Recent Posts

2151

Living Room / Re: Computers Outlawed in Florida

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 16, 2013, 11:35 AM »

I think a lot of the motivation behind laws like this is to ultimately eliminate the ability to anonymously access the web. Small surprise really since you need an account or a license to use almost any other communication technology. Even public speech is starting to require a permit in many places.

So in Florida's case, I think one unspoken goal is to get the Internet equivalent of a public pay phone off the streets...

-40hz (July 16, 2013, 07:48 AM)

You're giving the Florida legislature way too much credit here man...those folks a just flat out not that bright. Florida has always had a bug up their ass about the "EviLs" of gambling. It's nothing but sun, sand, snow heads, and family fun, and they're dead set on keeping it that way. Hell the Indians can even get a casino going around here...and they've had sovereignty for quite a few years now.

...Because it's just one more way to get a handle on the illegal migrant worker community.

-40hz (July 16, 2013, 07:48 AM)

We don't really have one that I know of/have ever seen. Now MilesAhead is considerably farther south than I so perhaps he could comment ... Buy I haven't seen a 9 people floated over from Cuba in a bathtub news report in years.

2152

Living Room / Re: Computers Outlawed in Florida

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 15, 2013, 10:32 PM »

One of the politicians probably saw something on one of the computers that looked like a hanging chad and freaked.....

-Tinman57 (July 15, 2013, 08:45 PM)

Oh FFS Seriously?? I can't stop laughing long enough to get mad ... But can we let that go?

2153

Living Room / Re: Domain Name Registrars

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 15, 2013, 06:24 PM »

I've been with Hover (used to be DomainDirect) since the mid 90's and have always had good luck with them. There were a few hiccups when they changed hands, but the new support crew handles it quickly and without hassle.

The also discount the registration fees (~30%) when doing a transfer, which I thought was a nice feature.

2154

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 15, 2013, 02:28 PM »

The name of the employee at the NTSB that confirmed these names, has now been identified as: Wi Fuk Dup.

-app103 (July 15, 2013, 12:53 PM)

 

2155

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 15, 2013, 12:41 PM »

I got this via an IFTTT email this morning. Note the date:
 (see attachment in previous post)

-kyrathaba (July 15, 2013, 07:34 AM)

Hm... Isn't iWatch already trademarked by the NSA?

2156

Living Room / Re: Computers Outlawed in Florida

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 14, 2013, 08:19 PM »

I thought it was because of the absurd assumption that all internet cafes were nothing more than casinos in disguise, set up for the sole purpose of offering and profiting from illegal gambling.

-app103 (July 14, 2013, 06:25 PM)

50/50 split really as they jumped back and forth between the two whenever one started to lose traction. But gambling isn't (and never has been) legal in Florida so that little puritanical bit was sort of ho-hum (we're used to it) old already. The crime thing started after some of them got robbed and the opportunity to spin things out of control was seized. They went nutz with it on the local news for months.

2157

Living Room / Re: A 360TB disc that holds data for more than 1 million years?

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 14, 2013, 03:11 PM »

Want. 

-Renegade (July 13, 2013, 10:53 PM)

Yes, but can you get it with all the porn already on it so you don't have to download it?

-4wd (July 13, 2013, 11:38 PM)

Sigh... young Grasshopper... the point is to MAKE all that porn yourself...

-Renegade (July 14, 2013, 12:06 PM)

At my age...with a bad back... No no no ...(I've had to give up the trapeze and basket)... Questing for porn (oops!) I meant "erotic art" is just fine.

2158

Living Room / Re: This Just in: From the You Gotta be Shitting Me Dept.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 14, 2013, 03:05 PM »

While the transmission did hold together, the engine slammed against the firewall as the car rather violently spun around to change vehicle attitude to match the drivelines new directional intent. We spent the better part of an hour verifying our findings, before the sound of sirens in the distance caused prudence to end the proceedings.

...This is quite likely one of the fondest memories I have.

-Stoic Joker (July 14, 2013, 12:59 PM)

Ok... I have to ask.  Was the car still driveable?  I take it that it was since you used it in your getaway? 

-wraith808 (July 14, 2013, 01:52 PM)

Despite all efforts to the contrary ... It was indeed still drivable (if not a tad worse for ware). It also stalwartly survived much other abuse in the interest of science/curiosity/psychosis... Which is why Pontiac got my truth in advertising award for that year.

2159

Living Room / Re: This Just in: From the You Gotta be Shitting Me Dept.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 14, 2013, 12:59 PM »

Ever wonder what'll happen if you throw a car on reverse at 50 mph???

