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[2005-12-27 13:34:11] - aaron/amy: a friend said that she recognized me on the news playing ddr. my suspicion is that they put our news segment into some stock footage archive because suposedly it was just a clip about "things that the xbox360 doesn't support" or something. ~a
[2005-12-27 11:21:11] - paul: smokers obviously don't care about lifesaving devices like seatbelts
~a[2005-12-27 11:09:28] - a: Not to mention possibly impulsively take your seat belt off. -Paul
[2005-12-27 10:52:36] - http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,69904-0.html?tw=rss.index 2005 foot-in-mouth awards - aaron
[2005-12-27 10:49:51] - a: Maybe it was a jeep. (it's still very stupid.) - aaron
[2005-12-27 10:38:23] - paul: how do you impulsively leap from a fast-moving car? it seems like first, you would need to impulsively throw the door open (which doesn't seem very easy). ~a
[2005-12-26 14:16:43] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/23/AR2005122302042.html News of the weird. -paul
[2005-12-24 00:44:15] - For instance, I have a music folder which I occasionally add new songs to but iTunes never seems to realize that there are new songs in the folder unless I individually add those new files. -Paul
[2005-12-24 00:43:42] - For those with iPods, does anybody know how to tell iTunes to recheck an already added folder for new songs? -Paul
[2005-12-23 23:38:47] - Sam: I don't think I'm doing anything special for the holidays. Mostly just hanging out with relatives I think. -paul
[2005-12-23 23:38:21] - Sam: I think the general thinking is that it's not a good idea to date somebody you work with but I know it's especially bad (and likely against the rules) if one is the boss of the other. -paul
[2005-12-23 23:37:38] - aba: I agree, twelve holidays is much better than what I get. I think it's even better than the government gets. -Paul
[2005-12-23 21:55:33] - Look at all the animations from the "Our Research" section. Also look at the pictures from the "Evidence" section. -sam
[2005-12-23 21:38:50] - The beuty analysis http://www.beautyanalysis.com/index2_mba.htm -sam
[2005-12-23 21:34:30] - what's everyone doing for the holidays? -sam
[2005-12-23 21:33:27] - is it bad to date someone who works on the same project or works in the same office? -sam
[2005-12-23 20:15:48] - aba: so a total of 12? that's pretty good. ~a
[2005-12-23 20:14:14] - agreed. ~a
[2005-12-23 19:57:35] - H O L I D A Y S S U C K !
[2005-12-23 17:18:05] - the only time we were allowed to turn leave into money was when we left ibm (and that was prorated by how far into the year we were). - aba
[2005-12-23 17:16:53] - a: i meant 4 floating holidays in addition to 8 that we get by default. - aba
[2005-12-23 16:10:20] - interesting PDF on java's floating point numbers. ~a
[2005-12-23 14:08:45] - a: In most cases, I would probably prefer having more leave over turning it in for money, but in this case I think I would prefer being able to turn in my extra leave for money since it feels like wasting it just using it all on the last week of the year. -Paul
[2005-12-23 14:05:26] - aba: Four holidays seems a little low but the unlimited sick days seems really nice. I don't use much sick time at all but I'm always paranoid that I'll get really sick and not have enough PTO to cover things. -Paul
[2005-12-23 14:04:26] - a: Yeah, I was a little surprised it was so low. It doesn't bother me too much except that I had forgotten about it and so am going to have to waste it all next week.
-Paul[2005-12-23 13:59:06] - a: i guess it is like a recommended maximum of time you are supposed to take per year (or per year on average). btw i am pretty sure it is "accrue" -amy
[2005-12-23 13:54:15] - amy: yeah, i'm not sure how i stand on leave==money. if you have tons of leave, then it's pretty cool if you can turn it into money somehow (even if it means donating it somewhere). however, if you're low on leave it's kind of annoying that you can't like "buy" leave. i guess that's like unpaid-leave, but with unpaid-leave you probably don't acrue (sp?) leave. ~a
[2005-12-23 13:51:35] - amy: this guy got really sick and they added this policy for him. it's a small company, so this kind of thing probably hasn't happened before; it's pretty cool that they adapted so quickly. (much later he passed away, but the hours helped his fam bunches). ~a
[2005-12-23 13:49:34] - aba: that doesn't seem like a very good deal. 4 holidays is very low and 5 vacation days to carry from year to year sonds pretty bad too. the unlimited sick i guess is the only saving grace. ~a
[2005-12-23 13:44:17] - a: you can donate your pto to coworkers? O_o we were given the option to donate our pto to katrina victims (they'd cash out the time and give them the money) and i was like hell no, have a check. -amy
[2005-12-23 13:43:09] - hm. at ibm we got 15 days vacation + 4 holidays + unlimited sick with 5 vacation days to carry from year to year. i guess i got a good deal. - aba
[2005-12-23 13:38:24] - paul: just for comparison, i only get 15 days of sick+leave also, but because we have a high maximum, i was able to take three weeks of vacation this year, donate three days to somebody really sick, and still have over three weeks left in the bank. ~a
[2005-12-23 13:34:07] - they give you 15 days and they only let you carry 5 from dec to jan? what if you had a one week vacation planned in february, and then you got sick in january? ~a
[2005-12-23 13:32:57] - a: 15 days. -Paul
[2005-12-23 13:30:12] - how much pto do you get per year? ~a
[2005-12-23 12:45:41] - a: Ok, then your max is a lot higher than ours.
