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[2005-12-16 09:28:07] - http://www.slate.com/id/2132071/?nav=navoa Ruminations on the Xbox 360 shortage. -Paul
[2005-12-16 09:19:33] - aba: Good luck with your econ final. -Paul
[2005-12-16 09:18:55] - http://lifestyle.msn.com/MindBodyandSoul/CareerandMoney/Articlelhj.aspx?cp-documentid=108543>1=7468 8 Things Stores Don't Want You to Know -Paul
[2005-12-16 09:18:33] - now im off to study for my econ final. funfun! - aba
[2005-12-16 09:18:00] - aaron: http://www.artingeneral.org/Father_pricelist.pdf - aba
[2005-12-16 09:17:49] - mig: well, i wont argue that they dont put up fake profiles but thats extremely cheap to do. so is having fake email responses..... my personal gut reaction is that this guy is mad that it didnt work out with the girl and is now making claims that she was sent to go on a fake date with him. *shrug* - aba
[2005-12-16 09:14:22] - aba: yet they do.... i agree that it doesn't appear to make much economic sense unless the girls are not being paid all that much ... but maybe it does work out economically for them. - mig
[2005-12-16 09:09:42] - i dunno. the number of dates that they could send people on vs the number of subscribers seem to make no economic sense what-so-ever. its such a hit or miss strategy that i cant imagine any company taking it seriously. - aba
[2005-12-16 09:08:01] - Dave: I like how the solution to the problem according to Ars Technica is more regulation by the government.
-Paul[2005-12-16 09:06:50] - mig: Also, a hired woman could probably go on a ton of dates in a month (especially if she is otherwise unemployed). -Paul
[2005-12-16 09:03:11] - aba: i guess they figure that that the money they'll get from the subscriber afterwords from and the potential money they might get from referalls from the sap (hey, i went on a date using match.com) makes it worth it, perhaps - mig
[2005-12-16 09:02:12] - a: http://www.livejournal.com/users/napalmmk9/118552.html here's the best one - you can see the heart and a lot of cuts up close - aaron
[2005-12-16 08:59:41] - a: http://www.cellar.org/showthread.php?t=9367 here's another one - aaron
[2005-12-16 08:59:06] - a: http://www.artingeneral.org/Press/Melissa_Martin/Melissa_Martin_press_release.pdf man gum steak - aaron
[2005-12-16 08:38:29] - i can understand posting fake profiles, but hiring women to go on dates seems like such a waste of money. the time required for just one customer*the pay for the woman will hardly leave you room for profit in comparison to their subscription rates. - aba
[2005-12-16 08:38:07] - http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&id=2257556&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2finsid Iverson 3rd most efficient player in NBA this season =0 -dave
[2005-12-16 08:22:50] - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051215-5779.html online dating sites posting invalid entries and hiring women to date men to keep subscribers? -dave
[2005-12-16 08:16:36] - http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0205.html#5 gummi bear substance can fool fingerprint readers -dave
[2005-12-15 23:38:09] - aba: Yeah, it was a pretty nice gift by the company and I'm getting more excited about it the more I play around with it. I still mostly don't know what I'm doing, but I agree that it's definitely "hot".
-Paul[2005-12-15 23:31:52] - paul: wow. they gave you an ipod with video support? thats hot! i have the old 60gb ipod that only allows music and pictures. - aba
[2005-12-15 22:36:58] - http://operawatch.blogspot.com/2005/12/rumor-google-to-buy-opera-according-to.html google may possibly to buy opera. - mig
[2005-12-15 21:45:57] - I don't get it, iTunes recognized my videos but they don't show up on the iPod. Anybody know why? -Paul
[2005-12-15 20:49:08] - Whoa.... I can download episodes of TV shows for a couple of dollars? I am intrigued. -Paul
[2005-12-15 20:34:42] - Speaking of iTunes, I'm installing the software on my computer right now. My goodness, it's an overly complicated process... -Paul
[2005-12-15 20:06:19] - sam: yah, then its because you have a shuffle because thats the same version as me (i think thats the latest version). - aba
[2005-12-15 19:56:03] - aba: my itunes is version 6.0.1.3 -sam
[2005-12-15 19:49:20] - sam: i have no clue. i have a regular ipod so that could be it. or maybe you have an old version of itunes? - aba
[2005-12-15 19:14:38] - aba: is this because i have ipod shuffle? -sam
[2005-12-15 19:14:21] - aba: i don't have the "music" option in preference -> ipod. -sam
[2005-12-15 19:13:24] - mig: My external hard drive is actually 120GB, not 160GB. I don't remember how much I payed and where I got it from... I ordered it online. They are pretty cheap. Just go to any websites that sell computer hardware and you will find it. -sam
[2005-12-15 19:11:43] - sam: you can also specify only the playlists that you want automatically managed by itunes. - aba
[2005-12-15 19:10:56] - sam: itunes -> preferences -> ipod -> music. change the radio button selection to "manually manage songs and playlists". - aba
[2005-12-15 19:00:22] - mig: do you know how to prevent this ipod issue that i wrote below? -sam
