jamotto

you can rent it from Netflix and Blockbuster has it Link

Link quote:By Jeff Franks HOUSTON (Reuters) - The last of the seven Project Mercury astronauts who pioneered U.S. space exploration in the 1960s remembered one of their own as a fearless pilot with the "right stuff" in an emotional memorial ceremony on Friday for Gordon Cooper. Cooper died on Oct. 4 at the age of 77 in his Ventura, California, home, leaving only John Glenn, Wally Schirra and Scott Carpenter from the seven young men selected in 1959 to lead the Cold War space race against the Soviet Union. "In flying terms, most of these people up on this platform have a lot more runway behind them than ahead of them," Glenn, 83, said at Johnson Space Center. "Gordo has scrambled, he's out there ahead of us with Gus and Al and Deke, and I'm sure we'll all rendezvous out there someday," he said, referring to late Mercury astronauts Gus Grissom, Alan Shephard and Deke Slayton. Glenn, the former U.S. senator from Ohio, remembered several humorous incidents involving Cooper as well as his bravery in space on the two missions he flew -- the 22-orbit Faith 7 flight that concluded the Mercury program in 1963 and the eight-day Gemini 5 flight in 1965. On the Faith 7 flight, he manually took over controls after a technical malfunction and coolly fired landing rockets at just the right instant to steer his space capsule home, Glenn said. "He was asked a little later how it worked out and Gordo, in his best technical language, in NASA (news - web sites) unapproved communication procedure, replied 'landed right on the old kazoo."' Glenn said, drawing a laugh from a crowd that included a number of major figures from NASA's earliest days. "You could always depend on Gordo," he said. Carpenter, 79, recalled that the Cold War hopes of the United States were seen as riding on the shoulders of the Mercury 7. "This was at a time when world opinion had it that pre-eminence in space was a condition of national survival," he said. Cooper, he said, was a key figure in giving the group a sense of solidarity: "It is proper now to say farewell, Gordon Cooper. It was an honor being a member of your fraternity." "We regret losing Gordon, he was one of our dear friends," said Schirra, 81. "Not too bad of a water skier, not too bad of a pilot, but a heck of a good astronaut." Astronauts Mike Fincke and Gennady Padalka aboard the International Space Station paid tribute to Cooper by ringing the ship's bell three times.

U.S. Mutiny Soldiers Say Army Ignored Complaints quote:By Sue Pleming WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers who staged a mutiny and refused to go on a convoy in Iraq (news - web sites) felt commanders ignored their plight when they complained about the safety and condition of their vehicles, their relatives said on Monday. Ricky Shealey, father of one of 18 soldiers who face discipline for refusing an order to go on a convoy last week, said his son's commanders dismissed complaints they were being asked to transport contaminated fuel in broken-down trucks. "The command just totally ignored them when they told them this fuel was contaminated and they were still gonna send them out on this mission with contaminated fuel. They were completely aware of this situation and I believe it's a command issue, not a soldier issue," Shealey told CBS' "Early Show." Refusal to obey orders, especially in a combat zone, is a serious military offense. Anxious to squash any suspicion of U.S. troop morale or discipline problems in Iraq, the Army said on Sunday it was investigating the "isolated incident" and preliminary findings indicated the soldiers were worried about maintenance and safety. Last year, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, complained to the Pentagon his supply situation was so poor it threatened the Army's ability to fight, said an official document revealed by The Washington Post on Monday. Army officials said most of Sanchez's concerns had been addressed and they were keeping a close eye on the situation. Civilian and military convoys in Iraq, where more than 1,000 U.S. troops have died and thousands have been wounded since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, are frequent targets for roadside bombings and other ambushes. FRANTIC CALL The 18 soldiers refused to accompany fuel tankers on a supply run from southeastern Iraq to Baghdad on Wednesday, arguing the fuel was contaminated and their unarmored vehicles were in bad shape. The tankers had previously been carrying jet fuel and had not been cleaned before the new cargo of diesel fuel was loaded, said Teresa Hill, who received a frantic telephone message from her daughter Spec. Amber McClenny. "Hi mom, this is Amber. This is a real, real big emergency. I need you to contact someone, I mean raise pure hell. We yesterday refused to go on a convoy. ... We had broken down trucks, non-armored vehicles and we were carrying contaminated fuel," said McClenny in the message aired on U.S. networks on Monday. Hill told NBC's "Today" show her daughter referred to the convoy as a suicide mission. "She felt like the Army was just leaving them out there to drown," said Hill, who said her daughter feared the contaminated fuel might be put in a helicopter that could ultimately crash and add to the U.S. death toll in Iraq. In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" show, Johnny Coates said his son complained in one instance his truck broke down four times on the way to delivering fuel. Like other relatives, Coates called his son a good soldier who felt he had to take a stand. "I think he did the right thing. He lived to talk about it for one more day."