-Stoic Joker (July 12, 2013, 06:57 PM)

Ouch
and yes, LOL

-tomos (July 14, 2013, 12:05 PM)

Well... This is one of the few (if not only) areas where front wheel drive cars are way more fun that rear wheel drive cars. You see rear wheel drive cars are considerable more "directionally stable" which I accidentally verified when my dog decided to stumble across the shifter (shoving the car in reverse) in a Camaro we had at (once again) about 50 mph. Outside of a rather huge and quite confusing cloud of tire smoke...nothing exciting really happened.

However...

(back story) The wife (girlfriend at the time) and I were sitting at a bar... (isn't always how these stories start..) ...Watching a Pontiac commercial on the bar TV. The commercial depicted a bunch of guys in lab coats and clipboards standing around a car with smoke pouring off the tires, as a sub frame showed a gear selector being switched back and forth between drive and reverse. The point of the commercial was to demonstrate just how incredible "bullet proof" the new line of Pontiac cars transmissions really were.

As fate would have it, the commercial had drawn our attention away from the conversation we were just having about just how pathetically gutless the (at the time) brand new "Sport Model" front wheel drive Pontiac Grand Am rental car we'd been stuck with was.

One really must understand at this point that the various comments I've made in the past about having shit for impulse control are not an exaggeration...

We looked at each other and instantly and wordlessly agreed that truth in advertising be due-ly and diligently vetted post haste ... And so departed on said holy quest to the nearest large paved area...which just so happened to be a church parking lot.

While the transmission did hold together, the engine slammed against the firewall as the car rather violently spun around to change vehicle attitude to match the drivelines new directional intent. We spent the better part of an hour verifying our findings, before the sound of sirens in the distance caused prudence to end the proceedings.

...This is quite likely one of the fondest memories I have.

2160

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: DiskSavvy Pro – Disk Space Ananlyzer – 24-Hours Giveaway

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 14, 2013, 11:11 AM »

Ah! ...Much Gooder... ...Thank you!

2161

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: DiskSavvy Pro – Disk Space Ananlyzer – 24-Hours Giveaway

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 14, 2013, 09:25 AM »

Thank you very much for your feedback.

The issue will be fixed in the next product version.

-ocsid80 (July 14, 2013, 02:36 AM)

Hm.. Okay.. So - just to be clear - no workaround/patch is available, and the issue will remain until the next (major/minor?) version which I may have to buy in order to be able to use the software as intended ... Yes?

2162

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: DiskSavvy Pro – Disk Space Ananlyzer – 24-Hours Giveaway

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 14, 2013, 12:09 AM »

Thank you!

Did notice one bit of odd behavior when running it on a Hyper-V VM.
OS Windows 7 x64 Pro
User directory is mapped to a Domain DFS root share

Any time I try to add a directory target, when I click the browse button it stops with an error that it "Cannot get user directory". Even though the directory is there, accessible, and I'm the domain admin.

If I paste in the full (mapped drive) path to the user folder I also get the same error. However if I paste in the full UNC (\\Domain\DFS-RooT\Share\Me) path to the domain DFS root, it accessed the folder and completed the analysis just fine.

The weird part isn't so much the error, but the fact that there is no way around it to get to a browse dialog.

2163

Living Room / Re: Computers Outlawed in Florida

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 13, 2013, 11:23 PM »

Actually that's not even the worst part. The worst part was the flimsy assed excuse that the came up with for banning the cafes in the first place. You see...The cafe's were construed to be a specifically cash business...which then of course auto-magically made them more susceptible to (well basically causal of) crime.

I shit you not, it was on the news...and came directly out of the mouth of one of the state big wigs.

What a complete and utter jackass. It seems none of these retards has ever heard of, check cashing companies, pawn shops, we buy gold/silver stores, or any bar/liquor store ... All of which are either strictly or predominantly cash businesses.

I frequently left the bar at night with anywhere between $500 - $3,000 in cash on me. Banks were closed, and locking it in the building -- With a monitored alarm system -- not more than 2 miles from the fuzz -- just didn't work out because we got robbed (after hours break in).

2164

Living Room / Re: Hot *New* Technology! TYPEWRITERS! :D

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 12, 2013, 10:24 PM »

the Selectrics had a memory function that would remember everything typed until it was cleared by selecting the Clear Memory button...

-Tinman57 (July 12, 2013, 07:52 PM)

 !  ..That could explain why I got thrown out of typing class back in high school.

2165

Living Room / Re: This Just in: From the You Gotta be Shitting Me Dept.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 12, 2013, 06:57 PM »

 I rear ended a car on a highway at night back when I was 17, the guy was backing up with his headlights off on a curve whilst drinking his beer.  It was my fault.  Why you ask?

At the time, in Louisiana, if you rear-end someone it's automatically your fault, and it was also legal to drink and drive.....  It totalled my beautiful car too......

