thanatos

The DirectTV system is actually an affiliation with Hugh's Corp. DirectPC. The $500 satellite dish will pull in both DirectTV programming (anywhere from the basic $40/mo. service to $90/mo. bucks for the premium) and the Internet (an addition $50/mo.). This PC system can now do both downlink and uplink communication. The cost and relative newness of it has kept me away to date, but I keep feeling it lure. Here in the heartland cornfields, the best I can do is to pay $75/mo. for dual ISDN, which gets only a speed of 75kpps out of a theoretical 128. If there are any Internet-Satellite geniuses (or anyone who can tell me how to milk out more bandwidth on ISDN, start a new Topic and let us share your wealth. Most truly-rural homes don't have access to DSL, and a 56k dial-up or 128k ISDN has been the only thing avaliable. Doc Hoover [ 06-05-2002, 20:16: Message edited by: thanatos ]

So long Mike. Hope to still read your thoughts and ideas from time to time. I've always liked the way you think. Doc Hoover

I just dropped a PNY Geforce4 4600 128mb in my Intel 2.0GHz/512 MB, replacing the high-end GeForce 3 card; a Hercules GF3 TI 500 64mb. The 3DMark 2001SE benchmark score went from 7800's to the 9500's. Of course, in gaming applications only a modest improvement is seen.

JKII is already ordered from EB (look Ma, free shipping!). Adam, is Saber Battle X -JK3 v3.1 the best JK mod? How is the Saber Battle X mod for MoTS? Are there any other worthy mods you'd recommend? Doc Hoover

Yeah,................Who do you think you are, the developer or owner or something?? The only C.R.S. I know is "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome". C.R.S. is the problem you can get with your gastrointestinal tract when you eat all that monosodium glutamate mixed in with your little shrimpies and your bowels turn to water. Somehow I doubt this is what Pirate is referring to, but it would explain a few things. Doc Hoover

Fascinating reading. Cmdr. Laracuente, I have to ask: "How old are you?". A student as in grad school, college, high school or ...................

$ilk wrote: quote:P.S. I have vented in this post, and if you wish to debate me logically on points I have made I will gladly display the well-informed intuitiveness that is my hallmark and tell you if you are a commie or not... LOL. Very well put, $ilk. Is it just me, or is this really the way it has become? 1. terrorist=freedom-fighter (if anti-U.S.) 2. terrorist who crashes plane into WTC killing thousands=hijacker (or even better, an alleged hijacker) 3. carpet bombing=unacceptable, immoral military act to kill enemies (if bombing done by a high-tech bully superpower) 4. civilian casualities=unacceptable, immoral occurrence associated with act of war (if done by a high-tech bully superpower) 5. civilian casualities=unfortunate consequences of civilians living in high-tech bully superpower country; deaths not necessarily undeserved due to policies of said superpower around the globe You know, I have to stop. This is so true I can no longer see any satire in it. Somebody wake me up!

Gallion, Yes, I jest. Is seems to be the question that keeps being asked by those who want to "understand" why the terrorists don't like us. They say "we need compassion, not bombs. We need to send aid and money, not the military war machinery". This is the question that never has an answer from those who want to give peace a chance. Was the conflict resolution of WWII a fluke? Is any principle or ideal worth sacrifice? Should someone break into your home, kill your spouse and rape your children, do you try to understand what socioeconomical-political motivations led to this individual's action? Do you feel sorry for this murderer? Help him load your car up with your valuables and give him the keys right before he kills you? Would this be giving peace a chance? Isn't this what occurred September 11, 2001. If not, then what have I missed? Where am I wrong? Were the deaths of those thousands of Americans something else other than an act of war and murderous aggression? You know, was it just a political statement about how the U.S. foreign policy is displeasing to some in the Middle East. Oh yeah, too bad about all that mess with the people and their families and all, right? Geez,...

I can't disagree, however, with whom do we make peace? Do we pull away our support of Israel, abandon all military and support bases in the Middle East, coerce our own citizens and other first world countries to redistribute a great amount of their wealth to third world countries, and no longer move our interests and influence outside our own borders? This is what Isalmic militants on their jihad want. The issue is never as black/white as simply saying we need to address the problem, not drop bombs. The logic is good: the idea is good, BUT I don't know how we implement diplomacy with a people who want nothing less than our destruction. We have been attacked on our homeland; not an attack against a military base in Saudi Arabia; not an attack against U.S. soldiers in foreign lands. Would understanding the problems which created Nazi Germany have stopped Hitler? Would understanding Hirohito have stopped Imperial Japan? Should China decide to invade Taiwan and other regional Pacific rim countries, do we try to understand the "why"? Both the idea to understand the root cause of any national/political problem, and the desire to avenge with fire transgressions are age old. Islamic militants have attacked Christian Europe at isolated intervals over the past 1300 years in jihad. We are just now the biggest infidel in the world, and our open society makes an internal attack easy. Thoughts on how to appease terrorists?

I was able to download the nVidia 6.50 drivers here as well, should you still have a problem: http://www.nvnews.net/files/files.shtml [ 10-26-2001: Message edited by: thanatos ]

So sorry. i didn't try to download to see if it still works. How about this. Addendum: I see the link only goes to the download page. You need to go to Video Drivers, then nVidia, and finally to the 6.50 drivers. I was able to download the driver at this site. [ 10-26-2001: Message edited by: thanatos ]

Not much of a surprise. The X-35 looks like a jazzed up F22. Does it become a F-35, a F/A-35, or the JSF-35? How about the ATTAB-35 (all things to all branches)? For a good run down on the JSF try this: http://www.jast.mil/IEFrames.htm [ 10-26-2001: Message edited by: thanatos ]

JJ, Try here.