-Paul[2005-12-23 12:40:31] - paul: that's what i meant. by "our max" i meant "our max that we can carry from one year to the next". ~a
[2005-12-23 12:19:52] - aba: Even if I took half days every day for the rest of the year, I think I would still have some vacation time left. Also, the work I'm doing right now has more to do with being available during normal work hours than with necessarily getting a certain amount of work done. -Paul
[2005-12-23 12:08:05] - paul: take 1/2 days so that you get work done over the week but still use up your vacation. - aba
[2005-12-23 12:04:37] - a: PTO is basically vacation + sick time. Holidays are a seperate thing. I don't think there is really a limit to how much we can save up except that we can only carry over 5 days from one year to the next. -Paul
[2005-12-23 12:03:10] - Amy: That's something that a coworker suggested (even going so far as to say that it might be illegal to take away PTO without some sort of compensation) but I don't know if that's an option. I'll have to ask. -Paul
[2005-12-23 12:01:39] - paul: is PTO = leave, or is PTO = holidays (or both?). because a max of 40 hours of leave is CRAZY. i think our max is like 300 hours. ~a
[2005-12-23 11:56:30] - amy: that's a bad policy (my company has something like that) because it encourages people to not take holidays/vacation so then they burn out. ~a
[2005-12-23 11:52:19] - Paul: Maybe you can get paid for the holidays you didn't take? Sometimes that's an option. -amy
[2005-12-23 11:28:59] - mig: did you get mine? ~a
[2005-12-23 11:13:51] - a: did you get my e-mails? - mig
[2005-12-23 11:13:11] - paul: and failing that you can always be "sick". - mig
[2005-12-23 11:12:51] - paul: i'm sure it won't be if you don't have anything that's pressing to be done next week ... can't hurt to ask anyways. - mig
[2005-12-23 10:59:19] - amig: I'm not entirely sure that's an option with this little notice. I guess it's worth a try, though. -Paul
[2005-12-23 10:51:25] - mig:
~a[2005-12-23 10:51:16] - paul: take three days off? ~a
[2005-12-23 09:49:47] - paul: then take days off next week. - mig
[2005-12-23 09:33:45] - aaron: the shibboleth article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth) off the RAS syndrome one is very interesting - vinnie
[2005-12-23 09:21:22] - Crap. We're only allowed to carry over 5 PTO days over to the new year and I have something around 8 saved up. -Paul
[2005-12-23 06:18:57] - it's annoying when I have downtime and want to chat with someone and then I realize it's 6:30 in the morning for you losers. - pierce
[2005-12-22 21:23:08] - does anyone use DSL high speed internet? If so, are you happy with it? -sam
[2005-12-22 15:10:29] - heh. "The New TNN"
[2005-12-22 15:07:19] - aaron: "The phenomenon also occurs with people whose initials form a nickname used in place of their forename" like dewey weand? ~a
[2005-12-22 15:00:46] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS_syndrome RAS syndrome and a list of culprits - aaron
[2005-12-22 14:42:15] - a: well, they didn't yesterday (it was actually a little brokener than it was last time) - aaron
[2005-12-22 12:58:35] - let me know if they have the itg fixed. ~a
[2005-12-22 12:57:59] - aaron: actually, scratch that, i probably should stay late at work today (i need to make up hours). so i won't be at ddr today. ~a
[2005-12-22 12:57:21] - aaron: i'll be really late for ddr (like 7:00) ~a
[2005-12-22 10:19:52] - http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5270.asp Windows Vista CTP review. "new" apps include windows defender, dvd maker, mail, calendar, and backup -dave
[2005-12-21 16:10:52] - http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/New_%22voice_chat%22_feature_proposed_for_mobile_phones "New "voice chat" feature proposed for mobile phones" this cracked me up too -amy
[2005-12-21 15:13:34] - sam: some of those rooms are a little fuzzy, but on the web, who can tell whether it's a really good CG shot or a slightly bad photograph
- vinnie[2005-12-21 15:11:03] - a: yeah 495E and 395S looked absolutely terrible. I was going in the opposite direction and that wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad. i wonder what happened. -amy
[2005-12-21 15:00:17] - i went to trafficland.com and saw horrible 395S, 495E, traffic, so i drove home via 395N, 236E. (236E got pretty bad as i got close to 495E). i then visited my parents at 730pm and 495E and 395S were STILL bad. ~a
[2005-12-21 14:55:17] - a: which way did you take? -amy
[2005-12-21 14:54:14] - amy: i noticed horrible traffic yesterday. ~a
