that means nothing if the price is right, however.

What a great feeling, nice job. Tea and strumpets, now, for sure.

SSD for the OS, definitely. Humanoid is right about the way it feels, like I mean night and day faster. Like dial-up and broadband faster. I swear games get sympathy speed, even though they're loaded on the slower HDD. I kinda think the 7950 is too much and a little hot for 1080p gaming, but two hundred bucks is a damn good price. Still, I'd save even more and get a 7870 or 7850 on super sale ... and drop the CPU cooler, and lower the power supply to 450 or 430, but stay at least bronze certified. I'm also convinced it's definitely worth getting 1600 RAM, over 1333. Every (most) review I see on Anand shows a big jump in performance between those two, but much less from 1600 to 1866. I gotta say, there is only Newegg. Sniping the right part for the best price is fun and rewarding, but I only get that feeling from Newegg. Except for that tax thing, now.

I agree with samm on the audio/video receiver. They're so versatile, you'll wonder how you managed without, and for not much money. Every device can be plugged in to the receiver: speakers, TV, gaming PC, Xbox, blu-ray player ... even my headphones jack right in the front. I just switch inputs on the remote when I want to change activities. It's capable of Bluetooth, but I don't utilize that part. Just about every port is available: USB, digital optical, HDMI, audio wire, RGB, analog, AM/FM antenna, etc. I like to hear Pandora through 5.1 when I vacuum. And, other stuff. If you're interested in a stereo speaker setup, a soundbar might be suitable. You could plug it in to the TV and then choose "external speakers" on the TV menu, if you elect to forego a receiver. That way, you could also send the audio/video signal from your HTPC to the TV with HDMI. I heartily recommend a receiver, though. Mine is a Yamaha, less than three bills, on sale. Newegg has great deals usually.

Like when Aragorn says to Haldir ... you are most welcome! Happy one year tomorrow!

Oh, hell yes I'm getting a Danny Woodhead jersey. Running back, tight end, all-around machine of forward progress. Kick ass!

Excitement mounting. Today is the 14th ... only four weeks and four days until Playstation 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0d9d-cdxhk

Double-baked, fried Charger probably.

-1000 fan points to everyone that left the New England stadium early. Aikman said the place was half-empty when the clock expired.

And less pain. When my brother died suddenly, my mom's burden of grief was reduced by her belief that he is still alive, floating around the universe somewhere, unseen. Which I think is why superstition finally did overpower logic ... because facts and rationality don't give us a hug when someone dies.

Which explains our incalculable need to explain things, and why the need to believe in something unknowable feels so real. They are hard-wired into our heads very close to emotion and memory. Like deja vu ... an odd, yet real sensation that was finally isolated and demystified. But not lessened in impact. Demystifying things like strange or powerful feelings shouldn't take away from them as experiences. How crazy is it that we're alive in the first place, with super-fast mush inside a hard shell capable of processing audio/video input. That's where I think religion fails to account for unbiased spirituality--people say they have the answers, but they all want you to believe in their brand. Usually to pay for the 'privilege' (a la mormonism, where ten percent of your income will get you into a proprietary heaven). Living with one foot in the next life reduces the quality and mystery of our lives here, I think.

A subjunctive pretense for an impossible situation ... I'm positive no one has ever had the sense literally beaten into them. The irony in violence and irrational belief was too much, perhaps. Superstition is an apt, concise description. I stand by it with all the fervor my human nature allows.

If I could go back into time, the deep time of the previous epoch, I would visit the exact moment superstition became more powerful than logic and beat some rationale into the offending hominid. Wait, maybe someone did that already, and that's how all theistic nonsense began. Clever, universe.

Well, at least your gunslinger is a scrambler. Ours is incapable of turning around, much less escaping the pocket. When Romo throws an interception, he's running like a mad man, or being tripped by his own guy--Philip Rivers just gives it away to the secondary like a case of herpes. The Dallas/Denver game was the most excited I've been for a comeback in forever. Romo and the team should hold their heads high, I think. It must be a ghost town in the Meadowlands. An 0-6 apocalypse. Zombified fans roaming the streets. I don't like the Giants much, but no one deserves a season like that.

Am I thick, or is the name Jaime Moriarty a new character reveal on Elementary. Is it just Irene's real name? I'm slightly confused, but it's good that Holmes feels like a real character. The pat on the shoulder after Watson lifts the watch was neat, and the subtext dialogue between them really shows a bond. Her line at the end and then Jonny's pensive look before he reads the letter ... good stuff.

Cool! I bet someone is gonna pass out from anticipation waiting to hear back for this gig. Imagine, getting paid to write creatively in the 21st century. Hey, if it doesn't work out, I live 20 minutes by motorcycle from Irvine. Just sayin'.

Look up the word 'alluring' and that photo of Haley Atwell is the singular definition, my god. I hope Agent Carter gets her own show, as has been rumored.

Ah, thank you. All of this Marvel backstory makes me appreciate how entertaining AoS is, even for those of us without the lore. The only scenario I couldn't stomach would be if Coulsen's death was faked. What would be groovy, is if they reveal the truth in Thor: The Dark World.

I dropped my ice cream spoon after Skye ran across the lawn in a red, wet dress. zomfg So who is the new villian? A gravity-based bad guy bent on getting revenge on Coulsen, looks like. And Coulsen is definitely not himself. He is dead, and there's a robot, or hologram, or something in his place. Edit: er, I see my Marvel knowledge is a failing grade

Am I the only one who thinks the Range Rover driver completely deserved a beating?! All the news broadcasts say "biker gang attacks innocent motorist," yet the sight of that guy in his 6,000lb monster bulldozing a half-dozen motorcycles, paralyzing one of the riders, boils me to a scream.

Could you elaborate? Sounds like I could absorb some of that lesson. I am no instructor, but I enjoyed a revelation when the distinction between voices became apparent. An active voice is the subject (of a sentence) giving it good to an object, by way of a verb. The weak, passive voice indicates that the subject is the one getting pounded by a verb. See if you can tell which sentence is active, which is passive, without identifying subjects, objects, or verbs: Raistlin's thin, clawlike hand gripped Tanis's arm. Tanis's arm was gripped by Raistlin's thin hand like a claw. Hand is the subject, grip is the verb, and arm is the object. Active: hand grips arm. Passive: arm was gripped by hand. The top sentence is the active voice, and the bottom is passive (!). More importantly, the top one is easier to read, shorter, and implies direct action. Almost all writing benefits from the choice of an active subject, since objects are just objects without a good verb. Once you see it, you'll see it everywhere.

True Giants fans must be catatonic, probably don't feel like going to White Castle. Makes me feel better about SD trying so hard to lose to Oakland last night. Naturally our AFC West is the only division with two undefeated teams remaining. Playoffs are just for fair-weather fans, anyway.

You guys quoting ignorees. I was thoroughly enjoying the US/UK contretemps. No matter, I will add vouwels to words just for fun. Colouring books! In the boot? Blot my copybook!

Game #3 at halftime ... one more half, then another full game ... to go ... must ... adjust recliner ... four games in one day ... almost there ... need more ... chips