Link quote:By Andrew Stern CHICAGO (Reuters) - The dreaded Northern Snakehead, a voracious predator dubbed the "Frankenfish" that can breathe out of water and wriggle across land, has invaded the Great Lakes, authorities said on Friday. Scientists with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources identified the 18-inch-long (46-cm-long), sharp-toothed fish netted over the weekend in a harbor near Chicago's downtown by a fisherman, who put it in his freezer and posted a photograph of the creature on the Internet. A native of China, the Northern Snakehead was first discovered in 2002 breeding in East Coast ponds -- one of which was poisoned and another drained -- and has since been spotted in the Potomac River in Virginia, in Florida and in other places -- but not, until now, in the Great Lakes. "These things are voracious feeders. They're a very aggressive fish," said Mike Conlin of the Department of Natural Resources. "We hope it's a stray, dumped there by somebody who got tired of feeding it." Teams will use electric cables in the harbor to shock fish to the surface to look for more of the species, which can survive the cold Midwest winter and eats other fish, frogs and even birds and mammals. If it breeds, it could devour game fish and devastate the lakes' multibillion-dollar fishing industry. The Great Lakes, the world's largest body of fresh water, has long been plagued by invasive species, with the latest being the Zebra Mussel, the Round Goby and the Sea Lamprey. Earlier this week, authorities announced plans to erect an electrified, underwater barrier in the waterway connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River watershed to try to stave off the northerly advance of the Asian Carp, a huge fish that gobbles up vital phytoplankton. The carp, which escaped flooded fish farms along the Mississippi, is within 50 miles of Lake Michigan. Alarmed Asian Carp have been known to leap from the water and knock out people in boats. The electrified barrier will be adjacent to one erected a few years ago, designed to keep the Round Goby from migrating from Lake Michigan into the Mississippi River watershed, but the effort came too late.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: ROFLMAO!! Yep, but he married BILLIONS, he would be the RICHEST president that we have EVER had. He may make the least as a senator, but that salary is a drop in the bucket, compared to his allowance from Teraza....ROFLMAO!!! [/QB]LOL, he married a billion there is no plural. It may not even be that much.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: Actually Jamotto, Cheney has more money then Bush, and Dr Rice has more money then Bush. Also, Clinton is payed more in 1 speaking engagement then Bush makes as President in 3 months.Very true both Dr. Rice and Cheney are very well off and Kerry makes the least of all of them.

quote:Originally posted by Soback: "I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her." Who has more money Bush or Kerry? Come on, I know bad habbits are hard to break but do try to tell the truth this time. In 2003 it was Bush by almost 3 to 1.

Yes, it is.

Welcome aboard Taresh.