[2005-12-21 14:44:37] - Amy: Traffic was a little heavier in Reston than is normal, although I attributed that mostly to holiday stuff. Can't speak towards the higways, since I don't take them to and from work. -Paul
[2005-12-21 14:43:23] - ...that all 3 of those roads were totally backed up, and if there were other major roads that were backed up as well. -amy
[2005-12-21 14:43:05] - hey out of curiosity, did anyone else notice absolutely terrible traffic (abnormally so) yesterday driving home from work? i took 395S, 495N, and 66W, all of which were backed up. And I saw TWO sets of at least 5 emergency vehicles pass by in the opposite direction, one going 66E and the other 495S... I was wondering if this was holiday-related, or just coincidence... -amy
[2005-12-21 13:42:35] - http://www.digitimes.com/displays/a20051221PR202.html men prefer larger HDTVs while women prefer them smaller -dave
[2005-12-21 12:52:39] - paul: apparently as of Q2 2005, Seagate had 30.5%, Western Digital had 17.6%, and Maxtor had 13.5%. Hitachi was the other at 15.5% -dave
[2005-12-21 12:48:59] - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051221-5815.html patent office backs RIM -dave
[2005-12-21 12:19:45] - Sam: those look very good. I think the rooms are a little fuzzy around the edges, but the pieta would fool me well enough. -- Xpovos
[2005-12-21 10:13:52] - Paul: seems so -dave
[2005-12-21 09:23:51] - Dave: Wow, they would control a large section of the hard drive market then, no? -Paul
[2005-12-21 09:01:51] - http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B8F7AF01A%2D60EC%2D4FEF%2D872B%2DBC060245CAF9%7D&siteid=mktw&dist= Seagate to buy Maxtor for 1.9 billion -dave
[2005-12-21 08:40:45] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001388.html 1 billion AOL stake for Google approved -dave
[2005-12-20 22:36:54] - Sam: Some of those are pretty impressive. I think the key with a lot of those faces is that they added some imperfections which make them look more realistic. -Paul
[2005-12-20 22:36:06] - Sam: What's the DLP link for? -Paul
[2005-12-20 22:03:53] - a: you get quake4? - mig
[2005-12-20 20:39:35] - another beautiful living room (CGI) http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=209632 -sam
[2005-12-20 20:37:45] - porsche... photo? CGI? http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=214838 -sam
[2005-12-20 20:35:04] - this living room looks real too http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=219641 -sam
[2005-12-20 20:33:32] - this looks like a real room! http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=231413 -sam
[2005-12-20 20:32:32] - Does this look like it is computer generated? it looks like a real statue! http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=231722 -sam
[2005-12-20 20:26:29] - CG Society http://forums.cgsociety.org/ -sam
[2005-12-20 20:08:40] - look at these computer generated faces! I think these were on animatrix http://www.stevengiesler.com/matrix.html -sam
[2005-12-20 19:14:53] - paul: about the DLP technology: http://www.dlp.com/home_entertainment/default.asp?bhcp=1 -sam
[2005-12-20 19:12:28] - High quality CGI in games... it almost looks real... http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000467072359 -sam
[2005-12-20 19:04:21] - what's everyone doing for the holidays? -sam
[2005-12-20 18:11:14] - black holes are very cold? i didn't know that. it seems like our sun would make a VERY cold black hole, and the bigger the black hole, the COLDER?! google solves the equation. (i'm so impressed that google knows the units just from constants!) ~a
[2005-12-20 16:22:25] - aaron: lol. how bout a video of bush saying it, but with cosby's voice? .) -amy
[2005-12-20 16:09:08] - amy: no i can't decide... now i think bush is funnier again - aaron
[2005-12-20 16:03:38] - amy: it's funnier imagining bill cosby saying it though... - aaron
[2005-12-20 16:03:16] - amy: It makes me laugh too
- aaron[2005-12-20 15:26:59] - Amy: Yeah, it's funny to imagine Bush saying some of those things to a crowd of confused looking reporters. -Paul
[2005-12-20 15:26:27] - Amy: Well, I imagine it was probably old so it was probably only going to be thrown out anyway. -Paul
[2005-12-20 15:25:45] - Paul: Yeah maybe he was kidding. I just thought the way the ananova article was written was funny. -amy
[2005-12-20 15:25:19] - Paul: Yeah I know, seems like a waste of equipment .( Oh well. -amy
[2005-12-20 15:03:50] - Amy: Awwww... that makes me sad. The poor motherboard.
