jamotto

pitiful

Link quote:WASHINGTON (AFP) - Need a plastic White House? How about an "I love Washington" sweatshirt or a Stars and Stripes for the car? Well, thanks to communist China, you won't break the bank. As Washington simmers over trade and currency spats with Beijing -- policymakers need not stray far to test America's addiction to the fruits of China's great economic leap forward. Little more than a flick of a patriotic frisbee from the White House is a cornucopia of tourist kitsch, at knockdown prices courtesy of low-wage workers halfway across the globe. Tourists can choose a "President of the United States" baseball cap, with a pirated official seal across the front -- good value at 12 dollars. Or plump for a pewter-style handheld statue of Abe Lincoln or a model of the US Capitol for eight dollars. Even more ironic is the seven buck scene of one of the quintessential moments of American mythology, the raising of the US flag by marines at the World War II battle of Iwo Jima. In one of the most patriotic nations on earth, each of these pieces bears a "Made in China" sticker on its base. And given that according to latest statistics, Washington hosted 16.4 million domestic visitors in 2003 compared with only 0.8 million foreigners -- most of them are being snapped up by Americans. Only a few garments have a "Made in the USA" label, and some of those were woven in the Dominican Republic with American material. Hardly anyone is priced out of the market: a dishevelled homeless man patrols the streets in an " FBI" shirt, made in Vietnam, and a matching woolly hat. Happy with the flow of affordable goods, many Americans are relaxed over their point of origin. Marilyn Beatty, from Northern Virginia, says her out-of-town visitors love the tourist stalls dotted around downtown Washington. "I use them a lot, a real lot, I just like that it's cheap," she shrugged, when asked whether she is concerned that most stalls hold goods from China, Vietnam, Taiwan or the Dominican Republic. "A lot of the stuff in Wal-Mart and Target comes from China," she said, referring to cut price megastores, which hawk everything from baby clothes to baseball bats and books to barbecues. Judging by crammed store aisles at weekends, half of America is in on this Faustian pact. Customers have saved billions of dollars and pumped up consumption over the last decade, fuelling growth, creating retail jobs and empowering a commerce lobby, which shepherded trade pacts with Vietnam and China through Congress. That's little compensation though for a production line worker in Detroit or a textiles laborer in South Carolina whose jobs migrated offshore. US textile firms, which have already declined to 600,000 employees, could stand to lose another half million jobs following the removal of a worldwide textile quota system this year, union officials say. US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Tuesday introduced new safeguards on four new categories of Chinese textile exports permitted under World Trade Organisation rules. But right outside the windows of his Commerce Department, tourists leafed through piles of Chinese, and Asian-made shirts, on a stall that also features "Made in China" Saddam Hussein playing cards. And days after Washington rebuked China for a "highly distortionary" currency system, tourists could celebrate with a 100-dollar-bill mug, fired in Chinese kilns priced four dollars. On Pennsylvania Avenue, just down from the White House, China is beating America with its own flag, if not its own game, at a store called Political Americana. A pile of fabric Stars and Stripes in bags emblazoned with a sticker "Made in China" is by the door. "It is ironic that at a time when the domestic industry is being destroyed in the United States, people are buying these flags made in China," Mark Levinson, chief Economist of the Union of Needletrade and Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) told AFP. Controversy also erupted when it emerged that some yellow ribbon car magnets honoring US troops in Iraq were also made in China.

Link They claim "Type up to 100% faster in a few weeks!" Now if we donate these keyboards to 3000AD we could have Battlecruiser Next Gen by 2006 instead of 2007

Something to go along with the move The Official Website of the R2 Builders Club

Link quote:LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Builders have found the fossil of a giant armadillo -- which lived up to 2 million years ago and would have been the size of a Volkswagen Beetle -- in southern Peru, an archeologist said on Thursday. "They were carrying out work inside a private home and stumbled upon this surprise during the digging," Pedro Luna, an archeologist from the National Institute of Culture in the southern city of Cuzco, told Reuters. The armadillo order first evolved around 50 million years ago in South America. The type found in Cusco was a glyptodon, one of the biggest ancient armadillos from the Ice Ages. "It was an animal that appeared 2 million years before Christ and would have died out 10,000 to 15,000 years B.C. because of a freeze," Luna said. He said the fossil was "almost complete" and was 6 feet 6 inches long including the tail, 3 feet 6 inches wide and with an average height of 3 feet. He said the animal would have been the size of "a Volkswagen." Luna said it was the fifth such fossil found since 1998 in Cusco, proving that there was a large lake and valley in the area with lush vegetation. Armadillos are herbivores. The glyptodon -- which means "carved tooth" -- had short legs with clawed toes, a dome-shaped bony shell composed of plates measuring 0.4 to 2.8 inches (1 to 7 cm) thick, rings of bony armor on its tail and armor on its head.as big as a Volkswagen!