a few changes to the story quote:By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Relatives of soldiers who refused to deliver supplies in Iraq (news - web sites) say the troops considered the mission too dangerous, in part because their vehicles were in poor shape. The Army is investigating up to 19 reservist members of a platoon that is part of the 343rd Quartermaster Company, based in Rock Hill, S.C. The unit delivers food, water and fuel on trucks in combat zones. Convoys in Iraq are frequently subject to ambushes and roadside bombings. Some of the troops' safety concerns were being addressed, military officials said. But a coalition spokesman in Baghdad said "a small number of the soldiers involved chose to express their concerns in an inappropriate manner, causing a temporary breakdown in discipline." The coalition said in a statement Saturday that the troops are "not being guarded or detained. They are being interviewed. They're taking statements." But the relatives said they were told the soldiers had been confined. Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., who said her daughter, Amber McClenny, was among in the platoon, received a phone message from her early Thursday morning saying they had been detained by U.S. military authorities. "This is a real, real, big emergency," McClenny said in her message. "I need you to contact someone. I mean, raise pure hell." McClenny said in her message that her platoon had refused to go on a fuel-hauling convoy to Taji, north of Baghdad. "We had broken down trucks, non-armored vehicles and, um, we were carrying contaminated fuel. They are holding us against our will. We are now prisoners," she said. Hill said she was later contacted by Spc. Tammy Reese in Iraq, who was calling families of the soldiers. "She told me (Amber) was being held in a tent with armed guards," said Hill, who spoke with her daughter Friday afternoon after her release. Her daughter said they are facing punishment ranging from a reprimand to a charge of mutiny. The incident was first reported Friday by The Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson, Miss. Family members told the newspaper that several platoon members had been confined. The supply route the soldiers were to have used, is among the most dangerous in Iraq. The military calls it "Main Supply Route Tampa." Many soldiers have been wounded there by roadside bombs and rifle and rocket-propelled grenade fire. A commanding general has ordered the unit to undergo a "safety-maintenance stand down," during which it will conduct no further missions as the unit's vehicles are inspected, the military said. On Wednesday, 19 members of the platoon did not show up for a scheduled 7 a.m. meeting in Tallil, in southeastern Iraq, to prepare for the fuel convoy's departure a few hours later, the military statement said. "An initial report indicated that some of the 19 soldiers (not all) refused to participate in the convoy as directed," the statement said. The mission was ultimately carried out by other soldiers from the 343rd, which has at least 120 soldiers, the military said. Staff Sgt. Christopher Stokes, a 37-year-old chemical engineer from Charlotte, N.C., went to Iraq with the 343rd but had to come home because of an injury. He said reservists were given inferior equipment and tensions in the company had been building since they were deployed in February. "It wasn't really safe," he said. "The vehicles are not all that up to par anyway. The armor that they have is homemade. It's not really armor. It's like little steel rails." A whole unit refusing to go on a mission in a war zone would be a significant breach of military discipline. The military statement said the incident "isolated" and called the 343rd an experienced unit that performed honorable service in nine months in Iraq. U.S. military officials said the commanding general of the 13th Corps Support Command., Brig. Gen. James E. Chambers, had appointed his deputy, Col. Darrell Roll, to investigate. An investigative team under Roll is in Tallil, questioning soldiers about the incident, the military said. "Preliminary findings indicate that there were several contributing factors that led to the late convoy incident and alleged refusal to participate by some soldiers," the military said. "It would be inappropriate to discuss those factors while the investigation continues." Separately, the commander of the 300th Area Support Group, listed on a military Web site as Col. Pamela Adams, has ordered a criminal inquiry to determine if any soldiers committed crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and, if so, whether disciplinary measures are warranted. The platoon has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, said Hill.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: Why do you ignore the most important part of that article?yea, the most important part is this quote:However, members of the UN group - all non-Americans, with expertise ranging from nuclear physics to arms-control analysis - are not authorised to look at issues of health and safety arising from, for example, the misuse of the barrels.The UN should have brought in some medical doctors for this exact reason.

