DraconisRex

Yeppers... Going after my Bachelor's in Computer Science. I just hope they don't ask me where the "Any" key is on the final exam.... As for computer repair, here's an article I wrote a year or two ago.... What Not To Do When Buying A New Computer I got into computers because of Star Trek, and the hopes that they may one day help develop faster-than-light technology.

My Home Desk.... I'm going back to school, getting a job - that kind of thing....

Ah, how quickly time passes when you get a life... I just got one tossed on my desk...

They had the attoney for the dude that suing Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's and Kentucky Fried Chicken on WCBM a few weeks ago. His client had been eating at these places for 20-years, and he was trying to convince the listening audience that his client in no way KNEW that eating in those places would make him fat. Excuse me -- they teach that in school, or at least at my high school -- I knew that back in the 5th grade. Where's this guy living -- under a rock? I mean, I eat at those places, and yes, I have gained a bit of poundage, but it isn't because of my ignorance -- it's because of my laziness to cook at times, or lack of time. In any event, I don't buy that nonsense, and any judge and/or jury worth a crap will concur.

I don't think It Came From Outer Space was attacked as visciously as Ecks was. I mean, ICFOS was a really bad movie, with a potentially interesting story, but had BAD acting, NO plot, and seemed to take FOR-freaking-ever to finally get to the end.... It took about 5 tries of watching it before I finally completed it -- nothing like caffeine to help you in a crisis.... Although Them! was a B-Class movie, at least what it was suggesting was semi-plausable for its time. But these are 50's and 60's movies I'm comparing to Ecks. I guess the sub-title for it (which would make it THE worst movie of all time) should be: It came from 2002. I will avoid this movie like doutie diapers, and only HOPE the producers have learned something from their effort: DON'T make the same mistake twice. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was another B-Class movie, but they never intended for it to be considered a serious effort. It was done in FUN, and was humorous in part, completely intentional. I have to say it's several generations above ICFOS, and based on the reviews I read, is a crapload better than ECKS.

As far as I can tell on Copyright, it still is. However, that doesn't mean Epic will ignore all requrests... I'll try to get some contact info, and get back to you tommorow....

Never underestimate an old BBS operator with a ton of experience finding stuff.... quote: ---====== TYRIAN - Shareware v2.0 ======--- Second release of Tyrian from Epic MegaGames. Featuring 4 new action packed levels in addition to the original 14, plus awesome new special effects and gameplay enhancements. Multiple gameplay options offer you hours of excitement and exploration. TYRIAN brings the most complete overhead arcade shooter to life on your PC! Req: 386 or better IBM PC or compatible, 4 megs RAM, VGA, 7 megs HD space. ---=====================================--- LINKS: Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 The first link worked fine. The game is shareware, and although MegaGames no longer supports it, it's still semi-playable. Just couldn't get it to run on XP (Gee, imagine that...) Better go with DOS on this one....

What platform (meaning PC/Mac/Console/Arcade/etc.) was that game on? I might be able to help find it with that info....

There is only one major difference I noticed between last season's Opening and Ending Screens... If you watch closely, the credits display in the Ending Screen under what looks like the planet Earth. However... The starfield in the background is moving! That means the planet is moving at warp speeds, but appears to be standing still... Anyone else notice this?

OKAY... That's one movie I WILL NOT see... These short excerpts shows why.... quote: "Some movies were made for the big screen, some for the small screen, and some, like Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, were made for the palm screen." -- Susan Walker, TORONTO STAR quote: "A 90 minute cacophony of bullets, bombs, and other things that go boom, delivered without the tiniest thread of excitement." -- Mark Palermo, THE COAST (HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA) quote: "I'm guessing the director is a magician. After all, he took three minutes of dialogue, 30 seconds of plot and turned them into a 90-minute movie that feels five hours long." -- Bill Muller, ARIZONA REPUBLIC quote: "Whether it's the worst movie of 2002, I can't say for sure: Memories of Rollerball have faded, and I skipped Country Bears. But this new jangle of noise, mayhem and stupidity must be a serious contender for the title." -- Lawrence Toppman, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER I don't know... At least in Get Smart, there was an occasional chance at entertainment... Thanks for the heads-up, SC! *Salute!*

