Soul of Wit

Originally Posted By: dave s ... I bought Avadon when it came out for PC, and the iPad price didn't bother me because it was a while later. But to release the cheaper version BEFORE the more expensive PC version? ... Not getting the logic here at all. Often, when I buy the Mac port of a Windows game that has been out for a while, the Windows version will be significantly cheaper. That's not even allowing for the vastly differing market between computer games and tablet games.

Still using Snow Leopard here. So far, I have no reason to update. When I do, I already have a checklist of things to do. Making the Library folders transparent is #1 on the list. Thankfully, you always have that handy *nix shell under the GUI veneer. There is zero reason to think that a general OS would suddenly ban outside access to software. Offering an option for secure downloading is fine. That's as far as it will go. I also see no reason why desktop computers would ever have touch screens. Is there a valid reason for it in a desktop configuration? A whiteboard-like touch configuration is fairly plausible, but sitting at a desk would require some sort of tilted screen occupying the same real estate as the keyboard. At that point, why bother?

My favorite, found via reddit... Thank You for Your Service

Originally Posted By: Sylae If a website requires you to use IE then why would you visit that website. Honestly if you feel obligated to have that bug/security-ridden mess installed then you need to re-evaluate something. One example is the time when I had to take a web-based test to apply for a position. The test only worked in Windows, in IE.

Originally Posted By: upside-down rowen Why would you have more then one browser on your computer? The most obvious reason is to deal with situations where you chosen browser fails to load the web page in question. Sometimes, even changing the user agent is not enough to fool the site.

Personally, my animus towards IE is based upon the fact that people still code web pages (and web-based tools/apps) to only work with IE. I do have the latest version on my Windows partition. I only fire up IE when required by the task at hand. I always complain to the source. If I were feeling ambitious, I would set up a proxy or two and see if I could convince the comic that I had traveled trough space (but not time) to view it.

I tried the last version of IE (for the Mac,) and it was unable to render the comic itself. I can't believe I still have a copy of it, or that it still runs at all. It uses the Bondi blue theme that was all the rage on the Mac, back in the original iMac days.

Umwelt |OOM velt| noun ( pl. -welten ) (in ethology) the world as it is experienced by a particular organism. ORIGIN German, literally ‘environment.’

I just noticed the "Bridge over Troubled Water" posts. I had to sing this song in a grade-school chorus. My suggestion of Lennon's "Instant Karma!" was rejected by the teacher. Those would have been amusing lyrics to hear children singing to adults (sample below.) Please don't remind me that this was over 40 years ago. <O> Instant Karma's gonna get you Gonna knock you right on the head You better get yourself together Pretty soon you're gonna be dead What in the world you thinking of Laughing in the face of love What on earth you tryin' to do It's up to you, yeah you Instant Karma's gonna get you Gonna look you right in the face You better get yourself together darling Join the human race How in the world you gonna see Laughing at fools like me Who on earth d'you think you are? A superstar? Well right you are Well we all shine on Like the moon and the stars and the sun Well we all shine on Every one, come on

Originally Posted By: jetcitywoman The site says that the windows version will be out in April, but the iPad will be out in "spring". Does that mean windows will be first and Jeff considers Spring to be the may-june timeframe? I can say with certainty (for the Northern Hemisphere, at least) that Jeff considers Spring to run from late March to late June.

The other way to get a custom title is to sneak in when the defenses are down, such as when a new forum system is put in place. Such titles won't last long if you talk about them (or post frequently.) Both of those things tend to attract the attention of the mods. For evidence, see to the left. I'm referring to the absence of a custom title beneath my username.

Originally Posted By: Randomizer I wasn't sure about the statue since it didn't look enough like Jayne, Adam Baldwin. Agreed, and I watched every episode of Firefly. It has been a while.

Originally Posted By: Excalibur To most people, no, to issues I care most about, yes. My economic views are very right-wing--mostly laissez-faire, so in my eyes both administrations advanced a corporatist policy combined with an excessive regulatory climate and inflation, all the while accruing massive amounts of debt. This applies to other aspects as well: their foreign policies might as well be identical, they both support the drug war, they both favor large-scale deportations of immigrants, they both allow civil rights violations (no judicial process, support of DOMA, etc.), they both abuse executive power, and they're both altogether statist. Edit: Oh, and the whole faith-based initiative stuff. It's hard to disagree with most of this. I take exception to anyone suggesting that the foreign policies of the current and prior Presidents are similar. [urinating] away the global goodwill engendered by 9/11 was a colossal failure on W's part. I can't fathom any President but W invading Iraq. History shows us that Democrats are often warmongers, but they don't have a habit of initiating wars while cutting taxes. That was fiscal suicide. I'll emphasize that failing to let tax breaks lapse is not the political equivalent of lowering taxes in the first place. Other differences between the two are too subtle to perhaps be indicative of significant differences. Obama has shown a willingness to cut our excessive defense spending and to rein in absurd tax subsidies. Saying and doing are not synonymous, but I have reasonable optimism on those issues. Obama is trending in the correct direction on LGBT rights. True, this is a matter of following public opinion and not of leadership. Still, I'll take bona fide representation over kowtowing to the extremists of either party, any day.

I've got to say that genre shows do not make for an easier challenge. I watch a lot of these and I'm still stumped. For example, even with the "in orbit" hint, I took far too long to get to one of the Justice League series. Naming the specific episode would have been impossible.