[2005-12-15 18:59:45] - aba: i meant itunes automatically deletes those songs from the ipod. -sam
[2005-12-15 18:58:58] - aba: if i turn off the "only update checked songs" option, and change the some songs' file locations on my computer, itunes automatically deletes those songs, when i connect the ipod to the computer, -sam
[2005-12-15 18:46:33] - aba: in preference, there is an option that says "Only update checked songs." I didn't want it to update any songs, so I turned that option on and unchecked all songs on the playlist for the ipod. i connected the ipod to the computer and itunes automatically deleted songs from my ipod. -sam
[2005-12-15 18:43:24] - aba: how do you make it so that itunes doesn't try to automatically update the ipod when connected to a computer? -sam
[2005-12-15 18:37:25] - amy: the $1000 xbox360 bundle is sold out already. -sam
[2005-12-15 17:56:26] - http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2260155 "[The car] went out of control about 6 a.m. and hit a curb, tree, newsstand, fire hydrant, light pole, another tree and an unoccupied transit bus." That was quite an accident. -Paul
[2005-12-15 17:30:31] - paul: this past summer -dave
[2005-12-15 17:08:46] - all: and we were in NYC two weeks ago
- vinnie[2005-12-15 17:01:02] - Dave: When were you in NYC then? -Paul
[2005-12-15 17:00:49] - a: Well, quality is important to me to a point. I think that I have a higher tolerance for low quality than most people, though. -Paul
[2005-12-15 16:59:02] - paul: i strongly agree with your last point (although i don't agree that cost is more important than quality). i hate really expensive resturaunts because the price per value is much higher than ANYTHING. ~a
[2005-12-15 16:55:03] - paul: no, not this past weekend, sorry -dave
[2005-12-15 16:53:44] - was anybody NOT in new york this past weekend? ~a
[2005-12-15 16:53:20] - vinnie: my coworkers wanted to see spamalot and there was a HUGE deal on train tickets (buy two full price and get four for $8 each) ~a
[2005-12-15 16:48:00] - Dave: Wait, wait. You were in NYC too? -Paul
[2005-12-15 16:42:11] - vinnie: i was in NYC cuz i went to philly to help my sis move, and she took me there cuz I wanted to go -dave
[2005-12-15 16:40:53] - careful on the roads. several 3-4 car accidents and parking lot covered in sheet of ice -dave
[2005-12-15 16:26:19] - http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=allstarvoting&prov=st&type=lgns Proof that the NBA all stars balloting is more a popularity contest than anything else. -Paul
[2005-12-15 16:07:33] - Damy: I don't know who made the point orginally, but I definitely agree with that. It seems like anything above Olive Garden levels you start getting diminishing returns on your $ per deliciousness index. -Paul
[2005-12-15 16:03:29] - Vinnie: I took my mom and grandmother there as a sort of gift to them. -Paul
[2005-12-15 16:03:03] - It's all about price and quantity baby! (Thanks for the $5 Vinnie). -Paul
[2005-12-15 16:01:08] - dave: price is probably next, and yeah, then quantity
- vinnie[2005-12-15 16:00:31] - paul/a: I meant to ask, why did each of you go to NYC? - vinnie
[2005-12-15 15:59:53] - dave: haha, i doubly concur about the price .) -amy
[2005-12-15 15:59:31] - *** amy is irreparably embarassed at offending dave
[2005-12-15 15:59:31] - vinnie: and price -dave
[2005-12-15 15:59:26] - vinnie: i think asians place a huge amount of importance on taste and quantity -dave
[2005-12-15 15:59:17] - dave: i'm sorry ;_; -amy
[2005-12-15 15:58:49] - but definitely for me, taste comes first. I'll eat anywhere if I really like the food. I eat at Red Robin probably more than any other restaurant just because I love their burgers so damn much
- vinnie[2005-12-15 15:58:39] - *** dave is irreparably offended
[2005-12-15 15:57:53] - Anyway I'm not trying to insult Dave by saying more money never means better food, I just meant past a certain point. -amy
[2005-12-15 15:57:34] - *** dave bows to vinnie's masterfulness
[2005-12-15 15:57:14] - dave: I am just more persuasive in my arguments. also I slipped paul five bucks - vinnie
[2005-12-15 15:56:52] - amy: i think it depends on the place, but yeah, lotta them are like that -dave
[2005-12-15 15:56:23] - paul: didn't we make the same point earlier? =P -dave
[2005-12-15 15:56:02] - I have a theory that above a certain price point, the quality of the food actually declines as price increases. What increases with price, past that point, is usually "atmosphere" (read: pretentiousness) .p I hate going to those places, too. You like pay $50 for something that tastes as good if not better at Olive Garden. -amy
[2005-12-15 15:55:56] - vinnie: yeah, like most chains in america serve more americanized food, whatever type of food they're trying to imitate -dave
[2005-12-15 15:55:19] - Vinnie: That's actually a good point, I can think of a couple of cheap local places that I've been to which I've actually enjoyed a lot. -Paul
[2005-12-15 15:53:29] - Paul: yeah, i don't think anyone is saying that you personally should enjoy them and feel that they are worth it -dave
[2005-12-15 15:52:28] - paul: the local places I like are generally cheaper than chains!
