Hurlshort

That's what you get for having a 5,000 watt power supply.

Maybe that was sarcasm, but PC games always were a huge hassle to get running. Heck, that's how I learned about computers, by spending hours in DOS trying to get the right combination of cryptic astrological signs so my games would actually run. If anything, consoles have gotten worse. I used to be able to just blow into my games to get them to work on the NES. My 360 is a lot more complicated to trouble shoot.

taks and Xard totally ruined my awesome thread.

I like conclusion 4 the best. Reincarnation for the win!

You can make the argument that the US has come a long way in the discrimination of homosexuals, but you are really stretching it. Gay people have never been enslaved, but segregation and subjugation are much tougher cases to prove. Gay people are segregated around the country. They have two choices, hide the fact that they are gay or move to an area more tolerant. This country used to have separate locker rooms for minorities, but have you heard the testimonials of gay athletes? They keep their identity secret because they know there is no law that will protect them in that locker room. Even the term gay is thrown out as an insult. People barely notice when a slur is made about someone's sexual orientation. Racial slurs, on the other hand, are much more taboo and can even get you prosecuted. And it's not about the bedroom, it's not about sex. Just like my relationship with my wife isn't about the sex or the bedroom. That's a minor part of my life. You've been married, and I know it didn't go well, but did you get married just because you wanted sex? I'm guessing no, it was probably more about building and sharing a life with a person. Can you imagine if you couldn't put up pictures of that person at work, if you couldn't talk about your partner with anyone else? That's what a lot of gay people go through every day. We aren't close to equality here. There needs to be a complete shift in perception, just like there has been with race over the last 50 years.

What? Do you live on another planet?

Um, why would anyone make the choice to be homosexual? They are basically choosing to be discriminated against and face bigotry. Sure, you might get a small percentage of the population actually seeking out that type of attention, but evidence shows that gay people aren't a fringe group. Even the low estimates of 1-2% means you've got 60 million people making the "choice" to face some pretty tough obstacles in their life. http://www.gaydemographics.org/USA/2000_Census_Total.htm And if it's a choice, shouldn't there be more of a rhyme or reason as to why people choose it? Why do you have a family of five and one sibling "chooses" homosexuality? Most children choose to follow the religion of their parents, but why is it two gay parents rarely raise a gay child? There is all sorts of debate about the dormant genetic trait that supposedly influences sexuality. But I just have a hard time believing people throughout human history have made the "choice" to be ridiculed, discriminated, and persecuted.

I think realistic driving SO FAR is the key. The other games weren't even close, total arcade game. GTA4 seemed easier to drive in a normal, non-high speed chase mode than previous titles.

Huh, most of the games I've seen have been around the $30 range.

Easy work and easy wins are not the same thing.

Ah, Skynet. That was a fantastic game. I have some great memories of running from Hunter Killers and using the sweet sniper rifle.

True, but that would be an even tougher battle to win. In a perfect world, the state would handle civil unions and they wouldn't discriminate, and marriage would become the domain of the church. Given that there are may church groups in favor of gay marraige, this would be an equitable decision. But the state has been in the marriage business for a long time, and getting people to see that they shouldn't be involved in it is likely a lot tougher than getting people to see discrimination.

I enjoyed the idea of finding my Dad. It was fun learning about his life before raising me in the vault and all that. After that, I found the plot was short enough that it flew by rather quickly and didn't spend much time thinking about it.

That's a very common behavior for children, hiding cigarettes and trying to get their parents to stop. I'm pretty sure we all get dumber as we age. But really, there's got to be a more effective way of convincing teenagers to not start smoking in the first place. I don't know anyone who has ever gotten to 30 and been like "man, I'm soooo glad I started smoking as a teenager."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081220/ap_on_...rriage_lawsuits How is this not the most effed up thing ever?

If you do ever get a DS, you'll want to grab Advance Wars. Given your favorites, I guarantee you will enjoy it. Advance Wars and Puzzle Quest have made owning a DS worth it. Plus, I can use it to entertain my daughter in a pinch with the mini-games that are touch activated.

this is a slightly different scenario than someone smoking every day, all day, for years on end. very, very difficult to quit. i've been both ways and i'd say that i'm currently the part-timer as you describe, and yes, it is easier to quit from this perspective. in general, it does not bother me to not smoke at all. once i get to the bar, however, it's undeniable. 3 hours to go, in fact. to the long-term smoker quitting involves what appears to be a mild cold, but for several months. taks On smoking, Never did it because my dad would pitch a HUGE fit about it (he was a smoker, then got cancer of the lung and had to have a third of his left lung removed) I wish more parents who smoked took that stance Calax. The smoking rate has remained steady between 20-25% after dropping off dramatically when all the medical evidence against it came out. It's been stuck for the last decade despite all the evidence, and you have to figure a good chunk of the young people who start smoking are being raised by parents who smoke.

The evil CGI cartoons spreading across the world, man! They must be stopped! I agree. That's really sad. I'm guessing you both also hate Disney.

You mean like the very original Jagged Alliance 1 the first? I haven't played that in so many years, but iirc it was not that good a game. Jagged Alliance 2 blew its doors off in every possible way, except maybe for some of the mercs that got cut out. Is it the actual identical game on the DS or has it been substantially changed? I saw some screenshots, and it looks like almost a direct port of the original. You are on an island helping that woman and her father gain control for some super healing drug. The DS can't handle the complexity of JA2, so it's no surprise. I enjoyed the original, in a lot of ways it built the framework for JA2. It will be worth it to me to see the old mercs again, and the DS has proven quite capable at turn-based squad level tactical combat games. I can't find much about it other than a Gamespot preview a few months ago.

Very cool art styling.

I have trouble understanding why anyone STARTS smoking.

It does suck. BUt at least it wan't your fault. I've flooded several ceilings by virtue of stupidity. I warrant you've not done so here. Ok, the saga continues. We have to replace the water heater itself, which might be under warranty, I'll call about it tomorrow. If it's not, we are looking at about $1,000 there. I don't mind that too much, it wasn't a very efficient water heater to start with. The neighbor's ceiling is another matter. Apparently she noticed it last night and asked another neighbor to help her set buckets up to catch the water. SHE DIDN'T THINK KNOCKING ON OUR DOOR MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA?!? I woke up and found it leaking prett steadily, if she had knocked on our door we could have turned it off earlier and prevented some of the damage at least. Regardless, we'll be paying a couple thousand for the repair most likely.

I didn't get to it early enough, and now my downstairs neighbor is going to need a bunch of work on her ceiling. This sucks.

The Pixar plague?

A pipe for my water heater started leaking pretty heavily last night. I woke up at around 11:00 after going to bed at 9:00. I'm not sure how much it leaked, but I think I got to it early enough.