jamotto

Link quote:GRANTS PASS, Ore. - To prove his love, a 38-year-old man set himself on fire before getting down on one knee and asking his girlfriend to marry him. About 100 people gathered to watch Todd Grannis perform the flaming stunt on Monday, which involved wearing a cape soaked in gasoline. Grannis climbed up a 10-foot scaffold, was set on fire and then plunged into a swimming pool, dousing the blaze. Emerging unscathed, he got down on one knee and proposed, as a friend standing nearby slipped him the engagement ring. "Honey, you make me hot," he told his sweetheart, Malissa Kusiek. "I hope I'm getting the point across that I'm on fire for you." Kusiek, who has been dating Grannis for several years, said "yes," but added that she was a little angry because of the danger. "At first I was mad, because I thought, 'He's not a stuntman,'" Kusiek said. "Then, of course, the tears started flowing. Of course I said yes. I was so thrilled." Grannis said he came up with the stunt through the help of his friend, professional stuntman Eric Barkey. Barkey pulled out a photo of himself on fire and said, "You could do that," Grannis said. Grannis met Kusiek, the owner of a local hair salon, when she cut his hair. "I kept telling her sometime before I'm 50," said Grannis, who co-owns an Internet wholesale company. "She wasn't expecting it. She had no clue." quote:"At first I was mad, because I thought, 'He's not a stuntmangreat, starting with day one he is in the doghouse.

Link quote:DALTON, Ga. - Here in the "Carpet Capital of the World," the vast manufacturing plants that supply almost half the nation's carpet also pump out reams of wasted scraps that eventually wind up in landfills. Next month, the world's largest carpet maker plans to do something about the problem, opening a one-of-a-kind power plant that will be fueled by the 16,000 tons of overruns, rejects and remnants it turns out every year. Shaw Industries Inc. hopes the $10 million plant, which will power one of its main factories, can help the company save the $2.5 million a year that would have gone to buy fuel oil. If the project proves successful, its designers expect it will reverberate throughout the industry and particularly this northwest Georgia town, where the rolling hills are dotted with carpet factories, warehouses and discount outlets. "Everybody is watching, and we've been looking for years to find a way to convert waste carpet that makes sense," said Howard Elder, research director for competitor J & J Industries. But Elder quickly added that others will only follow suit if the alternative energy makes economic sense. "I wouldn't think the minute it comes on and appears successful it will proliferate in tens." The plant's engineers say the process is environmentally sound, emitting roughly the same amount of pollution as natural gas. In addition to carpet scraps, the plant will also burn the 6,000 tons of sawdust the company produces every year from the manufacture of wood flooring. The Carpet and Rug Institute says 4.7 billion pounds of carpet is dumped in U.S. landfills each year, filling up almost 1 percent of the country's total landfill space. To the man who helped persuade his company to embrace the idea, it all makes sense ÔÇö especially in light of rising oil costs. "Why pay someone to dig it out of the ground and pay someone else to put it in the landfill?" asked Gary Nichols, Shaw's corporate energy manager, noting that most carpet is made from plastics and other oil products. Sure, changing waste carpet into energy may seem like a shoo-in for the carpet industry. A pound of carpet has roughly the same energy potential as a pound of coal, Nichols said. But years of failed attempts and bad news in this close-knit carpet town have long discouraged industry leaders from taking the next step. Since carpet is made from plastic materials, it often melted, ruining some conversion attempts. Other endeavors failed when the process proved too toxic to meet air pollution standards. Word that a carpet-incinerating boiler exploded in nearby Cartersville years ago didn't help matters. Yet as energy costs rose, the dusty premise that waste carpet could be used to fuel production suddenly became more viable, and Nichols pleaded for years with the company's hierarchy to take another look at converting waste carpet into energy. The result: Shaw Industries joined with engineers from Siemens Building Technology to design a plant they think perfects the once-faulty conversion process. Now a shiny, high-tech plant stands in contrast behind the old factory it helps power ÔÇö a gray, sprawling building that once made parachutes for WWII paratroopers. When the power plant goes on line later this summer, truckloads of carpet will be stacked three stories high in a cavernous warehouse, waiting to be sent through an imposing shredder. The remnants will then be shipped to the gassifier, which is much like an oven and converts the scraps into a synthetic gas. The gas is then pushed through two pollution-controlling processes before its funneled to the factory, where it can be burned much like natural gas to help create 2 million yards of new carpet each year. Shaw, a privately held subsidiary of billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has 30,000 employees and recorded annual sales of $4.66 billion in 2003, the most recent revenue data available. "This process has very far-reaching ramifications," said Clark Wiedetz, a Siemens business development manager. "It's the first of its kind, and the interest even during the last 15 months has been incredible." Most of that interest has come from Shaw's competitors, who regularly ask about the project, Nichols said. "Right now, everybody's skeptical." To the carpet industry, the new plant is a "win-win situation," said Bob Peoples, the executive director of the environmental group Carpet America Recovery Effort and an environmental sustainability expert. "This is a major step forward. This is one potential solution to the landfill problem we face." If successful, the technology's biggest proponents look to be landfill operators. "Everybody supports it," said Harvey Levitt, operations manager for the city of Dalton's solid waste authority. "I just hope it works."Sounds promising so far.

