Enoch

So, I'm looking at building a relatively simply PC to set beside the TV in the living room. Streaming video and blu-ray capability are part of the point, but those aren't terribly complicated things to accomplish. The other main point, to me, is as a music-delivery system. That is, to play the music I have stored on a HD on my office PC (n.b., this will utilize hard-wired network connections) in the living room, on speakers appropriate for that kind of use. I have never focused a whole lot on audio in past PC-building efforts. (I've bought speakers that are rated okay in the price range I'm looking at, plugged them into the integrated-sound jack on the motherboard, and called it done.) As I see it, I have two puzzles before me. First, I don't feel like I know enough about the current state of PC soundcards and the mobo-integrated alternatives. Are sound cards extraneous? Essential? Somewhere in-between? Are there major differences between the various mobo manufacturers regarding their integrated audio? Second, how do I get that audio from the back of the computer into the room? I assume that there are 2 main options in this regard: either buy speakers designed for use with a computer, or get a separate Amp to take the signal from the PC as an aux input and send it to speakers with old-fashioned speaker wire. Skipping the separate amp would be preferable in terms of both cost and space. But I don't have a strong grasp on what I'm giving up if I limit myself to speaker setups designed to jack into a computer. Are there "computer speakers" that can fill a room the way a traditional stereo system can? All the guidance I'm seeing online for this sort of thing seems focused on the crazy-audiophile market, which isn't me by any stretch of the imagination. But that doesn't mean that I'd be okay with just moving the little desktop speakers I have next to my gaming PC out into the living room, or with just using the crummy speaker built into my TV. (Sidenote: I've always regarded "surround sound" as a mostly-pointless gimmick, and separate subwoofers are ugly and difficult to fit in most 'entertainment center' furniture. Ideally, I'd like to have 2 speakers of reasonable quality.)

Oh, it gets even better. EU PS+ subscribers get Remember Me next month basically for free. Then again, same for Revengeance and I think that actually was a success There's a game called "Revengeance"? Seriously? :D And it was goood. And nothing wrong with the title, it's just a very archaic word. I was about to say " there is no such word in English as that" but I did some research and there is But not in the Oxford dictionary, it seems to only exist on the Merriam Webster. That's rare but it does happen where there are certain unique words that only exist in certain English dictionaries The only actual time I've seen the word "revengeance" used is in the context of a U.S. Supreme Court case about the 1st Amendment and the KKK. Ohio had a broad statute barring speech advocating violence, underwhich a Klansman was prosecuted for a speech which alluded to "revengeance" against blacks and Jews. So, as far as I can tell, it's a word made up and used by hicks in America (and the occasional law student).

Well, I'm back at work. Going through the board emoticon menu, the best expression of my mixed feelings on that point is this one:

This talking point is so unbearably stupid. Here's the history: When PPACA (that's the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as 'Obamacare') was under consideration, Sen. Vitter introduced an amendment that would force members of Congress, their staff, and political appointees in the executive branch to participate in the state-run exchanges that the bill would set up. This was an act of pure trolling, designed simply to force Democrats into an uncomfortable vote. (Or, well, a vote that would be easy to misconstrue in political ads as "exempting themselves from Obamacare.") Unexpectedly, though, the amendment was adopted. This created a bit of a paradox. The exchanges were designed so that people who couldn't buy health insurance through their employers would have an option outside of the (hideously expensive) individual marketplace. The exchanges don't have anything to do with folks who already buy insurance through their employer. Congresscritters, Hill staffers, and executive appointees, of course, have an employer who provides health insurance coverage. The Vitter amendment, metaphorically speaking, mandated that fish buy bicycles. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers federal employee benefits and was charged with figuring out a way to make this work. That solution was to observe the new legal requirement that the affected employees buy their policies from the appropriate state-run exchange, but to extend to these employees a premium subsidy in the amount that other federal employees enjoy. The "Full Vitter" demands by some in the GOP right now would undo this OPM decision and strip all employer subsidies for health insurance premiums for affected employees. Again: pure trolling. No legitimate policy goal is furthered by it. Indeed, it is pointlessly cruel to Hill staffers, who are essentially being told that they don't deserve to be treated like professional employees are elsewhere in the public and private sector. But, none of that really matters, politically, because it doesn't make nearly as good a bumper sticker as "They exempted themselves from Obamacare," the total intellectual dishonesty of that statement notwithstanding. (Also, in case you were wondering, no, I would not be personally affected.)