-Tinman57 (July 12, 2013, 06:18 PM)

Ouch, that's a tricky one really ...Because backing up on a highway is also equally illegal. Most likely the fact that you were moving...and 17 were why the cop went that way.

Years ago the wife and I were going to see friends out a whining back road. We got stuck behind a school bus that as usual wasn't in a hurry. Available passing lanes being few, short and far between...I was indeed riding their ass like a $2 whore, especially as we approached the nearest passing zone. Then the bus decided to stop...in the middle of nowhere...for no apparently intelligent reason.

I also stopped.

All was fine.

Then the bus driver put the bus in reverse...and ran right the f*** over my ass! (or more specifically my cherry 91 V8 Mustang that would happily do 140 mph)

When the FL Highway patrol got there, the bus driver as whining about me tailgating her slow ass (that liked to ride the line in passing zones to make it impossible to safely pass...). However the trouper decided to side with me when it was explained that at the point (in time) of contact...I was stopped...and she was in reverse ... Which is apparently a real no-no based on the look of shocked horror on the troopers face when I got to that part of the story.
 
So... The county had to fix my car, and foot the bill for a rental car which I took great glee in torturing half to death. Ever wonder what'll happen if you throw a car on reverse at 50 mph??? LOL ...It's a hell of a ride I'll tell ya that much.

2166

Living Room / Re: Microsoft ending TechNet subscription activations effective august 2013

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 12, 2013, 04:17 PM »

I predict the motivation will max around when MS says Windows 7 is not going to be supported any more.  So probably around 5-10 years.

-superboyac (July 12, 2013, 03:31 PM)

I'd say closer to 3 years...as it will all pivot on Windows 9. MS listens (stop laughing 40hz) our creed can most
likely continue. If MS cracks down harder it'll be rats off a sinking ship time for sure.

...I'm trying to budget time to play with Slackware a bit more again...just in case.

2167

Living Room / Re: Hot *New* Technology! TYPEWRITERS! :D

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 12, 2013, 12:13 PM »

...And don't forget the old school hacks! The typewriter ribbon must be destroyed before disposal...or it can be scrolled out to read every work that was typed on the machine.

Ah! ...the good old days....back when it was still legal to burn you trash.

2168

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 12, 2013, 12:09 PM »

Step aside Yankee Rose - here comes Yankee Pepper....

Coming Soon! The New & Improved Statue of Liberty - now fully updated for post-9/11 America!
  (see attachment in previous post)
(Sorry. I'm having a bad day right now.  )

-40hz (July 12, 2013, 09:56 AM)

Okay...granted... Not always a good sign, but... I think the pic epically nails the whole government out-of-control -- United Police State of America (UPSA) -- problem quite nicely.

All we need now is a new flag and the proverbial hounds are good to go for release! 


 

2169

Living Room / Re: Microsoft ending TechNet subscription activations effective august 2013

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 12, 2013, 07:36 AM »

I think a lot of the motivation is because Microsoft has been unable to convince people that Microsoft products are "licensed not sold." So their customer's perspective is still one that says "possession is 9/10ths of law." And that's despite 30 years of trying to "educate" people otherwise. Most people flat out refuse to accept the notion of 'intellectual property' when they're buying a physical product.

-40hz (July 02, 2013, 08:39 AM)

As well they should. The whole IP war drum thing is psychopathic corporate greed and laziness. They want to just sit back and gorge themselves with cash for doing absolutely jack shit. It makes about as much sense as an 80's one-hit-wonder walking around acting all butt-hurt because they're not still rich and getting top hat treatment.

-Stoic Joker (July 02, 2013, 12:23 PM)

What many people don't seem to know however is that several if their products (like Visual Studio) are practically non-profit, i.e. the cost of development is equal to what they earn on selling these products (there is a technical word for this, don't recall it).

-zenzai (July 12, 2013, 06:34 AM)

Yeah, it's called a "Loss-Leader". You sell/giveaway item X at a loss so that people can spend even more money on (much more impulse driven) add-ons/support/accessories for said item.

Prime examples are game consoles, cell phones, and Pezz dispensers.

2170

Living Room / Re: Must...stop...playing...that addictive game!

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 11, 2013, 05:24 PM »

Crap, there went 2 hours.

2171

Living Room / Re: This Just in: From the You Gotta be Shitting Me Dept.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 10, 2013, 01:56 PM »

Airhead behind us doing ~50 mph did not stop

-Stoic Joker (July 09, 2013, 03:26 PM)

Really sorry to hear about your truck. Same sort of thing happened to a favourite car of mine. The excuse from the driver who spoilt my ride was "I was trying to get the lid off of my coffee cup." <sigh>

-cranioscopical (July 10, 2013, 01:23 PM)

Strangely, the thing that aggravates me the most is that when I got out of the truck in a state of mind perilously close to livid. I saw that the other driver was a scrawny 20 something blond girl that was already crying hysterically. Giving me no opportunity (as there is no profit in attacking something that pathetic) to share my feelings regarding their latest display of a complete lack of driving aptitude.