- vinnie[2005-12-15 15:52:04] - ...american-italian food. anyway, that is only a very minor concern of mine that doesn't come up very often, but I could see it as the basis for a larger problem someone could have with chains - vinnie
[2005-12-15 15:51:46] - Dave: And I'm certainly not saying people who enjoy eating at expensive places should stop going. If they enjoy it, that's fine. I just don't think it's worth it for me (kinda like expensive speakers). -Paul
[2005-12-15 15:51:20] - one tiny thing that bothers me about chain restaurants is that they can feel fake, especially the ethnic chains. sometimes I just get the feeling in an Olive Garden and more from their ads that they really want you to think you're in Italy. I appreciate it on the level of good american-italian food, but I feel like they try very hard to convince people they aren't just...
[2005-12-15 15:49:08] - Dave: I think my only thing is that I've very rarely felt like expensive places were worth the extra money. Even if the food tastes better to me (which it rarely does), I don't think it's worth it. I guess it's kinda like your audiophile comparison. -Paul
[2005-12-15 15:42:06] - paul: but i don't think it's crazy for audiophiles to spend the multi-thousands of dollars that they do on speakers, even if I can't tell the difference myself -dave
[2005-12-15 15:40:58] - Paul: it also comes down to whether you can taste differences. Kinda like an audiophile vs an average consumer listening to speakers. Some people can tell differences and others just think it sounds the same -dave
[2005-12-15 15:40:08] - Paul: at the same time i've been to expensive places that I really thought gave you your money's worth -dave
[2005-12-15 15:39:50] - Paul: I definitely understand what you mean, I've been to several really expensive places that I didn't think tasted any better than less expensive places -dave
[2005-12-15 15:39:11] - Paul: well, usually it starts to become more presentation and small differences in taste. Or ingredients if you get like truffles -dave
[2005-12-15 14:52:58] - And regarding crowded places, I feel like I shouldn't have to wait for a half an hour just to get seated someplace either. I guess I just care more about cost and time than I do about the food tasting better. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:51:42] - Dave: And the only reason I mentioned the cost is that I'm still not entirely sure why it's ever necessary to spend more than like $25 a person on a decently nice meal unless you're buying alcoholic beverages. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:44:05] - (from pierce's link) ~a
[2005-12-15 14:43:56] - christmas isn't christian. http://www.oldandsold.com/articles02/yuletide1.shtml ~a
[2005-12-15 14:38:18] - amy: hehe yeah, my family's done the same thing with looking at how crowded places are -dave
[2005-12-15 14:37:19] - Dave: Chains can certainly be crowded, but I've found that it's very rare that I feel really constrained at a chain restaurant. Usually they seem to do a decent job of giving people enough room. I can't say the same thing about a lot of the non-chain places I've been. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:37:05] - (as you may have gathered from Vinnie's LJ, my family is quite serious about food.) -amy
[2005-12-15 14:36:40] - Heh, that's funny, my Dad judges restaurants in NY based on how large the crowd is because generally, the larger the crowd, the better the food. If it's 7 PM on a Saturday and there isn't a line out the door for the restaurant, my Dad will not eat there .) -amy
[2005-12-15 14:34:08] - Paul: i think the crowd thing is moot tho, chains can be just as crowded -dave
[2005-12-15 14:33:36] - not liking -dave
[2005-12-15 14:33:28] - Paul: i can understand you not like more expensive/fancy food tho -dave
[2005-12-15 14:32:54] - Paul: it was 30-40 a plate i think -dave
[2005-12-15 14:32:03] - Paul: yeah, but that's not because it was unique, it's just because the food's more expensive - unless that's what you had against it -dave
[2005-12-15 14:31:34] - Dave: And if I recall correctly, it was also a little more expensive than a place like Olive Garden or Red Lobster, right? -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:31:18] - paul: that's true, but it's especially cool when you find the ones that are really good -dave