lol, that is if C# doesn't kill the lang. before then.

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: Its not and never will be the future of programming. Thats just silly thinking.So out of curiosity what language do you think is the "future" of programming?

I think this is the one he has? Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Absolute Beginner) (Paperback) Curious to see if Python becomes the future of programming?

My thoughts and prayers goes out to the victims on this black day.

Link quote:WASHINGTON - Will the jailing of New York Times reporter Judy Miller scare people off from risking careers to tell reporters about government misdeeds? Or will Miller's willingness to sit behind bars rather than name a confidential source embolden such whistleblowers? As Miller was led from court to a jail cell Wednesday, news executives and observers debated those questions. Saddened by Miller's fate, most feared sources will be less likely to talk; some hoped they will be reassured. On the government side, U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan, who sent Miller to jail for almost four months unless she recants and testifies, and prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who demanded her jailing, took pains in court to say they were not trying to deny reporters their sources. Hogan noted he had let Miller remain free while she appealed up to the Supreme Court. He added that a Supreme Court decision 33 years ago that reporters could not always keep their sources' names secret had not destroyed press coverage of government scandals, including Watergate. "This is not a one-person effort," Fitzgerald said. He pointed out that Hogan and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had agreed he had showed that Miller's testimony was essential and not obtainable elsewhere. And the Supreme Court refused to hear Miller's challenge to Hogan's civil contempt of court citation. "In the end, the law must be obeyed," Fitzgerald argued, citing decisions by President Truman not to seize steel mills and by President Nixon to release Watergate tapes once the Supreme Court ruled against them. "I do not view myself as above the law," Miller told Hogan. "You are right to send me to prison." But she said she had an obligation to protect a confidential source: "I do not make confidentiality pledges lightly, but when I do I must honor them." Fitzgerald is investigating whether a crime was committed, and by whom, in the Bush administration's leak of the name of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame. Columnist Robert Novak first published Plame's name in July 2003, days after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joe Wilson, publicly disparaged President Bush's rationale for invading Iraq. Administration detractors said the leak was designed to punish Wilson for his criticism by ending his wife's undercover career. Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper, who identified Plame after Novak, avoided the same jail term given Miller. Also held in contempt by Hogan for refusing to testify before Fitzgerald's grand jury, Cooper shocked the packed courtroom Wednesday by announcing that his source had contacted him just hours earlier to give him specific, unambiguous permission to tell the grand jury about their conversations. Miller never wrote a story naming Plame, and there's been no official explanation why Fitzgerald wants Miller's testimony. The court rulings upholding his effort have blacked out details of his reasons. New York Times' attorney Floyd Abrams speculated Wednesday that "most likely somebody testified to the grand jury that he or she had spoken to Judy." News executives and observers, however, did not think that details of the case would limit its impact on journalism. "This investigation ÔÇö whether it intended to or not ÔÇö is intimidating sources and journalists," said Jane Kirtley, professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota. "In a climate of increasing secrecy, it raises a question of whether the people will be reduced to just getting the official line from the government." Grasping for a silver lining outside the courthouse, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller said maybe someone in government with information to disclose will understand the lengths to which reporters will go to protect sources. Brant Houston, executive director of Investigate Reporters and Editors, predicted, "There will still be stories based on anonymous sources. But this will make every reporter think twice about granting anonymity, which they really should do anyway." Deanna Sands, Omaha, Neb., World-Herald managing editor and president of Associated Press Managing Editors Association, was less optimistic. "It raises the specter of government intervention in the gathering of information and has to be noticed by anyone considering talking to a reporter," Sands said in a telephone interview. "It's more likely to give people pause. "Unfortunately, we'll never know how many good stories we won't get to write." The Miller-Cooper case has been seen as a test of press freedom, and numerous media groups have lined up behind the reporters. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have shield laws protecting reporters from having to identify their confidential sources, though there is no federal protection. Congress is considering a bill, however, and Cooper and others involved in the case have urged passage. Hogan and Fitzgerald stressed that they were not asking Miller to identify a whistleblower but rather a possible criminal. Disclosure of an undercover intelligence officer's identity can be a federal crime if done intentionally and the leaker knew of the secret status. Hogan said allowing Miller to defy the courts would be a step toward anarchy. He saw "a realistic possibility that confinement might cause her to testify" or persuade her source to give her the same release Cooper's gave him. Miller was seen entering the Alexandria, Va., Detention Center, where she could remain until the grand jury expires Oct. 28.