(Also, if you prefer the sauce a little thicker, stir a bit of flour into the mushrooms before adding the wine.)

Chicken Marsala. Pound boneless chicken breasts to uniform thickness. Season, and dredge through some flour. Brown (but don't cook all the way through) on the stovetop in a bit of oil. Remove the chicken from the pan for awhile. In the same pan, melt some butter, then cook a panful of sliced mushrooms. Mince a few cloves a garlic and throw that in for the last minute or so. Add some red wine. (If you're a stickler, use Marsala wine.) Reduce a bit. Add chicken back to pan, cover and place in a 350F-ish oven. Braise for 10+ minutes, depending on chicken thickness. Remove from oven, taste for seasoning. Serve over rice, with a side salad or steamed vegetable of some sort. Drink the rest of the wine.

Finished Dishonored. Had a reasonably good time with it. Not sure what I'm going to play next. Maybe Arkham City. Also have LA Noire and XCOM in the backlog. (More likely, I'll just start a new game of CK2 or Civ5.) (Edit: made 1 big spoiler block instead of a few smaller ones)

Giving Dishonored a go while on furlough. I'm having my typical love-hate reaction with stealth games. The setting and art direction are interesting, and there's just enough mystery to keep me interested in seeing the plot advance. It's just that stealth gameplay feels so gamey-- guards strolling about in repeating patterns; folks never go looking for their missing comrades; moving bodies removes all evidence of the assault; the idea that by creeping up behind somebody you can silently and without fail either execute or incapacitate somebody within a couple seconds... I enjoy actually doing it, but afterwards I feel a bit sheepish about my success, rather than satisfied. And the non-stealthy approach just leads to me playing a kind of game that I don't particularly enjoy. I've gone non-lethal so far, but not so far as ghosting everything. Staying 100% undetected is beyond my tolerance for reloads.

As to the list in general, I scoffed at the wrong suit color right at the top, and stopped paying much attention at all after "cologne." It seems pretty padded with blindingly obvious "stuff to make sure you have when you get your own place" (are there really people who don't own a flashlight?), a few are lousy-internet-advice standards (cast-iron pans are nice and all, but hardly the first/only piece of cookware you should be buying), but the main point seems to be the typical rundown of "things that the editors of GQ (and, not coincidentially, people who advertise in GQ) will tell you are essential to getting laid." That said, I'm a bit puzzled by those of you who profess to not own/use undershirts. A snugly fitting, 100% cotton undershirt is an amazing garment, in that it helps you both feel warmer on cool days and cooler on warm days (the latter by wicking sweat away from your skin and enabling evaporation). I wear undershirts beneath anything more complicated than a t-shirt (v-neck, of course).

I will cop to fanciness, in that I do enjoy carrying my umbrella about. I have one of these. Not one of those stupidly huge golf umbrellas that invade the personal space of everybody else on the sidewalk. But also not one of those silly ones that fold up into purse-size and fall apart when encountering its first stiff breeze. A potentially rainy day is an excuse to carry a walking stick around, without looking like the kind of person who carries a walking stick for no good reason. I also have been known to pretend that it's a sword when nobody's looking. Black suits are for funeral directors.

Awesome lawyering. The wearing of stovepipe hats is unconfirmed. If Enoch will grow the beard I'll pitch in for the hat! On it. Project Furlough Beard is on day two. (My face has been somewhat uncooperative with past beard-related efforts. But going for an 'Honest Abe' would mitigate the difficulties of bare/blonde patches in the mouth region.)