[2005-12-15 14:31:07] - Er... too = to. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:30:59] - Dave: Actually, that place we went to is a great example. I didn't dislike it at all, but there were certain things that threw me off regarding it. It was a little more crowded than I normally like, we had to guess what some of the food was, they asked me questions about how I wanted my food prepared that I didn't know the answer too. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:30:06] - dave: i don't think i've ever been there, barring about five minutes I walked into a bar with Aaron and Vinnie once. I should check it out, thanks for suggestion .) -amy
[2005-12-15 14:29:35] - Paul: I think you need to go to San Francisco or New York or somewhere and eat at the local places there .) -amy
[2005-12-15 14:29:16] - amy: speaking of which, how about old-town alexandria, seems like there's probably cool places there for you to try -dave
[2005-12-15 14:29:14] - I think it might just be a part of my personality. You usually have a pretty good idea what you're going to get with a chain restaurant in terms of the food and service and everything. With local places, you never know what's going to happen. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:28:37] - Paul: actually, places in old-town alexandria can be quite good - like that place we went to -dave
[2005-12-15 14:27:52] - Paul: well i guess i can't really compare then, because most of the unique places i've been to are asian. Altho there's this really expensive unique italian place in manassas that is really good -dave
[2005-12-15 14:27:30] - Amy: Yeah, it's hard to recall specific instances of going to local places for me. I guess I'm thinking about this area. It's not so much that I dislike local places as much as I just think I tend to like chains more. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:27:00] - OK I had to think about that because I really couldn't come up with too many non-ethnic local restaurants I've been to in this area. Obviously they did not leave me with much impression .p -amy
[2005-12-15 14:24:00] - Paul: In this area or in general? Because I sort of think the local places here are inferior to local places in other places I've lived in or visited, with the exception of some ethnic restaurants. Actually, I have to think about that more... -amy
[2005-12-15 14:21:07] - Amy: Thinking back on my experiences, I think I usually find the food to be not as good with local places than with chain restaurants. There are definitely exceptions (chinese places, for instance), but I think that's the general trend with me. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:19:24] - Dave: Well, it depends. I actually can't think of too many that I've gone too. I would say that I don't really dislike them, but I usually find them to be inferior to chain restaurants in some way. -Paul
[2005-12-15 14:18:27] - Paul: What is your reason for (generally) disliking non-fancy, non-expensive local places? -amy
[2005-12-15 14:16:12] - Paul: you don't like local places? -dave
[2005-12-15 14:09:49] - dave: that's the sort of thing that i'd prefer. most of my favorite restaurants in the world are little places that are too crowded, with mismatching furniture walls/foors at weird angles and spelling errors on the menu. and are dirt cheap, too .) -amy
[2005-12-15 14:08:34] - Dave: Ah, yes. Those '/'s were supposed to be ORs and not ANDs
-Paul[2005-12-15 14:05:56] - Paul: like my sister took me to this quaint small asian place in Philly for bubble-tea -dave
[2005-12-15 14:05:11] - Paul: well, the unique places don't always have to be fancy and expensive. they can be like quaint diners etc -dave
[2005-12-15 14:04:21] - paul: only a little! - aaron
[2005-12-15 13:57:06] - Of course, I'm probably a snob about usually disliking fancy/expensive/local places so maybe I shouldn't talk (although I like to think that my reasons are superior to theirs). -Paul
[2005-12-15 13:51:13] - Dave: I think it's the same reason some people hate popular bands and movies and television shows. They like stuff that's different and unique and almost by definition, that's not something that chain restaurants can offer. -Paul
[2005-12-15 13:49:52] - a: I don't know if anybody we know is a chain restaurant snob. I don't think so. The example that made me want to rant is from this discussion on Ars Technica: http://episteme.arstechnica.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/34709834/m/167006876731 -Paul
[2005-12-15 13:48:15] - Dave: Not sure exactly what defines a chain. I'm guessing it has to have at least a couple of places spread out in a larger area than just a single town or city. -Paul
[2005-12-15 13:47:43] - Dave: I think I have always been a city person and for a long time I have been wanting to move to a city. Besides the restaurant thing, I really don't think NoVA suits my personality for other (similar) reasons. Sigh, maybe someday. -amy
[2005-12-15 13:47:31] - Aaron: So you hate me.