Okay, boys and girls... I finally found the legal information I was looking for.... From the Constitutional Rights foundation: quote:Article V of the Constitution provides two methods for adding Amendments. Congress introduces amendments by one method; the states initiate them under the other. The only method ever used is the congressional method. It lets Congress pass constitutional amendments by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Such amendments must then be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures or special state conventions, as Congress determines. Over 10,000 amendments have been introduced into Congress since 1789. Only 33 have been approved. Of these, 27 have been ratified and added to the Constitution. The other way of amending the Constitution has never been successfully used. Under this procedure, the states initiate the amending process by petitioning Congress for a constitutional convention. When two-thirds of the states have submitted petitions, Congress must call a convention. Any amendments approved by such a convention must be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Congress decides whether state legislatures or state conventions will ratify these amendments. Since the Constitution went into effect, there have been about 400 petitions from state legislatures calling for a convention to consider one thing or another. None of these efforts ever succeeded, but some came close. For years Congress ignored requests to pass an amendment allowing for the direct election of U.S. senators. Finally, in 1912, Congress passed the 17th Amendment, but only after supporters of the amendment were just one state short of triggering a constitutional convention. Article V reads: quote:Article. V. The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. What this means is incredible. First, Congress doesn't actually own everything, as the several states can say "no" to more taxes. ("Read my lips - No New Taxes...") Of course, they get kick-backs, and would be hard-pressed to give up their lucrative lifestyles, but that isn't the point of this conversation. A Constitutional Convention could be forced upon Congress to rewrite archaic sections into plain 'ol English, and effectively VETO anything the people didn't like. However, 2/3rds of the states effectively means 2/3rds of the people. However, that may not be as hard as it sounds, from a different perspective. In this case, apathy can be used as a sword to sever the bonds that have tied free peoples' hands. The States will only be hearing from the voting public. You can more or less ignore those that don't vote in this case, since Senators and Representatives from both States and Congress tend to more or less ignore non-voters. So, our "market share" for this campaign is simplified, because only the voters count. Be that as it may, we're selling freedom in the form of Ginsu knives, to a public that mostly have no idea what rights they never had. The main problem is taxes on income. If you tax the producer and the wage earner directly, you reduce the money they can spend on products, which, in turn, reduces the amount of money spent, and lowers the Gross National Product considerably. However, if you put a sales tax on EVERYTHING sold, from the wholesale to retail levels, you have a lot more effective revenue in the national treasury. You might think that this will increase how much you're paying for a given product, but the truth is, at 8.25% sales tax, the average product tax would be around $16.00 per 100 dollars, based on normal mark-ups. Before you say "ouch," remember what you're paying right now: $36 per 100 dollars. Lower taxes mean lower prices, and that stimulates sales and income levels, which means more production, which will raise the GNP to new heights. With this action, you would also want to remove from the states to charge sales tax, as most of the monies received would actually go to the states, directly. The IRS would be abolished, since it's barely legal as it is. I'm for limited government, that's smaller, OF THE PEOPLE, with term-limits and anti-nepotism laws in-force. I also think we should make all representatives of the people, and judges, police, etc., totally responsible for their actions. We need a Vote of No-Confidence for the people to remove corrupt politicians from their lofty positions by their votes. I also believe that, with effective changes to the Constitution, that there should be a tangible difference between citizen and civilian. Just because you were born here shouldn't make you a citizen -- that right must be earned. Serving military or public service for two-years should be required of any applicant to be a citizen for this great nation. Had that policy existed on September 11th, 2001, and airports had to have citizen-employees, there is NO WAY that security would have missed the box-cutters in the first place. Freedom isn't free -- many have died to keep it for the rest of us. Citizenship should not allow the right to vote -- it should enforce it. There is no reason why, when you go online, you couldn't go to a secured site and place your ballot. This could be done in any company with a computer and a phone line -- Vote when you pick up your check. (Abstain is an option on most voting ballots.) As the world continues to shrink as populations soar, we should be pouring money in programs that promote space exploration, instead of spending it on social programs that only reduce the effective income of the middle class -- and thusly reduce the GNP. The Colonial Federation Challege: quote:The Colonial Federation, invites you, to accept, without reservation or prejudice, the Colonial Federation Challenge. YOUR MISSION, Should You Choose To Accept It. HELP restore, our Constitutional, Republic: QUIT ASKING GOVERNMENT, FOR FAVORS, HANDOUTS, & SPECIAL PRIVILEGES, and refuse it's bribes! DO THE MATH, & take every tax deduction you can. GET BEHIND, any movement that, PROVES WITH ACTION, it advocates, limited government, & push with a relentless drive! ENCOURAGE, those you know, to do likewise. GET OUT OF PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT, into private sector work, or start a business. DISCOURAGE others' dependence, on socialistic programs, & public "benefits". EDUCATE YOURSELF, in American history, and culture, from the Bible, Harvard Classics, and the public library. REFUSE TO BE INTIMIDATED, by "political correctness", "multiculturalism", and other divisive socialist lies, because truth is seldom popular, but what's popular is seldom true, since logic is supposed to govern emotion, not the other way around.

