ChasUFarley

Update: It's headed back to the shop. I'm so mad I could spit nails right now. There's something loose in one of the fans (it has 3) - that sounds like it's grinding against the blades. It just started about two mins. after I booted up. I knew there was a loose screw in it when I took it out of the box and took the back off to take the screw out. But now there's something else.... I can't believe this... good grief!

Sorry for starting a new thread on this but I know some of you who are "in the know" would be more apt to read this than the one about the initial problem. My computer had a damaged motherboard, which got replaced. I just got the computer back from Best Buy via UPS today. YIPPEE! BUT... It boots up in safe mode. I don't have the Windows XP disk - it was preinstalled. What now? How can I get it out of safe mode? Thanks in advance for your help... I feel like a fish out of water without it.

I had braces for almost 2 years - from 2002-2004. I had to have 4 extractions before the braces were applied and I had to go for regular adjustments, etc. When the braces came off I had to wear a retainer for about 3 months but didn't mind because it is clear. I still wear the retainers at night and will need to for the rest of my life. The whole process cost about $2,200. The price included teeth whitening, which I need to do again. I compared the price and time of the regular braces vs. Invisi-line. The time and price were much less for regular braces but they were not comfortable. I lost around 40 lbs with the braces and looked damn good when they came off. Of course, that's also about the same time I got pregnant with Andreas and the weight found me all over again... sigh... Anyhow, you might want to do a little comparison shopping.

What special dish or dishes do you make for that most holy of game nights? Chas makes hot wings that would make a buffalo CRY! 2 lbs. of wings, separated at the joints, tips discarded peanut oil Texas Pete's hot sauce 1 tsp cayanne pepper - or more if you like 'em really hot 1 tsp chili powder 1 tbl sp grill seasoning 2 fresh garlic cloves, chopped 1 stick of unsalted butter celery stalks blue cheese dressing Fry the wings in the deep fryer or deep frying pan. Place them in a large mixing bowl - set aside. In a sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients on the list. Pour the sauce over the wings and toss to coat. Place coated wings on a broiler pan and broil until they start to sizzle and slightly brown. Serve with celery and blue cheese dressing on the side, and with a Sam Adam's beer of your choice.

Nope. It's French, I do believe... But there is Mousakka -- YUM! MOUSSAKA- GREEK EGGPLANT This is one of the world's classic dishes. The version here is pretty much Greek, and quite traditional. Variations on this basic dish are found all over the Mediterranean world. This is not a hard dish to prepare, given a certain level of technical skill. Before you start, print the recipe, and read it carefully. Get all the ingredients and tools together, and plan to devote the needed time to the job, at least an hour, and probably a bit more. It is well worth the effort, a good Moussaka is wonderful eating and very, very impressive to serve. A Moussaka is constructed out of three parts that need prior preparation: fried eggplant, a white sauce and a tomato meat sauce, and also bread crumbs and cheese. The Eggplant * 3 Medium eggplants, peel, slice 2/3 in. thick, salt and let drain for 1/2 hour while you prepare the white sauce and start the red sauce. Then dry eggplant and shake in a bag with flour and a good grind of black pepper. Brown in a bit of hot olive oil. Be careful with the amount of oil, and use only enough to brown a few slices at a time. The eggplant will absorb an amazing amount of oil if you let it, and things can become very greasy indeed. Drain the eggplant and reserve. White Sauce In a saucepan over medium heat mix together: * 6 Tbl Butter * 6 Tbl flour Whisk for a couple minutes until well blended, add: * 3 cups milk Gently bring to a boil, stirring, and simmer couple minutes. Whisk a cup or so of this mixture into: * 3 eggs, well beaten Whisk the egg mixture back into the white sauce and bring up to a gentle simmer, whisking until thick. Do not boil, or sauce will scramble. Add: * Good grating of nutmeg * dash Tabasco Sauce Let White Sauce cool. It should be quite thick. Note that the white sauce can be prepared a day ahead of time and refrigerated. Red Sauce Brown well together in heavy frying pan: * 2 Tbl olive oil * 1 1/2 lb ground lamb. Drain grease. Add: * large onion, chopped * 3 cloves garlic, chopped Saute around until onion limp. Add: * 8 oz. can tomato sauce * 1/2 tsp cinnamon * tsp dried leaf oregano * Tbl chpped parsley * Tbl chopped mint * bit of salt and pepper Simmer gently until quite thick. The red sauce can be prepared well ahead of time, and keeps well refrigerated. To assemble the Moussaka The parts of the Moussaka are: * Eggplant * White Sauce * Red Sauce * 1 cup coarse dry bread crumbs * 2 cups Mozzarella or other white cooking cheese * 1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, optional Use a good sized casserole with a cover. Put about 1/3 of the eggplant on the bottom in a solid layer. Trim eggplant to fit. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture on top. Spread 1/3 of white sauce over meat. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese, 1/3 cup of crumbs. Repeat this set of layers. Then put in a layer of the rest of the eggplant, the rest of the white sauce and cover with the rest of the crumbs. Garnish top with a sprinkle of red chile or paprika and an small handful of chopped parsley. Cover, and bake at 350 degrees for an hour, uncover and bake until browned on top and bubbly. Serve with a green salad, good bread and a bottle of light red wine. Greek Retsina wine is an acquired taste, but quite wonderful with this. [Chas DOES NOT recommend the wine - it tastes like PineSol!]