Silent Hunter III

Link quote:By JIM VERTUNO, Associated Press Writer AUSTIN, Texas - Thirty-four people have died so far this year in Travis County from a heroin overdose, up from 23 last year. Authorities believe a particularly potent strain of heroin being smuggled into the United States and circulating on the streets of the Texas Capital is partly to blame for the highest number of heroin deaths in Austin since 1992. "We go through this periodically," Austin Police Cmdr. Harold Piatt said. "The heroin being sold on the street is too strong for some people to take and when you shoot it into your arm, it's too late." For Tracey Crossett, that moment came on April 11, 2004. A singer and bassist in a rock band, The Quicks, she had played a Saturday night gig in an Austin club, a show her father attended. Around midnight, she arrived home in the affluent suburb of Lakeway. She went into a bathroom, fixed a hit in a syringe and shot up. Her father found her around 6 a.m. "When you think of heroin users, you think of old men in a gutter, not a teenager. It was only six or seven months from the first time she used to when she died from it," he said. Heroin's potency ÔÇö and its potential lethal effect ÔÇö depends on its purity. Police say most of the heroin in the Austin area comes from Mexico and is known as "black tar" because of its sticky, hard consistency and dark color, which comes from the manufacturing process. Dealers "cut" the heroin ÔÇö bulking it up to make more money ÔÇö by mixing it with water-soluble products like powdered milk or chocolate, sugars or starches before it hits the street. And it's cheap ÔÇö a typical dose sells for about $20. Steve Crossett said a toxicologist told him Tracey's fatal dose was from Mexico. But the overall rise in deaths suggests Austin may have an influx of stronger heroin from other parts of the world, said Jane Maxwell, a professor at the University of Texas' Center for Social Work Research. Heroin from Mexico is typically regarded as the weakest; South American is the strongest, Maxwell said. "It could be the Mexicans have come up with a new method of refining their heroin to make it purer," she said. "It could be some South American heroin has come in from the East Coast." "If it's the South American heroin, we are going to see lots more overdoses," she said. "Experienced Austin black tar users will overdose because it's so strong." Piatt said heroin samples from Austin have been sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety for testing but have not yet been returned. Dennis Barkway, director of admissions at Austin Recovery, a nonprofit rehabilitation clinic, said he has not seen a rise in heroin-related admissions, which usually means the drug is readily available on the street and powerful. More people seek treatment when the supply can't meet demand or they can't get high off what they buy, Barkway said. "When it dries up or there's bad stuff on the street," he said, "that's a good time to get clean." Piatt said police have stepped up efforts to get the drug off the street, seizing almost 1,400 grams, about 3 pounds, compared to 37 grams last year. Among the 34 deaths this year, 26 victims were 36 years old or older; the oldest was a 57-year-old woman. Younger drug users are more likely to start with marijuana, crack and "designer" drugs like ecstasy before turning to the hard-core experience of shooting up heroin, Piatt said. "In my experience, it's the drug of last resort," he said. Maxwell disagreed, noting that heroin is now available in snortable and smokeable forms and often pushed to new users with the promise those forms are not addictive. "There are many people who would never stick a needle in their arm but wouldn't think twice about smoking or snorting something," Barkway said. "Some (addicts) can be almost dead and say `At least I don't use a needle.'" Tracey Crossett first tried heroin when she snorted it at a party in 2003 because she was curious, her father said. She quickly moved to needles, he said. In November, the family sent her to rehab for a month. She seemed to be doing well when she got out. Four days before she died, she told an addict support group that she had been drug free for four months and had "never been happier." "I'm sure she figured she could do this one more time," her father said. "One more time is all it took."

yea, you have to be approved first. Hope to see you on the server.