Quoting Gfted1, on the old thread: Not necessarily. While, historically, the appropriations resolving past federal funding gaps have provided back pay for the furloughed workers, there is no guarantee of such, and there are reasons to suspect that doing so might not be the highest priority of the folks on the Hill. We federal civil servants aren't exactly the most popular folks around. At least the weather is incredibly nice. Although I have spent an embarrassingly large portion of the day with Crusader Kings II, I took a bike ride earlier, and I've got some flank steak marinading to grill this evening.

Ah, unpaid time off.

That was Procul Harum. You're no fun.

That is ghastly and depressing. On the other hand, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was a lovely song. So they can't be all bad.

Retirement plan notwithstanding, depending on how long you live, it is quite likely that the cost to Medicare of keeping you going in your twilight years will dramatically exceed everything you've paid in over the years. The rational argument in favor of redistributive state action is largely based on the concept of a veil of ignorance-- what kind of tax/benefit/etc. system would you design if you had no idea whether you would be born rich or poor, smart or dumb, healthy or sickly? In general, success (or lack thereof) depends far more on circumstance and dumb luck than most people who consider themselves successful are willing to believe. (The oddity about America is that a whole lot of Americans tend to think that they are either already successful, or that they will be in the very near future.) (Edit: And here I go compounding the problem I complained about. )

Not to tell folks with fancy mod-badges how to comport themselves on the forum, but I think everybody would enjoy themselves a little more if we kept the political wrangling to the (numerous) threads dedicated particularly to such political wrangling. The weather around here lately has been getting pleasantly cool. I really need to stop putting off un-installing the window air conditioner in our bedroom. Makes it a bit drafty at night.

Somehow, I have only now discovered that the Hairpin is running an "Ask Baba Yaga" advice column. And that it is every bit as fantastic as that concept deserves to be. Example: It's disappointing that such universally great content ends up on a site whose focus is on people who aren't me. (In this case, ladyfolks.)

You Might Be An American If: Your initial thought was that this post was about the airline and its stock price. (Sorry, Wals. Not quite ready for that whole "Englishman" thing just yet.)

Appreciate the thoughts, all. Although it does make me feel a bit abashed-- I wasn't trying to trawl for sympathy or anything. It's just sometimes useful to write these kinds of things out, even if for an anonymous audience. And, yes, the construction/installation stage of the kitchen project is finished. The furnishing/decorating stage is not. And probably won't be anytime soon-- we're notoriously reluctant to make decisions on stuff like furniture, curtains, decor, etc. The whole house is rather sparse in that regard, because neither of us enjoys doing that kind of thing.

They're not good, but they're also not as bad as they've looked so far. Both Philly and Dallas are adjusting to dramatic scheme changes (whole team for the Eagles, and the Dallas defense), which takes time to get running smoothly. Washington is adjusting to the fact that their starting QB hadn't had any full-speed practicing before week 1. And there isn't much reason to believe that the Giants' carelessness with the ball is going to be a persistent team trait throughout the season. (Plus, they've played half their season thus far against the best team in football.) One of these teams will get to 9 wins. It probably won't be the Eagles, but none of the other ones would be especially surprising.

Stuff has been weird lately. Some of ya'll might recall the history of reproductive unpleasantness I've mentioned here before. Short story is that, back in 2011, my wife's first pregnancy ended badly about 6 months in. Then there were 2 early miscarriages over the course of the following year. We had every kind of testing they know how to do, and the doctors found no reason to suggest that the miscarriages were anything other than bad luck (10-20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage within the first month or two-- 2 in a row is unlikely, but not necessarily a sign of bigger problems). The first loss was puzzling, but similar future results might be prevented by administering a blood thinner. So, much fun was had on our trip to Maine back in June, and we find ourselves expecting again. And it's going well, 16 weeks in. We're almost to the point where things started to go south the first time around, and all the signs so far are quite positive. (And it is oddly reassuring to me that she is already more visibly pregnant than she ever got 2 years ago.) She had an ultrasound earlier this week, and they were able to tell that it's a boy. (The one we lost was also a boy.) We have, of course, tried to be as emotionally guarded about all this as we can. Although I'm starting to worry a little that I'm letting myself get a bit too hopeful for my own good. The other complication, though, is that my wife's older (and only) sister was also pregnant, until rather recently. Due to complications not-entirely-dissimilar to the ones we had 2 years ago, she had an emergency c-section about 2.5 months before her due date. My new niece weighed 500 grams at birth. She's a month old now, living in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. And she's had some scares, requiring surgical procedures to address issues with getting her digestive system up and running. She's still going, but these things can change at the drop of a hat. The aggregate of all this is a very confusing and draining emotional ****tail of hope, fear, and powerlessness. So, yeah, stuff has been weird.