-paul[2005-12-15 13:40:38] - amy: move to NYC ^_^ Probably one of the best places for that kinda thing -dave
[2005-12-15 13:39:38] - amy: yeah, I can understand that kinda feeling -dave
[2005-12-15 13:39:03] - pierce: i love sites that link to wikipedia. ~a
[2005-12-15 13:25:41] - it's just sort of this... uniformity, sameness, lacking in character/uniqueness that i feel about many chains and i'm not sure i can expl more than that. -amy
[2005-12-15 13:25:13] - dave: that is true, and i don't go into DC often enough but perhaps i should. but it's not just when people visit, i feel this on a daily basis too, sort of this boredom and sameness of the chain restaurants here... many of them just feel like the sort of place i've been to a million times throughout my life, even if i've only gone to that particular chain a few times -amy
[2005-12-15 13:21:30] - amy: how about DC? I would think there'd be some unique places there -dave
[2005-12-15 13:20:24] - amy: that's true, i can understand that about wanting to take someone someplace unique -dave
[2005-12-15 13:19:22] - a: no, i'm not offended -dave
[2005-12-15 13:18:25] - My coworker who previously worked in a different office at our company says that all of our company is like this about snow. We did get an e-mail the first time it snowed that we should use our judgment as to what is safest for us, and that if we are unable to work due to the weather, we do not have to charge time for that (basically we don't have to make up the time) -amy
[2005-12-15 13:10:57] - I don't have anything against chain restaurants in general and I enjoy eating at them, but there is a certain lack of character or perhaps, a lack of specific character that I feel about them. I'm not sure I can describe it. -amy
[2005-12-15 13:09:43] - were more. oops that was me not adrian, the "my" got cut off -amy
[2005-12-15 13:09:28] - I personally wish there was a higher non-chain to chain restaurant ratio in this area (or would prefer it in an area I am living) just because I often feel bored of the restaurant selection here, and when people visit I like to take them to restaurants that are unique to the area, which is harder to do here in NoVA. Though I have found a few places. I just wish there... -a
[2005-12-15 13:03:27] - dave: (as always i appologize for treating you as a token christian) are you offened when people say "happy holidays" to you? ~a
[2005-12-15 12:49:21] - well put... (language) http://www.fuckchristmas.org/ - pierce
[2005-12-15 12:37:22] - paul: the only argument that i can think of would be that once a restaurant becomes a chain, it's food is below a certain quality -dave
[2005-12-15 12:36:52] - paul: i'd be interested to hear someone try to defend a hate for chain restaurants. I can understand judging each by its own food/decor etc, but dismissing it just because there are more of them seems presumptuous -dave
[2005-12-15 12:35:23] - a: mmm, popeyes -dave
[2005-12-15 12:35:00] - http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/nyregion/15cat.html?8hpib custody battle, over a cat -dave
[2005-12-15 12:29:58] - *** a chomps on popeyes chicken while awaiting the response
[2005-12-15 12:27:15] - paul: would we know any chain restaurant snobs? (i.e. do you have an example?) ~a
[2005-12-15 12:25:46] - aaron: you'd love bill oreilly. he hates the french. and people who say "seasons greetings". and people who say "happy holidays". and people who are offended by "merry christmas". ~a
[2005-12-15 12:24:14] - paul: what defines a chain? more than 1? -dave
[2005-12-15 12:05:27] - paul: i pretty much hate anybody who is vocal about hating anything. I think I could deal with a chain restaurant snob as they were quiet about it - aaron
[2005-12-15 12:05:18] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/12/15/wikipedia.ap/index.html wikipedia about as accurate as britannica in covering scientific topics -dave
[2005-12-15 11:57:33] - And to continue my theme of random ranting, I have found a new group to add to my hate list: chain restaurant snobs (people who hate them, not people who like them). -Paul
[2005-12-15 11:55:51] - paul: yeah, capital gains junk is a major reason why I don't shift money around more -dave
[2005-12-15 11:48:13] - Dave: It sucks absolutely all the excitement out of making any money because you know that you're only going to see some small portion of it. I'm kinda happy about well my stocks have done but at the same time, I'm resigned to the fact that the taxes are going to suck when I sell my stocks. -Paul
[2005-12-15 11:45:03] - Paul: My office that is, not taxes .) -amy
[2005-12-15 11:44:41] - Paul: I know, I think it is very weird but I do appreciate it. -amy
[2005-12-15 11:44:27] - paul: everytime i try to do the investments part, i'm never quite sure whether i do it right -dave
[2005-12-15 11:44:00] - paul: capital gains/losses are the huge pain imo -dave
[2005-12-15 11:43:43] - a: yeah, quite true -dave
[2005-12-15 11:43:18] - a: well, the education also doesn't come when you retire, but in the middle somewhere -dave
[2005-12-15 11:43:16] - dave: 60k/year won't be enough after inflation goes crazy on it for 36 years. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:43:15] - God, I hate taxes so much. They make me so depressed. -Paul
[2005-12-15 11:39:46] - dave: i don't think you were doing anything wrong, "30 years to invest, and earn 8% on investments, you have to put in 10-11k each year" does add up to 1.2m. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:37:59] - image in question ~a
[2005-12-15 11:36:04] - dave: geometric series when math and money combine forces, you get the geometric series! ~a
[2005-12-15 11:34:59] - dave: if you start with 866/month now, and get 7% raise per year, that's 6.4m in 36 years. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:33:53] - so 1k per month is actually more than factoring in stuff like kids education. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:33:30] - and 1k per month seems like a bunch now, but with 6% raises per year (average is closer to 7% i think) 1k/month now will be more than 8k/month in 36 years. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:33:25] - Amy: I wish my office was more like yours.