quote:Originally posted by Mano Faber: Was suprised to read [ Submarine Commander ]the Japanese were tracking them with MAD. I thought they invented that much later.The Japanese started using their Jikitanchiki not long after the American's started using MAD. Good thing the Japanese didn't have enough planes with the device or fuel to sweep the convoy lanes like they wanted too. anyways back to SH3, can't wait to pick up my copy

quote:Originally posted by Mano Faber: For those who are interested. I bought i pocket book i think about 10 years ago and i thought this was the right time to read it [ it was shelved al this time ]. It called Submarine commander by Paul R. Scratch [ isbn 0-671-68466-3 - something like 380 pages ] it's a very informative book and it shows how it was really like in a sub during the WII years and later on. Nice historical read.If you liked that book you might try and find U-Boat Commander by Peter Cremer [iSBN 0-87021-969-3] it was interesting to read something from a skipper who was there.

aw, you guys worry too much. anyways those who have 56k modems can get the game too! quote:56K modem users: to get the game, visit a download site below with the "Order Free CD" link, or contact your local recruiter: Find a recruiter >>

quote: *snip* there are others who have done similar research and have come to the same conclusionof course, but I can find no real reason to doubt what they say. I can see many reason's why it might be true. Poor diet, sometimes lacking information and doctors who still tell their patient's to not worry about it because it's just "borderline diabetesÔÇØ etc etc.

quote:The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Charles C. Gillican, III, 35, of Brunswick, Ga., died May 14 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from injuries sustained in a military vehicle accident. Gillican was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade, Brunswick, Ga.Link May you rest in peace...

quote:The Department of Defense announced today the death of four Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. Christopher R. Dixon, 18, of Columbus, Ohio Lance Cpl. Nicholas B. Erdy, 21, of Williamsburg, Ohio Lance Cpl. Jonathan W. Grant, 23, of Santa Fe, N.M. Lance Cpl. Jourdan L. Grez, 24, of Harrisonburg, Va. All Marines were killed May 11 when their amphibious assault vehicle struck an explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Karabilah, Iraq. Dixon and Erdy were assigned to Marine Forces ReserveÔÇÖs 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Columbus, Ohio. Grant was assigned to Marine Forces ReserveÔÇÖs 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Albuquerque, N.M., and Grez was assigned to Marine Forces ReserveÔÇÖs 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Roanoke, Va.Link May you rest in peace...

quote:The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. Travis W. Anderson, 28, of Hooper, Colo., died May 13 in Bayji, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy. Anderson was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.Link May you rest in peace...