Link quote:By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The Army is investigating up to 19 members of a supply platoon in Iraq (news - web sites) who refused to go on a convoy mission, the military said Friday. Relatives of the soldiers said the troops considered the mission too dangerous, in part because their vehicles were in such poor shape. Some of the troops' concerns were being addressed, military officials said. But a coalition spokesman in Baghdad noted that "a small number of the soldiers involved chose to express their concerns in an inappropriate manner, causing a temporary breakdown in discipline." The reservists are from a fuel platoon that is part of the 343rd Quartermaster Company, based in Rock Hill, S.C. The unit delivers food, water and fuel on trucks in combat zones. Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., who said her daughter, Amber McClenny, was among in the platoon, received a phone message from her early Thursday morning saying they had been detained by U.S. military authorities. "This is a real, real, big emergency," McClenny said in her message. "I need you to contact someone. I mean, raise pure hell." McClenny said in her message that her platoon had refused to go on a convoy to Taji, located north of Baghdad. "We had broken down trucks, non-armored vehicles and, um, we were carrying contaminated fuel. They are holding us against our will. We are now prisoners," she said. Hill said she was later contacted by Spc. Tammy Reese in Iraq, who was calling families of the detainees. "She told me (Amber) was being held in a tent with armed guards," said Hill, who spoke with her daughter Friday afternoon after her release. Her daughter said they are facing punishment ranging from a reprimand to a charge of mutiny. The incident was first reported Friday by The Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson, Miss. Family members told the newspaper that several platoon members had been confined, but the military did not confirm that. A commanding general has ordered the unit to undergo a "safety-maintenance stand down," during which it will conduct no further missions as the unit's vehicles undergo safety inspections, the military said. On Wednesday, 19 members of the platoon did not show up for a scheduled 7 a.m. meeting in Tallil, in southeastern Iraq, to prepare for the fuel convoy's departure a few hours later, the military statement said. "An initial report indicated that some of the 19 soldiers (not all) refused to participate in the convoy as directed," the military statement says. The mission was ultimately carried out by other soldiers from the 343rd, which has at least 120 soldiers, the military said. Convoys in Iraq are frequently subject to ambushes and roadside bombings. Staff Sgt. Christopher Stokes, a 37-year-old chemical engineer from Charlotte, N.C., went to Iraq with the 343rd but had to come home because of an injury. He said reservists were given inferior equipment and tensions in the company had been building since they were deployed in February. "It wasn't really safe," he said. "The vehicles are not all that up to par anyway. The armor that they have is homemade. It's not really armor. It's like little steel rails." A whole unit refusing to go on a mission in a war zone would be a significant breach of military discipline. The military statement called the incident "isolated" and called the 343rd an experienced unit that performed honorable service in nine months in Iraq. U.S. military officials said the commanding general of the 13th Corps Support Command., Brig. Gen. James E. Chambers, had appointed his deputy, Col. Darrell Roll, to investigate. An investigative team under Roll is in Tallil, questioning soldiers about the incident, the military said. "Preliminary findings indicate that there were several contributing factors that led to the late convoy incident and alleged refusal to participate by some soldiers," the military said. "It would be inappropriate to discuss those factors while the investigation continues." Separately, the commander of the 300th Area Support Group, listed on a military Web site as Col. Pamela Adams, has ordered a criminal inquiry to determine if any soldiers committed crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and, if so, whether disciplinary measures are warranted. Alabama Republicans Sen. Richard Shelby and Rep. Terry Everett have both requested more information from the Defense Department, their offices said. The platoon has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, said Hill. Patricia McCook, of Jackson, Miss., said her husband, Staff Sgt. Larry O. McCook, was also among those detained. She said he told her in a telephone call that he did not feel comfortable taking his soldiers on another trip. "He told me that three of the vehicles they were to use were 'deadlines' ... not safe to go in a hotbed like that," she said, the newspaper reported.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: case it was the truth, sorry Jamotto.... No, it was the partial truth the Republicans are every bit just as quilty.

Yep, about as low as Republicans handing out fliers saying that the Democrats are going to ban the bible.

quote:Originally posted by Fox__Trot: from what ive read SLI is pci-e onlyIt is. Was not sure if you had an PCI express motherboard or not. quote:and my current system is a 2.8 (overclocked to 3.08 ghz p4) and ive got a 9800 pro card (256 mb ram) so i dont see any reason to buy a 9800xt for 400 when the x800 xt is 400 :/That processor should be fast enough to handle a X800 XT fairly well at least as long as it is overclocked. So, out of curiosity what are you planning to do with that old "slow" 9800 PRO card when you have upgraded

favorites: Every game I have ever played Not so favorite none

Wish you the best of luck Scrivener

Well I wouldn't wait. The only thing you would be waiting for would be PCI express. That would require you to get a new motherboard. In the price range you mentioned you have these chipsets to choose from Nvidia: GeForce FX 5950 Ultra, 6600 GT, 6800 and 6800 GT ATI: 9800XT, X700 ,X800 and X800 PRO If you have a processor that is equivelant to an AMD Athlon XP 3200+ or less I would pick either the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra or the 9800XT as your processor can't feed data to the graphics card fast enough to take advantage of the faster cards speed. Out of these two cards imo the 9800XT is the better card. If you have an AMD Athlon 64 or equivlant processor the other choices are better suited. The X800 is about as fast as the 6800. The 6800 GT is about as fast as the X800 PRO. With that in mind, Nvidia cards tends to be faster when running Opengl based games while ATI cards tends to be faster when running Direct3D based games. Nivida if I remember right allows you to put two video cards into the same computer and link them together it's called SLI. Supposed to double the performance.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: Come on, this OS started with DOS for god's sake... um, if I remember correctly Microsoft Windows NT Server really has nothing in common with DOS other than coming from "Crapsoft"

Then he recovers too fast I would have been out for at least 10 years years after that mishap, LOL. anyways cool video.

That was cool. Except for the man who got a little too close to the water fall, Ouch

quote:Originally posted by Cruis.In: Vega Strike, vegastrike.sourceforge.netHey, this looks neat. Have you played it Cruis.In?