-Paul[2005-12-15 11:32:09] - a: woah, really, hmm, maybe i'm doin somethin wrong -dave
[2005-12-15 11:31:59] - dave: haha thanks. .) -amy
[2005-12-15 11:31:46] - I really do not understand this office. -amy
[2005-12-15 11:31:29] - amy: hehe, good job! ^_^ -dave
[2005-12-15 11:31:04] - a: that's not factoring in like pay for kids' education tho -dave
[2005-12-15 11:30:44] - 36 years, and 10% on investments, and 1k per month, means 3.7m. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:30:19] - It's snowing again today. The forecast said it would, so I figured that people at my office would be evacuating like it was under attack, sometime in the morning or afternoon. So I didn't bother and stayed home today. Sure enough, I made the right decision, because I just got the first e-mail that someone is leaving the office because it has begun to snow. -_-; -amy
[2005-12-15 11:28:55] - a: well, for 35 years and 9%, you need like 6k a year. -dave
[2005-12-15 11:23:40] - a: yeah, I was purposefully conservative -dave
[2005-12-15 11:22:53] - dave: and 8% is pretty conservative. even if you factor in the great depression (and both of the major stock market crashes we've had in the past century) the markets have done closer to 9 or 10%. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:21:50] - dave: we have more than 30 years to invest though. the difference between 30 years and 36 years is like a factor of two. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:20:20] - i was ignoring matching funds and focusing on maxing out a 401k. ~a
[2005-12-15 11:14:35] - a: Well, you also get to contribute to 401(k)s using pre-tax dollars so it lowers your taxes by a bit in the here and now. I agree, though, it doesn't seem to be that much of an advantage unless you get matching funds. -Paul
[2005-12-15 11:10:07] - dang, that's a lotta investing -dave
[2005-12-15 11:09:39] - on the flip side, if you have 30 years to invest, and earn 8% on investments, you have to put in 10-11k each year to get to that much -dave
[2005-12-15 11:08:56] - a: well, the big thing about the 401ks are the matching funds -dave
[2005-12-15 11:05:10] - so a 401k is (/ can be) actually worse than just putting it into the market! ~a
[2005-12-15 11:03:21] - interesting, if you take out 60k every year and earn 4% on what's left, a principal of 1.225 mil will last you for 40 years -dave
[2005-12-15 10:55:55] - a: yeah, the type of taxing on the 401k that you mentioned (tax bracket you are in when you take out) was kinda the whole reason for Roth IRAs -dave
[2005-12-15 10:44:15] - a: My understanding (which could easily be wrong) is that the 401(k) gets taxed as income when you cash out as opposed to Roth IRAs which are taxed before putting them in and not taxed at all when you take it out. -Paul
[2005-12-15 10:42:10] - well, nevermind, apparently traditional-iras have everything taxed like a 401k. ~a
[2005-12-15 10:40:08] - i thought that 401k income was NOT EVER taxed (and only the earnings would be taxed; like a NONroth ira) ~a
[2005-12-15 10:35:54] - a: Quite possibly. -Paul
[2005-12-15 10:32:54] - "The assumption is often made that the employee will be in a lower tax bracket in retirement, but this assumption is not always realistic or guaranteed to be correct." wait wait, so if we have huge incomes on investments when we're retired, we'll have to pay MORE in taxes on the income put into a 401k? ~a
[2005-12-15 10:32:50] - "[an owner of a 401k] finally pays taxes on the money as they withdraw it, generally after retirement. The taxes are at the 'ordinary income' rate, falling into whatever tax bracket the employee is in at the time the money is withdrawn." ~a
[2005-12-15 10:10:44] - http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/12/14/nvidia_acquires_uli/ nVidia acquires Uli , increase pressure on ATI. Apparently ATI uses a bunch of ULi's chips in their stuff currently -dave
[2005-12-15 10:04:19] - mig: Can I put music and videos in that non-specific iPod folder instead and bypass this whole delete files thing then? -paul
[2005-12-15 09:43:19] - paul: actually you can use it as a normal hard drive without a problem. it won't touch any files in there when it updates since it removes/uploads songs to a specific folder in the ipod drive- mig
[2005-12-15 09:29:00] - Sam: That is pretty annoying (even if you can turn off the manual updates). It sounds like that makes it difficult to use the iPod has a portable hard drive to transfer files to another computer. -Paul
[2005-12-15 09:28:59] - ddr_people: not showing up today. with the way the roads are going right now, it's probably for the best anyway - vinnie