Link quote:WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two out of three Americans with type-2 diabetes do not have their disease under control and risk early deaths from stroke, heart attack or kidney failure as well as blindness and limb loss, according to a report published on Wednesday. Doctors and patients alike need to do more to test for diabetes and then to control it with diet, exercise and, if necessary, drugs, the report said. "Diabetes management actually worsened in the past 10 years," Dr. Jaime Davidson, a diabetes expert at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, told a news conference. "We have the tools but we are not doing better." Unlike juvenile or type-1 diabetes, type-2 diabetes is almost exclusively caused by poor diet and a lack of exercise, although it may involve a genetic susceptibility. As many as 18 million Americans now have it, including a growing number of children and young adults. Type-2 diabetes can be prevented with improved diet and exercise. It can also be controlled with diet and exercise but many people also need medications to control it and some may eventually need insulin. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American College of Endocrinologists commissioned a survey of 157,000 people with type-2, or so-called adult-onset diabetes. They looked at a blood sugar reading called A1C, and found 67 percent of the patients did not have an adequate A1C level. "Two out of every three people analyzed in this study were not in control of their blood sugar," said Dr. Lawrence Blonde of the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, a member of the American College of Endocrinologists. In every state, 50 percent or fewer patients had adequate blood sugar control, they found. The A1C test indicates average blood sugar levels over the past two months or so by measuring how much glucose is attached to red blood cells. KEEPING TRACK OF GLUCOSE The average lean, healthy young American adult has an A1C of about 5.1 percent and the highest desirable level is 6.5 percent. An A1C reading of 6 percent correlates to an average daily blood sugar reading of 135, while 7 percent indicates an average of 170 over the preceding weeks. Blood sugar should be below 110 before eating and no higher than 140 after eating. A separate, Harris Interactive survey of 501 adults with diabetes showed that more than 60 percent did not know what A1C was. And 84 percent believed they were doing a good job of controlling their blood sugar. When glucose levels are too high, they can damage the insides of the blood vessels, leading to heart attacks and stroke. They can damage the tiny capillaries inside the eyes and kidneys, causing blindness and kidney failure. "Diabetes doesn't necessarily hurt," said singer and actress Della Reese, who has type-2 diabetes. "If you have a backache, the backache will make you take your medication. But this will slip up on you." She said people need to do more to make sure they are screened for diabetes, and to take care of themselves if they have it. "The doctors mean well but they are not going to be with you 24 hours a day," Reese told the news conference. Surgeon-General Dr. Richard Carmona said 40 percent of Americans aged 40 to 74 now have pre-diabetes. They still have a chance to prevent diabetes itself if they begin to exercise and eat more healthily. "We must do something about this now," Carmona said. "Every single year we add 1.2 million Americans with this problem," Davidson said. "It cost us in 2002 about $132 billion." And drugs can help manage diabetes but cannot cure it. "Once complications have set in, you cannot magically reverse it," said Dr. Paul Jellinger, president of the American College of Endocrinologists.

I'm curious as to how they plan to bring back Gumby. I don't think the show would last long in this day and age. If they tried, I think the temptation for them to create something like Mighty Morphing Gumby Rangers would be too great.

bumper ball Air hockey meets bumper cars!

The Kingdom of Loathing quote:The Kingdom of Loathing (or KoL, as it has come to be known by its player base) is a free, comical RPG, brought to you by the folks at Asymmetric Publications. KoL is currently in open beta -- it's open to the public to play, but it's not quite finished. More features and things to do are being added on a nearly daily basis. Despite its unfinished state, it has already attracted a thriving community of interesting, intelligent, and helpful players. KoL is, and always will be, free to play, but donations are appreciated and rewarded. KoL is played from the comfort of your browser, and is adorned with a staggering array of stunning hand-drawn images. It is turn-based, which means you get a certain number of turns (Adventures) each day. What can you do with these turns? I'm glad you asked...

Link quote:SAN FRANCISCO - Five decades after Gumby first captured the nation's imagination, the little green guy and his chums are starring in a new art exhibit ÔÇö the first in a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the television icon's creation and launch his comeback. "Gumby and Friends: The First 50 Years" attracted fans of all ages at Saturday's opening at the historic Lynn House Gallery in Antioch, about 45 miles northeast of San Francisco. Creator Art Clokey, now 83, signed Gumby figurines at the two-story exhibit, which featured photographs, toys and other memorabilia. "Gumby is an icon," said Diane Gibson-Gray, 49, executive director of the Arts and Cultural Foundation of Antioch, which is sponsoring the monthlong exhibit. "He's a cultural icon that many of us grew up with. And there's another wave coming. There's a whole new generation that's going to embrace and love Gumby as much as I did." The Antioch exhibit is the first event planned this year to commemorate the 50 years since Clokey made a short art film called "Gumbasia," featuring clay animation set to jazz music, that inspired the beloved television series that debuted a year later in 1956. Over the next four decades, Clokey, along with his first wife and later his second wife, produced 223 episodes chronicling the adventures of wide-eyed Gumby, horse Pokey and other pals as they traveled to the moon, the Wild West and Toyland. In mid-June, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City will open a six-month exhibit about Gumby and creator Clokey. Later that month, Clokey's family will celebrate Gumby's 50 years at a birthday extravaganza in San Francisco, said Joe Clokey, 43, who now runs the family's Gumby business, Premavision/Clokey Productions. The first Gumby video game and a DVD of Gumby shows from the 1980s are scheduled for release this summer. And the family hopes a documentary film about Art Clokey's life will be broadcast on television. Joe Clokey, who owns a company that produces educational videos, said his father asked him to take over the Gumby business six years ago and bring the gingerbread-shaped hero back to children. "My dad wanted Gumby back on TV," said Joe Clokey, who lives just outside San Luis Obispo near his father. "He did Gumby because he loves children. He wants children to have something of value on TV." The Gumby story can be traced back to the creator's troubled childhood, his son said. After Art Clokey's father died when he was 10 years old, he moved from Michigan to California to live with his mother. But his new stepfather did not want anything to do with him, and his mother agreed to send Clokey to an orphanage. "It was really hard for my dad psychologically," said Joe Clokey. "That's one of the reasons why he stayed an 11-year-old boy for so many years." Happily, Art Clokey was adopted by a well-known musician, Joseph Clokey, who encouraged Art's creativity and artistic interests. After college, he joined a seminary to become an Episcopalian priest, but soon met his first wife, Ruth. The couple decided to move to Southern California to join the film business. Besides Gumby, they also created the clay animation series "Davey and Goliath." Animators who worked on the Gumby series have gone on to work for Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks and director Tim Burton. Joe Clokey said animators are developing new episodes of Gumby as well as a new movie. "The goal has always been about what's good for kids and what's fun for kids," Clokey said. "If you've got a heart, then Gumby's a part of you. That's what it's all about."