It may have been boring, but in the end Universal is happy as the movie has now made a profit. Now is that not scary!

Thanks for the link LostInSpace. Really neat video!

don't blame them, it worked for the Republican's quote:It's not the first time that campaigns have played fast and loose with photos. In the most recent presidential contest, Democratic nominee John Kerry was pasted by rivals into a shot with Jane Fonda - aka Hanoi Jane - at an anti-Vietnam War rally.

Link quote:A mysterious biological mechanism that subtly changes the way people's genes behave may account for many of the surprising differences between identical twins, researchers announced yesterday. Geneticists said the new work, by an international team of scientists who studied the DNA of more than 40 pairs of twins, strengthens the case that a fledgling research field called epigenetics holds the long-sought answer to one of biology's toughest questions: How do environmental influences, such as exposure to pollutants, consumption of certain foods or perhaps even powerful emotional experiences, produce lasting and potentially life-altering changes in a person's DNA? Beyond its potential importance for understanding differences in identical twins, epigenetics could explain many of the twists of fate that affect ordinary people -- why one person may be struck by cancer, for example, while another is spared, even though neither's DNA harbors a cancer-causing mutation. "This is how the environment talks to the genome," said Rudolf Jaenisch, a geneticist at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass., who was not part of the project. "This paper says lifestyle, or environmental influences or whatever you want to call them, have a real influence on your DNA." Stephen Baylin, a professor of oncology and medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, said the new work points to the roots of a host of chronic diseases. "This could lead to far-reaching revelations about how our environment breeds predispositions for lots of diseases, like diabetes, cancer and heart disease." Human cells have tens of thousands of genes inside them, each with its own job, such as producing energy or overseeing cell division. But only certain genes are active at any given time or in any cell type while the rest are appropriately dormant -- a grand orchestration that adds up to a smooth-running life. The new research, led by Mario F. Fraga and Manel Esteller of the Spanish National Cancer Center in Madrid, focused on two biological mechanisms that influence gene activity. In one, called DNA methylation, enzymes inside a cell attach a minuscule molecular decoration to a gene, deactivating that gene. In the other, called histone acetylation, a dormant gene is made active again. These altered genetic settings can last a lifetime (though they are not passed down to a person's offspring) and can be important if, say, the gene turned off is one that protects against cancer. The extent to which epigenetic changes are preprogrammed from birth or spurred by factors outside the body has been unclear. In the new work, described in today's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers measured the extent to which twins of various ages, from 3 to 74, differed in the number and variety of genes that had been either turned on or shut down by epigenetic processes. They found that young twins had almost identical epigenetic profiles but that with age their profiles became more and more divergent. In a finding that scientists said was particularly groundbreaking, the epigenetic profiles of twins who had been raised apart or had especially different life experiences -- including nutritional habits, history of illness, physical activity, and use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs -- differed more than those who had lived together longer or shared similar environments and experiences. Small epigenetic events before birth probably account for many of the minor distinguishing differences in the appearance, personality and general health of young twins, Estella said, and a lifetime of further epigenetic changes gradually increases individuality. "Both nature and nurture are acting on these twins," Estella said. "Epigenetics is the bridge or the interplay between them." Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, said the work adds to an emerging recognition that scientists must move beyond their long-standing focus on the inherited spelling of people's DNA code and the occasional mutation or outright "misspelling." Epigenetic changes do not alter genetic spellings but may account for as many cases of cancer and other diseases as full-blown gene mutations, he said. "Here's something where Mendel, Watson and Crick all seem to have missed some crucial goodies," said Collins, referring to pioneers of genetic research. Collins's institute, along with the National Cancer Institute and others, intends to launch a major effort to identify the many epigenetic changes that contribute to cancer. Scientists want to identify the epigenetic changes wrought by specific environmental exposures -- whether dietary factors, environmental toxins or more nuanced influences such as persistent stress -- and develop drugs that can reverse those alterations.

quote:Originally posted by LostInSpace: The pictures are awesome!!!! very cool.