[2005-12-15 09:28:20] - pierce: omg hello kitty sandwich maker! kitten in frog hat! you're chipping away at my frosty grinch-like heart - vinnie
[2005-12-15 09:27:55] - a: But I don't have a digital camera. -Paul
[2005-12-15 03:56:08] - erk, here's the discussion. - pierce
[2005-12-15 03:55:55] - interesting brief discussion on the inconsistent usage of the word "unique" in technical documentation. It's a word that seems so obvious to the person writing because they already have their intended meaning in mind, but in reality it can have wholly contradictory implications. (this topic may be very boring, if so I apologize) - pierce
[2005-12-15 02:20:20] - yeah, I posted that link... wanna fight about it? - pierce
[2005-12-15 02:19:57] - I have to turn in my masculinity card for posting this... but cute! - pierce
[2005-12-14 20:45:44] - sam: you can easily disable that in the itunes->preferences->ipod menu. you can switch it to only allow manual updates. - aba
[2005-12-14 20:27:40] - paul: let's say for some reason, you delete the itunes playlist that you used to upload songs to ipod. The next time you hook up the ipod to the computer, itunes will automatically delete all the songs on your ipod. -sam
[2005-12-14 20:25:29] - paul: i personally don't like the way you have to upload music to the ipod via itunes. it really bothers me that everytime i hook up the ipod to the computer, itunes checks for the songs in the computer and the ipod, and if the file locations don't match, the songs on the ipod get deleted! it is so annoying! -sam
[2005-12-14 18:47:47] - paul: get on it! ~a
[2005-12-14 18:42:55] - aba: no no. flicker counts. ~a
[2005-12-14 18:30:07] - a: but if you want to copy any of them, feel free to! - aba
[2005-12-14 18:29:43] - a: sorry, i upload my photos to flickr so i didnt see the need to distribute them. plus they are mostly recent and dont generally contain people from tj/vt. - aba
[2005-12-14 18:21:35] - a: I'm sorry, I don't have any pictures to give you. -Paul
[2005-12-14 17:41:08] - a: 110 free password requests it is, then...
- pierce[2005-12-14 17:15:23] - pierce: how about every time you forget your password, you email me photos (since nobody is nice like me and distributes pictures, i don't have anybody elses pictures) and in return i'll email you your password. deal? ~a
[2005-12-14 17:07:39] - a: implement a password reset for your photo section... I don't want to have to keep bugging you every time I forget mine. - pierce
[2005-12-14 15:49:49] - dave: japan isn't buying it because they know better
- mig[2005-12-14 15:32:38] - they probably just bundle it like that so they can justify the high price somehow, not have people yell at them too much - altho they're still getting yelled at -dave
[2005-12-14 15:31:37] - amy: which really doesn't seem all that bizarre. At least they're not selling the system by itself for like $600+, which they probably could do -dave
[2005-12-14 15:30:39] - amy: well, all the people who only ordered it several months in advance didn't get them so it's kinda like that. It's just that some retailers, seeing the high demand, are deciding to make a whole lot more money that they would normally off of them. -dave
[2005-12-14 15:17:34] - i had thought that the whole problem with the xbox was the even people who preordered it didn't get it bc they were in such short supply, and also that there weren't any at retailers so the only ones you could get were on ebay for like thousands... -amy
[2005-12-14 15:16:16] - ahhh so that was old news. i hadn't realized ^_^; but it does seem that if just one store sold it separately they'd gain from doing so... but i guess people are desperate enough to buy these that the bundles are selling anyway. crazy. -amy
[2005-12-14 15:11:31] - amy: apparently 300k Xbox360s on their way to a Best Buy near you on Dec 18th tho. http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2005/12/14/2098 -dave
[2005-12-14 15:08:41] - amy: what's funnier is that even tho it's huge in the US and Europe, there's tons in Japan sitting on the shelves that people aren't buying -dave
[2005-12-14 15:07:43] - amy: there were a bunch that sold it alone, but most places are sold out. Like you didn't get it if you hadn't preordered like 3 months ahead of time. Since it's in such high demand, some places are gouging people with huge bundles like that, because they figure people want it that bad. They justify it by saying, well,we're giving them 10 games -dave