Thanks Mike! I see I got demoted from Commander to Ensign while away. keep up the good fight. Doc

Two discordant views of Islam are being propagated; the "Islam 101 of the 'feel-good' Opray crowd, and the sinister Islam as portrayed in D. Schlussel's commentary from WorldNetDaily quoted here by Silk:null No religion, including Islam, is monolithic. It has been estimated, however, that approximately 100 million followers of Islam subscribe to the Al-Qaida vision for the world: the Islam portrayed by Schlussel, and the one who holds Bin Laden as a Savior of the Arab people. The goal is to render the 100 million Islamic fanatics harmless out of the roughly 1.2 billion Islamic individuals, including the 3-7 million living in the U.S. A more complex problem couldn't have been dreamed up in the wildest fiction novel by Tom Clancy. One question I would pose to those who claim that Debbie Schlussel and others like her are right-wing alarmist and anti-Arab propagandists: Where is the condemnation fron the Islamic clergy? Islam has a form of 'ex-communication' from the Islamic faith that can be sentenced to those who break religious law in the false cause of Allah. Why does not the clerical hierarchy in Saudi Arabia denounce and ex-communicate' Osama Bin Laden, and the branch of radical Islam which teaches murder? This would at least have the potential to nullify some of the religious fervor and "Ascend straight into Paradise, do not pass Go" cards that the religious fanatics feel they earn by being killed or dying while mudering the non-believers in their Jihad. What will it take to wake up in the U.S. and at least begin to see the potential enemy we may be facing, and no longer simply hope it will go away if we go back to our televisions and worrying about SUV gas mileage, and second-hand cigarette smoke? I'm afraid Mr. T was right: "I predict pain". The big, unanswered question is, for who? Doc Hoover

Well done, Derek. Looking foward to my trip to EB, and that magical moment when you start up a monumental game for the first time.

I didn't think you had people like that living in Oregon. Must originally be from the coast, or maybe California, or even {shudder} New York.

quote:Some will use the l33t language E-5: I hate to have to continously exhibit my ignorance, but what is "elle thirty-three tee" language?

Ran across this on one of the video boards concerning DirectX 8. Seems M$ forgot something. Several respondents claim a boost in framerates for some of their games following the fix. quote:Microsoft left debug mode on in 8 and 8a for Direct sound. That is eating up cpu cycles from hell having that on, not to mention software/hardware conflicts that can create. Well I hope this helps some people. This will cure many alements. Extract to Windows/System then go to Control Panel click on the Dx applet go to the Direct sound tab and slide the debug slider all the way to the left <<<<< to disable debug mode. It will work w/ 8.1 but I believe debug is off w/ that version. Microsoft rememberd to check. http://www.gamevoiceclub.com/Download/dxapplet.zip Interesting......................... don't know about increasing framerates in BCM, but won't cost anything to give it a whirl (other than crashing and burning your PC, of course). [ 07-06-2001: Message edited by: thanatos ]

Thanks for the info, Soback. The $20 gamble, eh? I may use it to fill in the gaps of space sim combat/trade/exploration. Hey wait! This sounds alot like some other game, soon to be released, with an EB $10 Off coupon deal, doesn't it? [ 07-02-2001: Message edited by: thanatos ]

The posting here reflects the critical acclaim that has met this game. Reviewers are about as sharply divided on this as they can be: a score as high as 91% to as low as F. One reviewer stated he got the game for free, but still wanted his money back because the game was so bad. As simple and linear as it was by today's standards, I have played Privateer more than any other PC game, amassing around 25 million credits the last time I played it, sometime last year. The comparison of Privateer to Terminus has intrigued me, but I never bought it. The Terminus Demo looks interesting, but due to the harsh reviews, I went with other games to use up my time. Any Terminus fans willing to give the game a thumbs up for $29.95? How would it compare to Privateer for "fun factor"? [ 07-02-2001: Message edited by: thanatos ]

Initially it looks real due to all the detail put into the pages; you think "nobody would spend this much time for a satire web page". Read awhile, especially the mail and supplies and you see it's just 'tongue-in-cheek' 'cat-in-jar' humor. We had a cat that would climb into a quart jar and squash his head against the end, just like the photos. The slug cat is too big now to fit into a 5 gallon bucket (that too rich American diet).

More demented humor, with people having too much time on their hands. You'll either thinks it hilarious or be offended. WARNING: Do not try this with your own pet. The animals depicted at this site are trained professionals. ENTER: I affirm I have a sick sense of humor. http://www.bonsaikitten.com/

Thanks for the answers, Mikel, The Dune Answer Man. quote:If I remember correctly, the hotter they [sandworms] are, the more spice they produce. Oh,....so the spice is worm sweat?!!

Tac 'Moab di' Atreides says: quote:Behold, I am the Depository of All that is Dune. Ask me..ask me... LOL. I got stuck after the third "Dune" installation book. I read them as they were being published many years ago. Should I re-acquire the series and finish it out, including the books I never finished? My question for Tac, the Dune Answer Man: Is my memory correct that it was the sandworms who made the spice, melange? I have always wondered what excretion/secretion/exudate/transudate/other was its origin from them? [ 06-19-2001: Message edited by: thanatos ]