Mission Accomplished: Probe Hits Comet

Space Pirate quote:It is so far in the future that no one even knows where "Earth" is anymore. The galaxy is pretty much controlled by the Galactic Empire, a large bureaucratic government ruling over most of the planets toward the center of the galaxy. At the ends of the galaxy are collections of "independent" planets that have their own governments. The real force between the stars is the dreaded Intergalactic Revenue Service (IRS). This is the organization that collects trade tariffs throughout the galaxy. Although the taxes go to the Empire, they collect taxes on "independent" planets as well. Only the few planets that are part of the rebellion do not pay taxes. Because of the IRS, a law-abiding trader can barely get by. Therefore, Imperial freighters, exempt from tariffs, have a virtual monopoly on trade. This is, of course, except for the Space Pirates. Space Pirates trade without paying taxes. They ignore the IRS agents at every space port and risk the wrath of IRS "Tax Collector" warships. The rewards of being a Space Pirate are many: fame, fortune and freedom. However, the risks are high as the Empire and the IRS consider tax evaders to be "scum" and not worth dealing with. Therefore, the IRS warships are under orders to attack and destroy pirates immediately upon contact. As a Space Pirate, you will have to keep up a ship and crew. Ships need fuel and repair, and your crew needs paychecks. Let your crew's morale fall too low and you could be looking at a mutiny. Space Pirates also get to do fun things like raid other ships and plunder the natural resources of uninhabited planets. There's also drinking and merriment to be had at every spaceport bar from one end of the galaxy to the other.

quote:1:Actually, I don't mind it either but it is a heck of a lot easier having the game media on a DVD.I guess one of these days I will have to break down and get me a DVD player. quote: 2:I'll have to go thru my extensive collection of games to get you a list of mine that don't. Off hand, I think I remember OUTCAST as one of the culprits which has two cd's and I think you play with Disk 2 but it doesn't say that on the game disk which are labeled 1 and 2.heh, well if it's as large as mine we might not hear from you for a couple of days or more. quote: 3: You are correct. I was going to mention that but figured let someone else have a comment on that point. I also forgot to mention game Mod's for the PC. Do you know if that will be available on the upcoming new generation consoles?That is a very good question. I do know that some X-box games have added new content like new robots, but as far as an outright Mod that changes the overall game, I don't know. Someone who is more console savvy will have to answer that question.

quote:Originally posted by Darkling: The biggest problem with OS/2 was that it required WAY too much RAM (around 128MB)I think that is if you ran windows apps on it. It would create a virtual machine with almost the entire win 3.x O/S loaded into it (about 4-8 MB per app). This was unlike the way NT worked which just loaded stubs.

quote:Brad Wardell -I think there is some truth to this. The PC industry has some issues it needs to resolve if it's going to remain viable. On a console game, I can put the disc in the machine and start playing the game. Increasingly, PC games require you install several CDs first, then download some patch to fix the bugs in teh game, and then you still end up having to sift through several CDs to find the right one to stick in the drive to play the actual game. That's a lot of hassle.I guess I'm the odd one out, but multiple CD installs don't really bother me. Even with many CD's (6+), the time it takes to install the game can be put to good use by using the time to read the manual. As far as finding the right CD when many exist. I have yet to find a game that had not numbered the CD's or at least marked the "play" CD. I would have to agree with LostInSpace that patching makes PC's more viable, but I would like to note that the Xbox allows patching and I would suspect the next gen. of consoles will continue to allow patching.

Starship Tactical Combat Simulator quote:Welcome to my download page for something like a Star Fleet Battles Computer Simulation. This work was originally inspired several years ago from an urge to prove to myself that I could create a starship simulation game of reasonable entertainment value. It was not inspired from a desire to create a simulation of Star Fleet Battles. It was born from a desire to make a game that was better than one I was already playing named Begin I say this is something like SFB because, it uses some of the concepts SFB players are all familiar with. In no way, however, does it work like SFB, -it would be next to impossible to transform this game to a true SFB simulation . As a computer game, I have done away with many of the thngs from SFB and you won't find things such as energy allocation or shield boundaries, hex-grid maps or dice rolling, impulse charts, damage allocation, mizia concepts etc. For now, this is you vs. the computer, can you beat it? This game operates on its own set of rules and priciples that I have developed over the years, based on experience with a variety of games, modern day warfare and weaponry, common sense, and, of course, ease in programming.

OpenTrek quote:OpenTrek is a 3d update of the classic "Super Star Trek" game. OpenTrek is open source, released under the GNU General Public License.

Transcendence quote:Transcendence is a game of space combat and adventure in which you travel throughout the star systems of Human Space and encounter pirates, outlaws, and slavers bent on taking your ship, your cargo, and your life.