Look at being a Windows user as a glass half-full thing. The odds of truly nasty bugs are much lower. The sticky thread with basic info is fully populated. Many Mac users are more than willing to answer the same question again--they've got to inflate that post count. It's all good.

Originally Posted By: The Mystic It's just that it would be nice to get out of the twelve-plus-year "recession" I've been subjected to here in the U.S. Pardon me for being bitter, but I have a right to it after three presidential terms filled with the same old rhetoric and little to no visible action. I'm curious as to where you live in the United States. We've pretty much had a 11-year recession in Michigan, but I wasn't aware that was true in other states. The middle class is getting beat up. Not only are unemployment numbers misleading, but they also ignore underemployment. There is no doubt that disposable income is on a downward trend. Healthcare and oil are huge inflation drivers. Regulating the financial industry is about the only way to control oil speculation and reduce gasoline prices. You won't see too many of our elected representatives jumping up to be the first to endorse regulation, that's for sure. Meanwhile, the Republican candidates seem to think that we can drill our way out of high oil prices. They seem to ignore facts like: foreign dependence continues to trend downward, oil production is up, and oil demand is down. The idea that computer-based oil trading and rampant speculation are the real price drivers is far from the discussion.

The daily need appears to be 600 IUs (infants less, seniors more and no change for pregnancy.) Being covered up in the Winter can make this tougher to hit. Fear of skin cancer is one of the reasons that vitamin D deficiency is now more common. I'm very fair skinned, but I have to make sure that I'm not always under a hat and lathered with a half-inch layer of zinc oxide. You can get plenty of the D without going out during peak UV hours. Elevation is another factor, but the mountain folk know that. They are wise in that way. Dairy consumption affects both seasonal allergies and lactose intolerance. You can get orange juice with both calcium and D added. Most seafood has a decent dose. Over the counter supplements are also available. Someone with a severe deficiency will temporarily need a huge dose (50,000 IU) by prescription.

#3: Then it has to be Buffy's Mom dying (Joyce?)

Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim I didn't think it was small for that reason. The world seems smaller than in the original trilogy, with a fwe less side quests. That and for most of the quests you don't really have to go very far. Also, I found there were fewer, but harder to hit monsters. I think i spent more time trying to kill a handful of sliths then I did trveling. Earlier, I did say that A6 was the longest. I didn't say it was the largest. Maybe I took my time deslithifying®. Perhaps I took more time and savored each battle, knowing that it was the ultimate Avernum.

#3: Anya (Emma Caulfield) is upset that Tara (Amber Benson) just got shot. #8: That appears to be Roseanne Barr on the Roseanne sitcom. I got nuthin' for #2.

Originally Posted By: The Mystic *looks up the word "pedantry"* Okay, that made me laugh. I appreciate learning new things in these forums. Pedantry is standard practice in many forums, and you have to have a sense of humor (thick skin wouldn't hurt.) It is true that those of us not living in the tropics or subtropics are at ever-greater risk for vitamin D deficiency. We might never notice the effects of a minor deficiency, but a major deficiency has a laundry list of potential symptoms. It's not just rickets; trust me. Your immune system can be affected. You can suffer from chronic fatigue. Misdiagnoses are common. Doctors are quick to dole out anti-depressants, instead of looking for other reasons for sleeping too many hours. My experience is that a vitamin D level is not a standard blood test. The trick to getting a healthy dose of sun is simple. Get outside, outside of the peak UV hours. No hat, scarf or gloves--you need some bare skin, even in Winter. The time period is tough to judge. Fair skin absorbs UV quicker. A few minutes may be enough. Someone with darker skin will need longer. Go out with little to no sunscreen (no SPF above single digits.) I'm pretty sure that SPF is not a universal standard on sunscreens. Would someone please be a dear and engage in pedantry?

A5 is the shortest and A6 is the longest. A4 felt the longest. Worst of the entire series.

Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim Originally Posted By: Actaeon I AM envious of plants for that very reason. Think of all the delicious food you'd be missing out on. You got something against photosynthesis?

The delegates were pretty much evenly split between Romney and Santorum. That's pretty embarrassing for Romney, IMHO. There is still debate on the awarding of the last two delegates. Michigan has a weird primary. The delegates are awarded mostly by the results of each congressional district. It was even there. The last two delegates were supposed to have been awarded by either statewide proportional vote, or winner-take-all. It depends on which Republican is taliking. The MI GOP says 16-14 Romney. Other Republicans, including the Romney-supporting state atty. gen., say it should have been 15-15. Michigan's primaries are also 100% open. You don't register with a party in Michigan. You have the freedom to show up and vote as you wish. I slapped down a vote for his truthiness, Dr. Paul. I don't have to worry about him being the GOP nominee.

Originally Posted By: Demseinwetter ... Apart from that and to possibly get away from that difficult topic, I hate controlling the boats. Is it meant to be that way? The hardship and torment of controlling a skiff on an underground river? Because I keep bumping into the coasts or waiting for my boat to arrive, only noticing my cave navy has once again steered into a rock. Boat navigation is pretty close to how it's always been in Jeff's games (the under the bridge part has changed.) The best way to steer is to click on a point that avoids the next obstacle in the direction you are going. This can make long trips with many obstacles quite tedious.