-Paul[2005-12-20 15:02:03] - Amy: Actually, both parts. Although the other article I read made it sound like he was joking around when he said his "shuffle the shuffle" stuff. -Paul
[2005-12-20 14:46:55] - also sort of funny: using overclocking to create a hole in the motherboard: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5393904704265757054 -amy
[2005-12-20 14:42:55] - Paul: Which part? The quote that I put in the /title is the one that really cracked me up. -amy
[2005-12-20 14:39:25] - Amy: I had heard that from another source as well (about Bush and the iPod). -Paul
[2005-12-20 14:25:37] - I don't know how reliable this is but it totally cracked me up: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1649151.html?menu= President Bush shows off his iPod -amy
[2005-12-20 13:47:04] - aaron: i set the title. it's a quote from home movies ^_^; i guess it's sort of a you-had-to-be-there, 'cause look at it now, it doesn't make much sense out of context. -amy
[2005-12-20 13:45:45] - aaron: i didn't set the title, but i can't immagine it was a poker thing since $1.57 doesn't turn into chips very well. ~a
[2005-12-20 13:10:17] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/20/intelligent.design/index.html judge rules against intelligent design in science class - aaron
[2005-12-20 12:58:04] - title: who said that? i can't remember. It was a poker thing right? was it adrian? - aaron
[2005-12-20 11:33:09] - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/scorecard/12/14/best.quotes/index.html "Because there are no fours." Antoine Walker on why he shoots so many threes. -Paul
[2005-12-20 09:07:16] - Whoops, that was me. -Paul
[2005-12-20 09:07:11] - Sam: I've never heard of that game before but it sounds pretty cool.
[2005-12-20 08:36:21] - http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/re_growth_forecast/?cnn=yes projected home growth. for alexandria, arlington, washington, up 1.8% this year, down 3.4% for 2007 -dave
[2005-12-19 20:11:13] - this game might just be the best star wars game... "Star Wars: Empire at War" http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/starwarsrts/screenindex.html -sam
[2005-12-19 19:21:27] - paul: do you like this kind of game? "Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords" http://www.galciv2.com/ -sam
[2005-12-19 17:59:36] - Amy: Actually, that's true. I was disappointed too because I was promised "making out with a chess board and even fondling individual pieces" but I saw none of that. Still, I thought her outfits and poses mostly made up for it.
-Paul[2005-12-19 17:51:32] - Paul: Yes I saw them and was disappointed; I didn't see any making out ,) -amy
[2005-12-19 17:44:36] - Amy: http://www.kosteniuk.com/albums/pwhenry/pwhenry.html Did you check out this link from the article? I want to giggle every time I look at those pictures. -Paul
[2005-12-19 17:16:03] - Paul: I am very amused by the world chess beauty contest .D -amy
[2005-12-19 17:02:12] - http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=merron/051219 It's the first inanimate "Anna Kournikova of …" we've ever uncovered. According to the U.K.'s Daily Star, in poker "the hand Ace-King is described as an Anna Kournikova -- because it looks good, but can often be beaten." -Paul
[2005-12-19 16:10:38] - awww allmusic.com gave a fairly negative review .( http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hq6zef5k4gfo -amy
[2005-12-19 15:07:02] - aba: hmm but i think their dad wrote and produced the music, or at least helped out with it. i'm just concluding this from the blurb on their page that says eyeball skeleton is the two boys + their dad. -amy
[2005-12-19 14:38:10] - amy: it is hard to believe that they are only 7 and 9! - aba
[2005-12-19 14:26:15] - aba: OK i already have a favorite song of theirs... santa's on the run is just so adorable!!! -amy
[2005-12-19 14:16:09] - aba: omg so adorable!!! -amy
[2005-12-19 14:02:31] - i wish the video quality was higher. ~a
[2005-12-19 14:01:20] - oh god, that's one person playing both sides? ~a
[2005-12-19 14:00:51] - http://www.myspace.com/eyeballskeleton these little kids are awesome!
(warning: music starts playing) - aba[2005-12-19 12:30:57] - amy: WOW that is ridiculous. I thought the one player ikaruga videos were insanely difficult enough that they might have been doctored, but that is ludicrous - aaron
[2005-12-19 12:26:37] - I mean, already I have missed an episode of Lost and an episode of Arrested Development. I find it hard to base my schedule around the TV after living with DVR for a year - vinnie
[2005-12-19 12:23:48] - also DVR is not fifty a month, but it's something along the lines of $18 for basic cable + $24 for extended cable + $10 for digital cable + $10 for DVR, when I think I can get away with just the basic (we will see though, don't be too surprised if I jump back on the DVR bandwagon
) - vinnie[2005-12-19 12:21:07] - amy: no commercials, no - vinnie
[2005-12-19 11:57:46] - Mmm... electronic telepathy. TV beamed directly to your cortex. Brilliant! -- Xpovos
[2005-12-19 11:33:47] - Amy: I was about to say... you're very advanced if you don't have to be present when watching the show.