What about an American's Role??? quote: The case could also be made that, politics is for those who are too lazy to exercise their individual Constitutional rights. It's a hell of a lot easier to be a Democrat or a Republican, than it is to be an American: All one need do is, memorize and regurgitate the appropriate propaganda on cue to be a party robot - it requires no thought whatsoever. Being an American means holding the politicians and their voter blocks accountable for their transgressions against the Constitution, and thereby maintaining a functioning republic... - E. Truth WIthout term-limits, accountability, anti-nepotism, and fair taxes for all, we still aren't a free society. The United Imperial States of America runs the show. And Presidentual C'Zar Bush is preparing to invade Iraq. To me, this place feels like the Roman Empire, and it is up to those remaining who care to "deal with," once again, King George. This time, I have a special request: When our Electives sit down to revamp the Constitution, can we all pray they do it right this time, and make it THE foundation of the United States, and make the original document unchangable without 75% of the American Adult Public (Public, not voters) petitioning its change, and 2/3rds of Congress agreeing. Most of the Constitution is perfect. It is the Amendments which I question, past the first ten....

Customer Service, in many areas, is dying from neglect... I've been to Wal-Mart on more occasions than I could possibly count, and some of them are good, while others, horrid. I've been a restaurant manager, a truck stop fuel desk manager, convenience store asst. manager, and an office manager. In all of these, you have customers on some level. At a Taco Bell in Baltimore, while we were in line about to place our order, they closed the store two-hours early. When I asked the lady what the problem was, she said, and I qoute: "I'm just having trouble dealing with my day..." That tells me a lot... I read that as "Go away, stay away -- your money isn't wanted here." There is a McDonalds not too far from my house that opens at 5 am. Because of the distance to my job, I'd sometimes go in at 5:30. The store would be open, but whoever ran the Drive-thru didn't bother to turn on the lights at the Drive-thru, or listen to the Dinger. I'd have to go inside to place the order. This tells me, "Oh, no, we're not really open yet -- that's just an illusion created by the efforts of top-management to get your business...." Customer Service means assisting the customer. Not lying to them, being rude to them or any other customer, nor just taking their returned item and shoving them away like unwanted laundry. It's funny -- the people in Baltimore and the DC area, for the most part, are rude, discourteous, and uncaring. But I can drive to anywhere in PA and feel welcome. Although it's 30 miles north of us, I prefer to go to the Wal-Mart in Shrewsbury, PA, instead of any location in the area in which we live. The only exceptions to this rule is any and all of the Quiznos we've been to, regardless of geographical location, and an Arby's in Collage Park, MD, and our bank. With over 5 million people in the area, with something close to 600,000 businesses, that is very sad. I'm not saying that Customer Service needs to be perfect 24/7, but you'd be amazed what patience, understanding (even if only apparent), and an occasional smile will do. Nobody smiles in this area unless you make them with jokes or whatever. That means unhappiness starts at the top, and rolls down the chain like an avalanche.