It looks like a answering machine.

hey, Scrivener I have been hearing that the series creator has said if it was cancelled he'd look into TV specials to finish the story. Can't vouch for it's validity, but you might want to check it out.

...and yet, this is but the beginning of more shameful things to come, I'm afraid.

Link quote:NEARLY FIVE YEARS into the 21st century, the Kansas State Board of Education has begun an earnest discussion of whether schools in that state should teach science that was obsolete by the end of the 19th century. The board is holding hearings into proposed changes to its model science standards, changes intended to cast doubt on conventional evolutionary biology and inject into classrooms the notion of "intelligent design" -- the idea that the complexity of life can be explained only by some conscious creator's having designed it. Intelligent design is not your parents' creationism. It's a slick set of talking points that are not based on biblical inerrancy but framed, rather, in the language of science: molecular biology, the structure of DNA and holes in the fossil record. Moreover, the ostensible justification for the changes is a seductive one. Proponents say they mean merely to ensure that schoolchildren are given a full sense of the scientific controversy over evolution so that they can make up their own minds. Who can object to that? But there is no serious scientific controversy over whether Darwinian evolution takes place. Intelligent design is not science. Whatever its rhetoric, the public questioning of evolution is fundamentally religious, not scien- tific, in nature. That is not to say that wonder is illegitimate; it is a perfectly reasonable response to the beauty and enormity of the universe to believe that it could not have happened without a divine hand. But the proper place to discuss such belief is not the public schools. Biology classes need to be taught with sensitivity to the religious sensibilities of students but not by casting doubt on evolution. This is not the first time the Kansas school board has taken on this issue. In 1999, it voted to strike references to evolution from statewide science standards, only to restore evolution's place after subsequent elections defeated anti-evolutionist members. Now, a majority once again favors changes, so it seems likely that sometime this summer, the official guidance from the state will shift. The model standards are not binding on local school districts, but the shift would be damaging nonetheless. Evolution is a reality, no matter how much people may object to it. And denying or downplaying its importance to any serious examination of the biological sciences ill serves students who may wish to know how bacteria become resistant to drugs, how birds and dinosaurs are related, or why dolphins and sharks share certain morphological traits. How people reconcile their religious convictions with scientific reality is a matter for places of worship, not for science classrooms -- or state boards that set standards.

Worked alright on my rig. Have your tried to install it again? Might have been just a bad install.

quote:Originally posted by Freyar: "Unable to authenticate disk within time limit." WHAT THE **** IS THIS?! I mean? I legally bought the game.. so why am I being locked out by the stupid copy protection? I looked up some work-arounds on google (god bless it's soul), however nothing came up! Sure there were plenty of people saying "I've been getting this error." which is similar to my own, but there IS NO WORKAROUND. I will see if I get the same thing.