-Paul[2005-12-19 11:31:08] - err not having to be there when it's on, obv you have to be there when you are watching it .p -amy
[2005-12-19 11:30:42] - Paul: Yeah, there is also the convenience factor of not having to be there to watch it and also not having commercials (there aren't commercials in the episodes you buy are there? that would make me sad.) -amy
[2005-12-19 11:09:08] - Vinnie: I can sympathize. I don't think I would get good enough antenna reception either, so I kinda need to get cable to get my network TV stations. -Paul
[2005-12-19 11:08:21] - my plan is going to be to watch the shows I can and buy the ones I miss. and if I can't buy, probably wait for the DVD. the only reason this really works is that Lost is the only show right now I really care about not missing and I can buy it - vinnie
[2005-12-19 11:08:13] - Xpovos: Understood. I don't blame you, just saying that if you losing cable causes you to come my way more often I wouldn't mind.
-Paul[2005-12-19 11:06:59] - paul: we don't get good enough antenna reception. any, really - vinnie
[2005-12-19 11:05:01] - Paul: I'd gladly come to more games, and thus to more victories. The drawback is that you live insanely far away. I mean, I guess Dave has a better excuse and shows up anyway, but-- he also has a better paying job for all the gas he expends. -- Xpovos
[2005-12-19 11:03:49] - Xpovos: Yeah, the iTunes selections are pretty bare right now but I imagine they are ramping up some. -Paul
[2005-12-19 11:03:22] - Amy: Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like those shows are network TV shows. Why would he need cable for them? I guess you don't get good antenna reception? -Paul
[2005-12-19 11:02:45] - Amy: I thought so too, but I have serious concerns about my TV's ability to adequately play console games right now.
-Paul[2005-12-19 10:58:54] - Ok, I checked it out. iTunes sells ABC, NBC, Sci-Fi and USA TV shows right now. I'm sure they'll sell more in the future, but this isn't workable for me, beause the TV I do watch isn't on those stations. -- Xpovos
[2005-12-19 10:55:56] - paul: he buys lost and maybe arrested development? i really don't know you'd have to ask him. i also have no idea about the cable; i only turn on the TV to play my home movies DVDs or PS2 games ^_^; -amy
[2005-12-19 10:55:23] - Paul: But the TV + sound system is still useful for like movies and video games and stuff. so it's sort of like an investment. -amy
[2005-12-19 10:46:37] - Amy: Do you know what shows Vinnie buys on iTunes? Do you guys get any cable now or none at all? -Paul
[2005-12-19 10:45:33] - Amy: Too bad I don't have an Xbox 360 to give her.
-Paul[2005-12-19 10:45:06] - Xpovos: I actually don't think I watch a lot of TV either, which is kinda a shame considering how much money I've sunk into cable and my TV and sound system. -Paul
[2005-12-19 10:44:19] - Xpovos: I wouldn't mind having you show up for a few more football game parties in Reston. Although both the ones I can remember this year didn't go so well... -Paul
[2005-12-19 10:43:49] - xpovos: i agree. it is a neat thing to have (i suppose, if you're the kind of person who watches tv ^_^;), but we just don't watch enough tv for it to be worth it. -amy
[2005-12-19 10:43:48] - Xpovos: Yeah, my TV would instantly become a lot less impressive if I went back to the rabbit ear antenna like I had before.
-Paul[2005-12-19 10:39:53] - amy: Sounds it. I'm not familiar with iTune's video sales area, though. As for DVRs in general, I'm much more in favor of building my own than leasing one or buying a TiVo-like device. Much more control. Regardless, $50 a month is insane for that feature, no matter how useful it is. -- Xpovos
[2005-12-19 10:32:38] - ...much more cost effective, i think. -amy
[2005-12-19 10:32:31] - xpovos: i agree. vinnie just got rid of dvr because it was adding on $50 or $60 to the cable bill because of all the added things you need in order to have dvr. and he is basically entirely responsible for the cable bill since i don't really watch TV, so that's just ridiculous. now he buys episodes of the shows he watches on itunes, i think, for $2/per. -amy
[2005-12-19 10:30:29] - i didn't check if this was real or not, but: http://www.livejournal.com/users/kuzanagi_/353022.html?#cutid1 interesting request for a 360 -amy
[2005-12-19 10:29:26] - Paul: though that doesn't take college football into account at all. I'll miss a lot of Hokies games... -unless- I surepticiously come over for football game parties in Reston...
