Hurlshort

I've got experiences to the contrary... so I won't trust being able to play the game if I may loose connection for a while... Have you tried it in the last few months? They completely redid Steam. I complained about it as much as the next guy before that.

The issue here was that you can buy a hardcopy game, and still have to use Steam to play it now. I get that some people don't like it when a game installs extra software on your computer, but you can see why a develop or a publisher does it. It is probably one of the cheaper choices for getting gamers to register and for DRM. Given that Steam's offline mode actually works now, I'm not really worried about it. It is a lot better than the Ubisoft stuff.

He's really gone mad, max.

Does anyone remember when cars were invented, and there was that whole group who claimed they were loud and smelly, and they would rather stick to the good old horse?

I got 29 wpm. Probably about right, I'm a point and peck guy though.

The contribution of tobacco to the mass epidemic of cancer might be, there are lot of cases of nonsmokers that get cancer. Blaming cigars and secondhand smoke just sweeps the problem under the rug, it doesn't solve or addresses alternatives causes. So every major health organization in the world is just exaggerating for kicks and giggles? Here are some sources: http://www.who.int/tobacco/research/cancer/en/index.html http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factshe...bacco/cessation Next, maybe you can tell me how coal miners and black lung disease aren't really closely related.

Wait, are you saying cancer and emphysema are exaggerated? That is insane.

Found this little gem in my garage today while cleaning up. Best hockey game ever.

I thought I'd post a few pics of the newest addition. Logan looks askew at the cat Behemoth. Chicks dig him.

How would you know that if you've never used it? Actually the most recent version is smooth as silk for me, I never notice when it is running. No slow-downs, even with my weak internet connection.

Predators was very good. I'd say it is up there with the original, easily. The cast was solid, I was surprised that Topher Grace (skinny kid on That 70's Show) fit in so well, he was a good comedic relief. They also had Walter Goggins as a convict (Shane from The Shield) Adrian Brody made a good action hero too, he was pretty edgy. The Yakuza and the Spetznaz guy both had pretty great moments.

I really like Gilroy Gardens, in fact I lived just down the street for awhile. It has a lot of fantastic trees and is a beautiful park. Again, it is not an amusement park like GA, it is more about seeing neat stuff. It is overpriced though.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/vie.../1861-Predators "Are there, like, vegan Predators who protest this & think they should leave the humans alone?" ...I haven't seen it, but from the 7.9 from 1200+ votes on imbd and 77% community rating on RT I'd guess if you liked the original first one a lot, it's at least a decent bet to see the new one. I always saw the 1st one as a watchable time-passer B movie & nothing more. Awesome, I'm in the theatre now. My local paper ripped it apart, but if it is close to the original, I will be stoked.

I've been there. Pleasant place. It's where I took the pic of the tired lemur & meerkats that I probably posted here ages ago. Do they still have those? :D Yes! They did a complete remodel recently, it was pretty major. It took about two years, during which the park was closed. But now it looks really nice. It is still a small park designed for small kids, but it is a great alternative to one of the crazier parks like Great America. The petting zoo is in great shape, there are a few small rides and playgrounds, and they have a few great animals in the zoo section, like a jaguar and a ton of lemurs.

Someone needs to review the new Predator for me.

Dang, I thought this thread was about the return of Walker, Texas Ranger to the Hallmark channel. What a let down.

My personal experience with it being a gateway is the necessity of a dealer. Since you can't get pot at a store, if you are just looking for a small amount for a weekend, you will need to make contact with a drug dealer. From that point, it is a much easier jump to try other stuff like exctasy or cocaine. I'm sure it isn't a gigantic number that make that jump, but I saw a few friends go that way. My sister ended up dating the dealer, and that did not end well. He ended up in prison (not for long enough in my book) and she did a few stints in rehab.

But I'm saying it'll be an even bigger problem if it's legalized. I think you'll appreciate the issue more once your own kid reaches a certain age. No mattter how you try to bring him (her?) up, if the society is sending an opposite message you've got an uphill fight. Oh, I already take the issue quite seriously. I am very against marijuana use, as I said, my sister went through hell and back and marijuana was clearly the gateway to that. I already have an uphill fight here, society is already sending the message that marijuana isn't a big deal. I teach 7th graders, so I'm right there on the cusp with these students as they prepare to make stupid decisions as teenagers. What I am saying is very few of them are concerned with the legality of the issue. If they choose not to do pot, it is going to be because they are making a smart decision about their health and future. It is illegal for them to drink and smoke as well as teenagers, and yet plenty of them will do those things. What I'm really saying is it's already a big problem, so stop wasting resources criminalizing it, and start educating people on it. Also, it won't hurt to clean out the bloated prison system a bit in California.

Google has a giant slide in their main building. From the 5th floor your choices are the stairs or the slide. Just thought I'd share.

Did you graduate TN? I'm heading off to Happy Hollow today, it is a neat little amusement park/zoo we have in the area. It is really designed for the little kids, from age 1-10 mostly.

On edit 1, I'm not sure how it can get more socially accepted. You have popular movies based completely around their use (from Cheech and Chong to Harold and Kumar.) Because it is something that can be grown rather easily, you already have a lot of kids doing it (data is hard to track down, but around 50% of Americans have tried it.) It is already a societal problem. It may create more need for rehab centers, but it will cut down on the criminal element. I've also spent a bit of time at rehab centers, per my sister who went through a rough few years. I don't believe anyone was actually in rehab for marijuana. It is a major gateway drug, but as an actual destroyer of lives, it is limited. You hear the term angry drunk a lot more than angry stoner. On edit2, I agree completely. This is the real kicker, exactly what is moderate pot usage? I think a joint a day is probably a lot more unhealthy than a beer or a glass of wine a day.

Really? I thought it was awful. Revenge thrillers should be visceral and sharp - for all their faults Taken and Man on Fire are examples of the genre worth watching. I agree that it is nowhere near those two in power or entertainment. I am not familiar with State of Play, and to be honest I thought the Ray Winstone character was underutilized in the movie. It is likely that would change my experience dramatically. As for Mel Gibson, it was not his strongest performance, but I didn't think he was weak in it. I guess when I say a movie is solid, it is kind of a half-hearted compliment. It doesn't blow me away, but I found it watchable.

I grew up in Santa Cruz, where drug use is fairly rampant. I had a few friends who were very bright, I mean considerably smarter than myself. In High School they got into pot and shrooms, and now they have pretty much fallen off the map. I know two of them live up in Humboldt in a trailer growing their own stuff and working odd jobs. These are guys that could have done quite well in college, probably could have excelled in any career they chose. But they choose to live in a trailer and get high. Now maybe they never had they desire or drive necessary to excel, drugs or not, but I find that hard to believe. This has nothing to do with legality, I don't mind if it is legal. Alcohol is legal and can ruin lives just as easily. But lets not go nuts over the wonders of marijuana.

From Paris with Love - The story and characters were a bit of a mess, and John Travolta's partner wasn't really very good (John Rhys-Davies?). The action scenes were good at least.

It's a pretty big jump to say drugs = brilliance. I don't remember any quotes by prominent scientists that sounded like "I was totally stumped on this complex problem, but then I got totally wasted, and I solved it!"