Dierdorf is indeed awful, but I feel I must point out that Simms' parting with the Giants' organization wasn't exactly amicable. He hasn't shown much in the way of emotional attachment to the team since they unceremoniously cut him.

Why not just buy regular broth and toss a hunk of ginger in with it, to simmer for awhile? I regularly do this with more standard ingredients. Store-bought broth/stock isn't great (although some brands are better than others, and, in my experience, Swanson isn't one of the better ones), but you can make it better, if you've got 20 minutes, a few kitchen/pantry staples, and the willingness to wash an extra pot. Just simmer it with a halved onion, a carrot or two (cut lengthwise in half, for surface area), a celery stalk, a clove or two of peeled and slightly-crushed garlic, any fresh herbs you've got handy (or even just the leftover stems), and any appropriate whole spices (peppercorns, allspice berries, etc.). Let it bubble for a bit, then strain all that stuff out and use as you will. The flavor improvement is dramatic. Were I tailoring some generic stock for Thai-style use, I'd simmer with fresh ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and maybe some coriander seed, red peppercorns, and/or cardamom pods if I had any. And if I were planning on cooking shrimp in it, the shells I just pulled off those shrimp are getting blanched in this stock before I toss them in the trash. (Also, buy the low-sodium kind and add salt to taste if needed. Salt is cheap, and this gives you more control of the dish.)

They had opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to grind out a drive and ice the game and they failed every time. The only reason they won is because Manning threw yet another pick. They didn't close out anything, the G-Men handed them that win, even after the Cowboys tried to hand it back again and again and again. There is a difference between closing a game out and having a game handed to you. I've been watching the Cowboys for decades. In the last several years it's been the same story again and again. They get a lead and head into the 4th. At this point a good team would grind out a 6 or 7 minute capped off by a score which would kill the clock and ice the game. The Cowboys regularly fail to do this and more often than not lose because of it. The Giants simply tried to lose harder than the Cowboys this time around. I'll serve as the local Giants fan to ratify this. (Volo doesn't count. If I look around a bit I'm sure I can still find a thread where he called Coughlin the worst coach ever. R00fles!) Hidden factor: A live ball hit the ground in contested situations 6 times in that game. (3 Giants fumbles, 2 Cowboys fumbles, and 1 onside kick that ended in a loose-ball scrum.) Every single one bounced directly to a player wearing a Cowboys uniform. Say what you want about "hustle" and "awareness," none of that gives a team the ability to telekinetically direct the bounce of an oblong ball. Every statistical study I've seen has concluded that fumble recovery is basically random. Going 0-for-6 (or 6-for-6) on recoveries is not likely to recur in a given season. Both teams played a pretty lousy game last night. That said, I am somewhat brightened by the areas where the team exceeded my expectations. The secondary held up better than anticipated-- their top priority was clearly limiting Dez Bryant, which they did quite well, even after their best CB left with a concussion in the early 2nd half. And they established in their passing game that they have 3 WRs who can pretty consistently beat single-coverage (even from pretty good CBs). That last element is big part of what got NYG a championship in 2011. (Were I a Cowboys fan *shudders*, I would be happy with the W, and cheered by the strong performance from depth on their DL, and that their interior OL was not as awful as feared.)