I love that! EP5, there's another quote by Patton that's cool: quote:There are no bad regiments. Only bad generals.

quote:Originally posted by Grayfox: quote:Sorta like those short-range wired telephones haha TA-1's... we used to zap cruits with those. wed tell em to hold these wires, then crank the phone LOL - I'd forgotten what they were called (1989 was a long time ago...), but knew how much FUN they were....

quote:Originally posted by Grayfox: LOL. it starts out all serious... then goes downhill from there... i liked the short range commo kit Sorta like those short-range wired telephones we installed in the field at my artillery unit... "Whadda you mean, if the wire's cut it quits working?!? The batteries are still good!"

Although the article referened below by URL is dated (January 2nd, 2002), it does ask some interesting questions. Article I was talking about... Now, I'm not saying that I accept what the author is saying completely, I did notice that some of what he is saying appears to be true. What do you think?

Simple rule of thumb: Stay away from talk-shows in general. No matter what you do or with whom...

quote:Originally posted by Dredd: Watch the 4th congressional district primaries in GA, and go to Bye bye Cynthia . Read the site, it'll talk about how she accuses Racism every time someone points out how she is wrong. It's one thing to cry Racism when it is racism, but it's another to cry out racism because your a minority and your wrong. We're all human, and we all make mistakes (except for me) I'm particularly disturbed by the sheer number of donations from Islamic associations and obviously non-U.S. contributions to her campaign fund. Makes you wonder how far the deception goes... [ 08-19-2002, 09:45 AM: Message edited by: DraconisRex ]

quote:Originally posted by $iLk: From what I understand, clock speed are accurate. Each one runs at 1.7 GHZ, the difference is in system performance, which varies dependant upon which applications you are running. AMD runs better with some apps, Intel runs better with others. I find the lawsuit baseless, considering all information is clearly available from Intel's own website about the specs of each processor,mobo, etc.An average user couldn't begin to understand most of what is on the Intel site... They should have set real standards 5 years ago.... Intel tricked the average user with its talk of MHz, which is nothing but horsepower. But, if the transmission is not up to par, you still can only go as fast as its limits. (A system is only as fast as its slowest device. Period.) Let's assume that you have an Athlon computer with two hard drives. One of those is just big enough for the operating system, but the other is a huge, 40 GB hard drive with all the programs you want. However, the 2nd hard drive is hooked up to an onboard controller that is exactly as fast as a floppy's controller. Exactly how fast is BCM going to run on that system? The screens will draw fast (once they load...) Oh, it might run okay, but the problem is this: If it takes several hours to leave Earth's orbit, is it playable? My point is this: Anything with a bottleneck slows down a system. Upping the MHz in a computer is nice, but if the rest of the system isn't matching it, it's pointless. Since MHz is the standard that most people use, then Intel cheated with psychological marketing. What needs to happen is this: An outside agency needs to set a performance standard for all computers, based on office, internet, system-intensive games (like BCM), etc. But they can't just set that standard and let it go. It has to become a "living standard", since programs and operating systems change, and are quite fluid in that change. The major problem is this: there are several versions of Windows, and there are varying degrees of differences in performance between them. For example, Windows XP running most software is a heck of a lot faster than Windows for Workgroups (3.11) At the same time, Windows 98 will run some programs that XP won't even attempt (even with compatability set -- with XP, there are just a few programs it won't run.) So.... What do you do? We can't give it to the govenment (although we could let our government run drug trafficking for a few weeks to rid us of that problem -- everything they touch goes bankrupt!), as they are too slow. Magazines aren't unbiased, as they claim -- who do you think pays their advertising? PC stores are in the same boat (or is that bed?) So, who can we trust to do it?