-- Xpovos[2005-12-19 10:28:37] - Paul: I understand. I was thinking about it, and what do I watch on cable: ESPN/2, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, and sometimes Bravo. Other than football the amount of TV I actually watch is quite limited. So for me, the added benefit of an extra game a week televised for $60 more a month... eh, I can't justify it. Particularly not without an uber TV. -- Xpovos
[2005-12-19 10:23:55] - Xpovos: I think that actually might be what I end up paying once my discounted months end. I agree it's too high but I really wouldn't want to lose ESPN and some other channels. -Paul
[2005-12-19 10:23:09] - Aaron: Didn't you show me that video (or something similar) before? -Paul
[2005-12-19 10:16:27] - a: Holy cow that's an ass-load of money for cable. I know our rates keep going up, but we're to the point of ditching it, not to the point of saying, "Hey, let's spend $60 a month more for a lot of crap we won't actually use either." -- Xpovos
[2005-12-19 10:10:10] - aaron: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-163280885783523408&q=ikaruga one guy apparently playing 2-player ikaruga. i can't even follow what's going on O_o -amy
[2005-12-19 09:55:53] - http://laura.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/12/yay_a_hack.html Mario madness at MIT. -paul
[2005-12-19 09:52:59] - sam: i pay around $115 for cable (digital cable+dvr) & internet. ~a
[2005-12-19 09:14:08] - Sam: I think I'm paying around $85 for cable TV and high speed internet right now but I think I'm still on my discounted price for the first six months or whatever so it'll probably go up. -Paul
[2005-12-19 09:13:10] - Sam: Cool, thanks. I'll give that a try. I'm not sure I really want to change the song name of a bunch of songs at once, though. -Paul
[2005-12-18 17:36:19] - HP T-Shirt Transfers (Cool Peel) - Printing Instructions for T-Shirt Transfers http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?cc=us&docname=bpa00482&lc=en -sam
[2005-12-18 17:30:37] - All you need to buy is some iron-on papers (epson and HP makes them too) -sam
[2005-12-18 16:45:46] - How to make custom T-shirts at home: http://www.mcgpaper.com/tshirt1.html It seems very easy. All you need is a computer, a color inkjet printer, an iron, and a bunch of blank T-shirts. -sam
[2005-12-18 16:27:23] - This explains which appliances use the most power. http://home.howstuffworks.com/question272.htm -sam
[2005-12-18 15:20:15] - sam: i think itunes just leaves a blank id3 tag as unknown (not the filename), but ive never tried it..... i never really liked the concept of the shuffle since id much rather be able to store my entire collection on the ipod and then be able to pick and choose what i want to listen to later. *shrug* - aba
[2005-12-18 13:50:01] - okay... for the time being you have to do a people search for "phanley" and then add me as a contact. I think that their systems don't mark your account as user-searchable until a day or two after you register, or at least that's what I'm speculating. - pierce
[2005-12-18 13:14:23] - pierce: my user name is cs1044 -sam
[2005-12-18 11:57:47] - hey everyone, sign up for a flickr account (if you have a yahoo account already you can do it based on that, though the username might be different). then let me know the flickr username and I'll give you access to my photos from this trip - pierce
[2005-12-17 21:35:22] - paul: how much are you paying for comcast HD cable and internet? -sam
[2005-12-17 20:54:28] - paul: you can also do this in itunes, but you can't change the "song names" for multiple songs at once. -sam
[2005-12-17 20:51:18] - paul: here is an easy way to change a certain segment of the ID3 tag for a number of MP3s all at once. Go to windows explorer, select the songs you want, right click and go to properties, and go to the summary tab, and click the advanced button (if you see "simple" button then you are fine). Then edit the fields. -sam
[2005-12-17 20:42:28] - aba: i guess i can do it if i don't put it on random and memorize the order of the songs... but i would rather want a display screen. -sam
[2005-12-17 20:40:53] - aba: i meant i can NOT pick a song I want at any given moment. -sam
[2005-12-17 20:38:15] - aba: due to lack of a display screen, ipod shuffle is getting annoying because I can really pick a song I want at any given moment. -sam
[2005-12-17 20:37:01] - aba: do regular ipods display file names if the ID tags are blank? -sam
[2005-12-17 19:43:17] - Someone made a music from Windows System Sound Effects. http://geocities.com/clownstaples/swf/winnoise.html -sam
[2005-12-17 14:54:26] - aba: The moral of the story is that women on online dating sites lie to you and wives try to cheat on you.
-Paul[2005-12-17 14:53:59] - Pierce: Glad to hear you got there safely, enjoy your trip. -Paul
[2005-12-17 14:53:34] - Pierce: Yeah, that's something I've definitely noticed when trying to change ID3 tag information. I have to click on things and wait for a second or two to see if it did anything (and half the time it doesn't). -Paul
[2005-12-17 14:28:38] - http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/news/wwn/20051209/113414040002.html HAHAHAHA - aba
[2005-12-17 13:59:45] - pierce: cool. try not to do anything that would be illegal in your home country. who are you there with? ~a
[2005-12-17 10:19:07] - my only issue with itunes is its performance on windows... there's no reaction until like 3/4 of a second after the click most of the time, which is just unforgivable these days. p.s. I'm in amsterdam safely.