[2005-12-14 15:05:11] - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051214-5764.html mpaa sues over phantom movie -dave
[2005-12-14 15:04:05] - ...(i haven't been keeping up, are any retailers selling it alone?) so the only way you get the console is to spend $1k on it plus 10 other games you may or may not want? that soudns totally crappy. -amy
[2005-12-14 15:03:36] - mig: yeah i just figured that out...i hadn't actually read the link initially. but i still think it is dumb to bundle that all together because what are the chance that people actually want all 10 of those games? and it only comes with one controller? it just seems like a bad idea to me. also toys R us is apparently not selling the console alone... -amy
[2005-12-14 14:58:22] - amy: well 10 games x $50 per game is $500, the system is retailing for $399 so it's not really that much of a ripoff, relatively speaking anyways. - mig
[2005-12-14 14:56:20] - dave: maybe they think that at that point, as long as somebody is spending a grand on a new gaming system, they'll be like oh, what's another controller or 3 .p -amy
[2005-12-14 14:53:18] - dave: yeah. upon further glance (i didn't really read the thing before posting it)... i thought they had inflated the price of the xbox which seemed weird, now i realize they just bundled it with a bunch of crap that probably doesn't meet the consumer need i would think. -amy
[2005-12-14 14:50:30] - d'oh, i meant controller -dave
[2005-12-14 14:49:40] - amy: and it only comes with one remote, hehe -dave
[2005-12-14 14:43:46] - oh, bundled with 10 games, but still. sheesh. -amy
[2005-12-14 14:43:03] - http://dealnews.com/deals/Microsoft-Xbox-360-Bundle-in-stock-for-1-000/103776.html Xbox360 in stock for $1,000.... and this is supposedly a deal. -amy
[2005-12-14 14:41:03] - well, maybe not that bad, maybe 70 / 30 or something like that -dave
[2005-12-14 14:40:35] - my point is, that if you polled like the people I know, it'd probably be more like 90 to 10 against, which is why I'm amused -dave
[2005-12-14 14:39:57] - a: so yeah, it wasn't true a month ago. -dave
[2005-12-14 14:39:33] - as opposed to a 54 to 45 split last month -dave
[2005-12-14 14:39:01] - "Fifty percent said it was not a mistake, " -dave
[2005-12-14 14:38:15] - a: "Meanwhile, 48 percent of respondents to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said they thought it was a mistake to send U.S. troops to Iraq" if that clears it up any -dave
[2005-12-14 14:29:00] - a: But I agree that I rarely trust polls like that anyway since so much depends on the wording and who is giving the poll and other factors. -Paul
[2005-12-14 14:22:26] - a: I know the support has been steadily decreasing but I think the general feeling is still more pro-war than anti-war. -Paul
[2005-12-14 14:20:46] - a: Most of the polls I've seen (and I've seen a few worded all sorts of different ways) seem to indicate that the majority of americans still think we should've gone to war and that we should stay until the job is done so I guess that supports what Dave said. -Paul
[2005-12-14 14:01:41] - plus i never trust those polls. it all depends on wording. if the question is "was removing hussein something that needed to be done?" then you're going to get like 90% answering positively. hell i'd (almost) say yes. ~a
[2005-12-14 13:58:22] - "more people saying that going into iraq was not a mistake than saying it was" whatever, that wasn't true a month ago. ~a
[2005-12-14 12:48:19] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/12/13/ivorybilled.woodpecker.reut/index.html hunters help save rare bird from extinction -dave
[2005-12-14 12:44:02] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/13/btsc.cooper/index.html soldiers say media miss iraq story -dave
[2005-12-14 12:39:22] - it never ceases to amaze me how different the opinions in the area, or at least among the people i know, are from the national numbers -dave
[2005-12-14 12:38:08] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/14/bush.iraq/index.html more people saying that going into iraq was not a mistake than saying it was -dave
[2005-12-14 12:33:52] - Dave: Ah, ok. I understand what you mean. -Paul
[2005-12-14 12:27:45] - Paul: I dunno, but it was pretty intelligible. it was more that I could understand what they were saying, but lacked a broader understanding to judge it from -dave
[2005-12-14 12:25:15] - Dave: Well, was it meant for reading by a non-economics person? -Paul
[2005-12-14 12:19:56] - the relevance being that we are close to an invertied yield curve right now -dave
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