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: quote:Originally posted by echo: My Uncle is an exterminator down there. He makes a killing! No pun intendedoh good, maybe he knows something about frogs cuz Orkin such as hell don't. {1980's Flashback through the Eyes of Zelazny's Trumps of Doom...) quote:"Orkin, We're # 1, Your money's so fun, We're Orkin... Orkin, Killing bugs is our game, With killing frogs we're so lame, We're Orkin..." Oh, Hi SC! I'll put away my cards now...

quote:Originally posted by Dredd: In the best interests of all parties involved, Saddam should be "killed in a friendly fire accident" in one of his palaces in Iraq. Short of that, we'll have to put up with him ranting and raving in a public forum, feeding propoganda to radical Islamic countries and supporting terrorists. As for that long explanation on the fall of the world due to China invading Russia, Russia would nuke China. They don't even need 20% of their nuclear capabilities to take out China. Besides, China knows that all it takes is a few nuke on Beijing and other major cities to defeat the whole concept of a war.I would agree that it is unlikely that the scenario as described would occur, but then again, if the Russians fire on the major cities in China, China will retaliate. Remember -- most of the population centers of Russia are centralized around Moscow -- there's a lot of Russia that ain't Moscow... Especially toward the Berring Strait, which is the reason for my scenario. China still wins, albeit with a civilian population reduction. [ 08-12-2002, 01:18 PM: Message edited by: DraconisRex ]

quote:Originally posted by TheBunny: NOOOOOO Now when my BattleCruiser MK3 goes light speed it will go slower. As if it doesnt go slow enough already (cheap GALCOM engines) Nah... If the light in everything is going slower, then so is time, and therefore, so is your apparent observation of its passage...

On the Colonial Federation website, they rewrote the page, and defined some political terms. quote:HOW TO SURVIVE AN ELECTION: A Voter's Guide To The Realities Behind The Rhetoric! "DEMOCRAT" = Socialist who thinks your money belongs to government for bribing dopers, drunkards, sodomites and any other group of weirdos to elect him. "REPUBLICAN" = This socialist thinks your tax money belongs to Roman Catholic munitions manufacturers, BanKhazar, N.A. & old-money filthy-rich, lucky sperm club members as thanks for their votes & support! MINORITY = Any small, exploitable voter bloc selfish enough to think THEIR right, ethnic/ethical fad or designer cause supercedes the well-being of the republic, who thereby lend to the division of America against itself. "CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY" = The presumed obligation of free enterprise to sacrifice itself to the greed of the political class & the welfare state. POLITICAL CAREERS = The greatest danger to the future of constitutional liberty, as most incumbents & bureaucrats will do ANYTHING to keep their sinchy jobs. "ECONOMIC JUSTICE" = Latest mask for the myth of "entitlement": Something For Nothing by any other name... LIBERALISM = PURE socialism. CONSERVATISM = Socialism wears a rosary; "all-American" when running, statist when elected. "TOLERANCE" = The great spiritualist/pseudo-Christian WASPel of "love everybody & put up with everything, in Jesus' name, amen." See also COMPROMISE or COPOUT!!! FOOL = Lover of this STATIST quo; anyone who doesn't want to change this system because "That's the way we've always done it!!!" AMERICAN = Non hyphenated political creature from anywhere on earth who cherishes liberty & demands justice. THE AMERICAN PARTY = Desperately needed third party to represent EVERYONE'S interests & issues, not just the weird or well-heeled. I've been preaching some of this for years; the rest is argumentatively true. Opinions? [ 08-11-2002, 10:08 AM: Message edited by: DraconisRex ]

quote:Originally posted by Menchise: No. I was just wondering. Uh... Okay.