- pierce[2005-12-17 00:26:13] - warning! well, actually, uh . . . no, there is no warning. tag body spray was designed for just this kind of thing. high five.
[2005-12-16 23:00:30] - aba: I've never really liked windows media player and I used to like winamp but lately it's been seriously acting up. I'm still having some issues with iTunes, but I imagine a lot of that is probably my unfamiliarity with it. -Paul
[2005-12-16 22:20:55] - paul: itunes really is a nice piece of software. i like it much better than i ever liked winamp or windows media player.
- aba[2005-12-16 19:14:19] - aba: Awesome, thanks. -Paul
[2005-12-16 18:54:11] - paul: select them all in itunes, right click and edit the info for those files. you should be able to update the same field on all the tags without changing the other fields. - aba
[2005-12-16 18:41:51] - Does anybody know an easy way to change a certain segment of the ID3 tag for a number of MP3s all at once? -Paul
[2005-12-16 14:16:21] - Dave: Interesting. I did not know that. Perhaps I should hold onto my stocks for over a year then.
-Paul[2005-12-16 13:58:42] - well, on further research, it's probably more like 25% vs 15%, because for 2005 apparently you had to make over 120k to push it to over 25%. -dave
[2005-12-16 13:55:21] - paul: short term capital gains can be taxed up to 35%, long term capital gains taxes are like 15% -dave
[2005-12-16 13:52:14] - Dave: I'm still not 100% sure what you're saying (taxes are different if you've held onto a stock for longer than a year?) but I wasn't planning on following all the advice in the article. I was more just interested in the stocks he suggested than the whole "dogs of the dow" strategy. -Paul
[2005-12-16 13:39:01] - Paul: well the capital gains are longterm gains if you've held the assets for a year and a day. So if you were going to buy those 10 stocks every year, you couldn't buy/sell them on the say day without having the cycle shift - so you'd have to buy the new ones on the year anniversary, and sell the old ones on the year+1 day -dave
[2005-12-16 13:37:55] - http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/12/16/mona.lisa.smile/index.html Mona Lisa was 83 percent happy, 9 percent disgusted, 6 percent fearful, and 2 percent angry -dave
[2005-12-16 13:37:09] - Dave: I'm not entirely sure what you're saying about staggering the buy and sell. Can you explain? -Paul
[2005-12-16 13:36:40] - Pierce: Bye. -Paul
[2005-12-16 13:35:11] - Martha: they die??? .O -amy
[2005-12-16 13:17:27] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/AR2005121501728.html Scientists Find A DNA Change That Accounts For White Skin -dave
[2005-12-16 13:10:06] - Martha Stewart said "I used to wear real fur, but, like many others, I had a change of heart when I learned what actually happens to the animals." hahaha -dave
[2005-12-16 13:01:54] - bye pierce! -amy
[2005-12-16 13:00:38] - *** dave waves to pierce
[2005-12-16 12:53:53] - I'm outta here guys... happy holidays, see you after Christmas. - pierce
[2005-12-16 12:51:45] - paul: you'd have to stagger your buy/sell buy a day though, since longterm capital gains kick in at a year and a day -dave
[2005-12-16 12:47:19] - paul: yeah, that IS interesting -dave
[2005-12-16 12:41:59] - Paul: even the ones he predicts? -dave
[2005-12-16 12:41:13] - Dave: http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Investing/Simplestrategies/P137295.asp I find this more interesting right now. -Paul
[2005-12-16 12:37:32] - Dave: I read that article (about stocks) and was intrigued until I realized that the stocks were almost all over $20 a share now. Not to mention that they've all been doing really well. Those stocks don't quite fit my style.
-paul[2005-12-16 12:36:29] - Dave: Yeah, sometimes I wonder if we give companies too much credit. I'm sure there is a lot of thinking going on about where to place things, but maybe not THAT much thinking.