Anacreon An update to the 1988 game of the same name quote:The mechanics of the game are simple. Each player assumes the role of a totalitarian ruler of a small galactic empire. Every player in turn examines status reports and issues orders each year, a simple process that includes determining which worlds can become colonies and deploying fleets to conquer them. Once all players have taken their turn, the computer updates all the worlds in the galaxy and the next year begins. There are no formal victory conditaions in the game, so a game doesn't ever have to end.

Link quote:AMD would never come out and admit it, but one of the strategies going for the company in the upcoming legal battle with Intel is the possible exposure of incidents that could embarrass the chip giant. These exposures could be powerful fodder indeed, especially in light of Intel's historically tight marketing controls. What is at stake for AMD is of course a costly lawsuit that the company might fail to win. Perhaps even more imporant than this is the potentially costly anti-Intel marketing effort that might fail to win the company more market share. AMD's new lawsuit -- filed today in Japan -- alleges that the world's largest chipmaker paid PC makers Hitachi, NEC, Fujitsu, Toshiba and Sony not to buy AMD processors. It was the setup of the March 8 finding by the Japan Fair Trade Commission that enhanced the possibility of AMD's lawsuits. The Commission in Japan found that Intel's Japanese subsidiary, Intel K.K., violated Japan's Antimonopoly Act. In one respect, AMD has an obligation to sue Intel. For years, Intel's dominance -- its airtight sales channels -- has been legendary. It has been the stuff of jokes and anecdotes in Silicon Valley. But, lately for AMD, the inability to gain traction in the market has not been funny. "In the last few years, we've made a widely recognized transformation from a challenger to a technology leader and we're not seeing a fair return," said AMD spokesman Mike Simonoff. If Intel takes a hit, it might not be of the legal variety. It will be interesting, for example, to see how well the company's image holds up to depositions and testimony. The notion that CEO Craig Barrett flew to Taiwan to threaten the Chairman of Acer, as AMD alleges, is the kind of incident that could dent Intel's image. If it were Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison or Scott McNealy, the market might reply with a collective, "So what?" But AMD claims it is looking forward to exposing Intel at trial. "It's pretty shocking stuff for those that aren't familiar with the inner working of this industry," Simonoff added. He said Barrett's Taiwan trip is just one example of Intel's actions. "AMD's complaint reads a little like the Sopranos versus Mother Theresa," said Gartner (NYSE: IT - news) analyst Martin Reynolds. "There are guns-to-heads and other language in it that might be overselling the point, but nonetheless there are plenty of incidents in there that do perhaps deserve the attention of the court." One of AMD's hopes is that what comes out in trial is colorful enough to affect the market. Certainly, denting Intel's image is important for the smaller chipmaker. But the stakes are high and the company cannot afford to lose the legal battle.I hope AMD wins this one.

Link quote:NEW YORK - An attempt to erect the worldÔÇÖs largest popsicle in a city square ended with a scene straight out of a disaster film ÔÇö but much stickier. The 25-foot-tall, 17┬¢-ton treat of frozen Snapple juice melted faster than expected Tuesday, flooding Union Square in downtown Manhattan with kiwi-strawberry-flavored fluid that sent pedestrians scurrying for higher ground. Firefighters closed off several streets and used hoses to wash away the sugary goo. Snapple had been trying to promote a new line of frozen treats by setting a record for the worldÔÇÖs largest popsicle, but called off the stunt before it was pulled fully upright by a construction crane. Authorities said they were worried the thing would collapse in the 80-degree, first-day-of-summer heat. ÔÇ£What was unsettling was that the fluid just kept coming,ÔÇØ Stuart Claxton of the Guinness Book of World Records told the Daily News. ÔÇ£It was quite a lot of fluid. On a hot day like this, you have to move fast.ÔÇØ Snapple official Lauren Radcliffe said the company was unlikely to make a second attempt to break the record, set by a 21-foot ice pop in Holland in 1997. The giant ice pop was supposed to have been able to withstand the heat for some time, and organizers werenÔÇÖt sure why it didnÔÇÖt. It had been made in Edison, N.J., and hauled to New York by freezer truck in the morning.

quote:Originally posted by Hellbinder: Its based on a well known BOOK for crying out loud!!.Fahrenheit 451, was also based of a well known book and look at how that turned out.

quote:The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. 2nd Lt. Matthew S. Coutu, 23, of North Kingstown, R.I., died June 27 in Baghdad, Iraq, where enemy forces engaged his convoy with small arms fire. Coutu was assigned to the 64th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.Link May you rest in peace...