2172

Living Room / Re: This Just in: From the You Gotta be Shitting Me Dept.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 10, 2013, 12:52 PM »

At this point I just have to wait for the 25th to take it into the appointment the insurance company (Geico (incredibly not fast)) set up. Then it's fate will be decided (close race).

-Stoic Joker (July 09, 2013, 05:41 PM)

More than two weeks for the insurance company to look at it??  That's crazy. 

-mwb1100 (July 09, 2013, 07:31 PM)

Well... It's been pouring rain here for the last month, and Florida being a "Transient State" means nobody seems to remember how the hell they're supposed to drive on wet pavement (e.g. pay friggin attention as frequent panic stops are bad..). So after a month's worth of playing bumper cars ... It really is quite likely that they are quite legitimately a bit backed up these days.

2173

Living Room / Re: This Just in: From the You Gotta be Shitting Me Dept.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 10, 2013, 12:46 PM »

According to all of Gecko's commercials (about 80 times a day), they have the best customer support of all the insurance companies.  Of course they don't tell you that only applies when they're opening a new account.....

-Tinman57 (July 09, 2013, 06:59 PM)

Actually I have geico.  My wife recently totalled the car, and the customer service was stellar.  And the one time that it wasn't, I called and asked to speak to a manager.  He rectified the situation immediately.

-wraith808 (July 09, 2013, 08:00 PM)

The did much better a few years ago when the wife's care got totaled (she too was rear-ended, but by a guy that was awake with faulty breaks (and no insurance)). The handled that one acceptable but not lightening fast. For fast service I recall Progressives performance; the agent got there before the cops did, assessed the damage, generated an estimate...and cut us a check on the spot. Now that was stellar service in my book.

...Answer to next obvious question is we switched due to price/budget constraints. *Sigh*

Not sure what's going on in SJ's case... but I'd ask to speak to a manager and see about getting an earlier appointment if it was me.

-wraith808 (July 09, 2013, 08:00 PM)

While it had crossed my mind, I'd rather take the time to get under the truck and do my own assessment regarding what the options are. I suspect that one of the "Crumple Zones" that are built into the frame may have given way (as it's designed to) causing the alignment anomaly. As I'm in no hurry to part with the truck I plan to use the time to do some research on how best to argue (assuming I have a leg to stand on) on its behalf if the decision is made to total it.

2174

Living Room / Re: This Just in: From the You Gotta be Shitting Me Dept.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 09, 2013, 05:41 PM »

But what took the cake was, the drunken driver opens his door, staggers to the driver's side window of our car, leans in and says "Hey!  Wassa' Matta' wit' ya'??  Didn't ya' see me comin' ?

-MilesAhead (July 09, 2013, 04:14 PM)

Oh dear...that would have gotten him "damaged" if he'd been the one that hit me today.

   One option, if it's a rare truck, you can buy the truck from the insurance company for dirt cheap and have it put on a frame straightener.

-Tinman57 (July 09, 2013, 04:43 PM)

At this point I just have to wait for the 25th to take it into the appointment the insurance company (Geico (incredibly not fast)) set up. Then it's fate will be decided (close race).

My favorite part of the ensuing discussion thus far was when the insurance lady -- Who had already been informed that I had stopped at a traffic light, and the person behind me...did not -- asked me if "I was hit in the rear from behind"? (after a short pause) I simply responded with "I really don't think there's another way of doing it".

2175

Living Room / This Just in: From the You Gotta be Shitting Me Dept.

« Last post by Stoic Joker on July 09, 2013, 03:26 PM »

So my brother and I are coming back from the DMV. Our purpose there was to finally get the Tag and Title for a custom Harley Davidson, That I'd started building over 15 years ago. We're talking Thousands of dollars sitting in the back of my pickup truck...

As we're discussing where to go for tag bolts...hardware or auto parts store, I stop at a red light. With the myriad of truly insane (and completely issue free) 90 mph power slides (and etc..) I've done in my truck, I'm being excruciatingly careful due to the current cargo. However...

The mildly brain-dead, complete &*#!*&^$ Airhead behind us doing ~50 mph did not stop (because she was asleep <- direct quote)) ... Until she hit me.

So...sadly, while the bike is okay (yes that is a plus), my truck (2002 Dodge Dakota R/T 5.9 - Translation very fast/very rare) is I suspect totaled. Which pisses me off to no end as -- it's friggin' paid for -- I really liked it.

So here I am playing adventures in frame damage ... And I'm supposed to be on a much needed vacation.

...Can you think of a four letter that starts with F and rimes with truck??

  Damn it.