-Paul[2005-12-16 12:34:58] - http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P134955.asp?GT1=7471 spotting the next super stocks -dave
[2005-12-16 12:23:04] - Paul: because you also have to worry about functionally grouping things, and like also putting all the things that need refrigerating together, etc -dave
[2005-12-16 12:22:31] - Paul: makes you wonder how much money/effort they put into figuring out where everything goes -dave
[2005-12-16 12:21:41] - Paul: I think it depends on whether the other item is a "must-get" or not. If people are going to get it anyways, probably put it far away. If they might not get it, put it really close -dave
[2005-12-16 12:18:14] - Amy: Not to mention putting products that go together next to each other. Although, I had actually heard otherwise before. I had heard that stores wanted to put items like that far apart so you had to pass by their other items while getting it. -Paul
[2005-12-16 12:02:24] - Yeah, and music and nice smells in a store make shopping a more pleasant experience; in a way I feel like stores deserve the money for taking that effort. -amy
[2005-12-16 11:57:21] - Amy: I think you make a good point. Is it really manipulation if it's something we want? All things being equal, I would prefer things I buy to be on eye-level and to be one cent cheaper and I imagine lots of people would prefer larger shopping carts if they're buying for a large family. -Paul
[2005-12-16 11:55:38] - Dave: For me, personally, I don't think I would be upset at the company for any of those things. If anything, I think I would be upset at myself for being fooled by the music or the shopping cart or the color of the packaging. -Paul
[2005-12-16 11:31:45] - ... out to be unfair in the end anyway. i.e., the products at eye-level aren't the ones you necessarily want, but the ones that had the money behind them to buy that space. -amy
[2005-12-16 11:30:54] - I don't know if I would call it manipulation. For instance, I would find it annoying if the products I bought most often at a supermarket were always on the bottom or top shelf. In a way, I appreciate the convenience of having it at eye-level. Then again, the companies selling products also know this so they actually pay for eye-level shelf space, so maybe it turns... -am
[2005-12-16 11:19:03] - Paul: i would think they'd still be effective in general, but maybe slightly less so, as some might become agitated that they were manipulated like that -dave
[2005-12-16 11:18:21] - Paul: although, it'd be interesting to see how effective some of those things were if everyone was told of their purpose -dave
[2005-12-16 11:02:19] - Amy: Yeah, they don't really seem like insidious secrets. It's probably just a headline the author was hoping would garner attention. -Paul
[2005-12-16 10:44:48] - I don't understand why those are 8 things stores don't want us to know. They seem like very basic sales techniques, and more like good advice to retailers than things for consumers to watch out for. *shrug* -amy
[2005-12-16 10:12:37] - Dave: I agree, I think Microsoft couldn't raise the price of the console because the backlash would've been too big to make it worthwhile. -Paul
[2005-12-16 10:12:07] - Mig: I count myself as somebody who likes Chad and dislikes Owens but it's never been about the celebrations to me. I've always felt Owens was completely entitled to his celebration dances. I just dislike how he is always insulting other people and teams and organizations in a mean-spirited way. -Paul
[2005-12-16 09:47:00] - paul: or going to costco and buying only one thing - just seems so wrong cuz you have such a huge cart and everyone else is buying tons -dave
[2005-12-16 09:46:07] - Paul: no, I believe it - it's just like browsing the library and picking the book with the cool depiction, or intriguing title -dave
[2005-12-16 09:45:16] - basically people going from saying Owens should be banished from the league and then turning around and saying CJ is the greatest thing since sliced bread. - mig
[2005-12-16 09:45:15] - paul: on the xbox360 shortage - i've heard that it's because the yield on the chips for the thing was on the lower side of expectations. On why they didn't raise the price - not sure, i actually think that would cause much more consumer backlash than a lack of consoles would -dave
[2005-12-16 09:44:23] - paul: yeah i've found to be totally disgusted of the media's unbelievable hypocricy with Chad Johnson and Owens. - mig
[2005-12-16 09:42:54] - Dave: I don't usually mind ads as long as they stay silent (no audio) and don't pop up over something I'm trying to read. -Paul
[2005-12-16 09:42:21] - Dave: Most of those 8 things didn't surprise me because I had heard them before, but I was a little surprised by the comment about color. Not just that it made a difference but that it seems to make a huge difference. -Paul
[2005-12-16 09:41:32] - paul: intersting article about the xbox ... i like the idea of the "limited edition" auctions. MS could have made a killing with that. - mig
[2005-12-16 09:41:19] - http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-eagles-owens&prov=ap&type=lgns Shockingly, I think Owens makes some (just some) valid points here. I still think he's a selfish ass for the most part, but I agree that in some respects he seems to have gotten a raw deal. -Paul
[2005-12-16 09:39:12] - paul: altho i do hate it when some video window gets bigger and starts playing or somethin -dave
[2005-12-16 09:38:29] - Paul: like I love netflix, amazon, etc showing me similar books or dvds because i'm always looking for new ones to try -dave
[2005-12-16 09:37:55] - Paul: interestingly, somehow i have a more negative feeling towards in-person advertising, but a very positive feeling towards a lot of online advertising -dave
[2005-12-16 09:37:01] - Paul: on the 8 store things - yeah, not surprising at all. Like if you ever work retail, they tell you stuff like, you put your best stuff up on the walls, so people have to walk through all the other stuff to get to them, etc -dave
[2005-12-16 09:34:52] - aba: you're be right, because to be honest, it does seem a bit extreme that they would hire females to go on fake dates with guys ... just that it wouldn't shock me at all if it was true (i'm not bitter ..... not at all) - mig
[2005-12-16 09:34:23] - aba: yeah, I'm with you - probably are fake profiles and emails, but dunno about hiring the woman to date people -dave
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