Talking about old Superbowl games - I don't remember what year it was, but it was in the mid-90's, when Greenbay went to the SB - that was a great game!

Yahoo also has a good user group for podcasts and sharing them... I found it rahter inspiring... I got the software and the 'puter... I just need the TIME! If I do go on the podcast market, I will let you know...

Great game last night - wow! The Colts deserve to go to the Super Bowl - the Pats blew it in the last 2 mins. of the game, quite frankly. The Pats have had plenty of changes to go to the Super Bowl, so I'm sorta glad to see someone else there this year. Yeah, I'm a Pats fan but I gotta give credit where credit is due, sorry. The Bears game, just before the Colts v. Pats game was also good. WHOO HOO - its gonna be a good Supa Bowl!

Try the Digital Podcast site. They have everything from sports, to art, to music, to film, to erotica, to... (I interrupted myself there because I know y'all are going to hit the link after that last subject... )

I was just surfing on the NPR website, looking for podcasts, and came across this - I know there's some banjo pickers in this mix, and thought you might like this link... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6922513 Enjoy!

If you're up for it - eBay 'em! You'll be amazed at the $$$ you can haul in off old way stuff - seriously.

Thanks for all the notes... Yeah, my first computer also had a cassette drive - it was a Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer (aka Trash 80 CoCo). I wrote my own programs for giggles back then and belonged to a club for it. There's still people who use them and write for them. Supposedly, they're very upgradable. Someday, when you an hour or so to kill, do a Google on 'em - it's interesting as hell to see what people are still doing with them. But I digress... No, this will be my last PC... I got a little Apple laptop this fall and I'm smitten with it (it's a powerbook Pismo - with all the bells, whistles, and accessories - plus it was upgraded with memory nicely.) Then, Hubby got a G5 iMac Duo Intel for Christmas (I'm on it now.) I want an iMac of my own - or perhaps even a Mac Mini - either way, I love the logic behind the OS. It just feels right. Dell is NOT an option. No way! I've always thought they were overrated. But I haven't heard from the Geek Squad yet... we'll see...

The subject of race has come up... How about socioeconomic background? Has that come up yet?

u r 1 sic dude! ============= socks - that dude on the link has the song so distorted you hardly recognize it... the way we got into the spiderman theme here at home is that my oldest got the spiderman edition of Leap Frog's Leappad. It's like an interactive book for kids - very smart. Anyhow, he went nuts about it - totally into it. We perform for the kids - our audience - and I guess you can count the cats, unless we crank up too much - they don't like that!

Socks... Good post. It's not as much a racial issue, as it is a criminal issue... That's the meat of it, isn't it? One poster here said something about how gangs would not be tolerated if they moved to his small town, then someone decided that poster was saying "another race other than white" would not be tolerated. Go back and read the posts for yourself. Last time I checked, not all gangs were set up by the criteria of race. Seems some don't quite get that... I'm sorry to say.

Wanna try a really cool theme? - try the Spiderman theme... the OLD version of it - it's in A minor and the last chord is like an A minor major 9th... (this is per hubby) You know it... Spiderman, Spiderman, Does whatever a spider can Spins a web, any size, Catches thieves just like flies Look Out! Here comes the Spiderman. Now, the rhythm guitar on it is doing like a descending chromatic A minor progression - the same chords as what's used in the song "Summertime" by Gershwin OR "Summer Rain" by Jonny Rivers OR (and get this!) "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zep. (Hubby has been teaching me the bass parts to these...) Cool? Eh?

I find it interesting that those who say they're so "in the know" are the quickest to point out those who they believe are "not in the know" but then do nothing to enlighten them on it. Is it a sin to be white and not very knowleable of Black culture? You're welcome to come up here to NH or ME or VT where most schools have, at best 1 black kid to every 300 white kids. There isn't a lot of cultural diversity, if you know what I mean. Then, I've lived in places where I was a minority - welcome to Tuscaloosa, AL. I kept to myself, stayed respectful, and did what I could to learn so I wouldn't offend anyone (and my girlfriend Martrice laughed her fanny off at my questions - God bless her!) But none of that matters when it comes to gangs. That's a different aspect of society in its own. Gangs separate themselves from "regular society" through their language, dress code, and other symbols (tattoos, tagging, etc.) that make them unique unto themselves. In my area we have a lot of Hells' Angels. They're not my favorite group to encounter on the road - nothing will put the fear of God in you as a driver, to have a gang of them swoop down on your back bumper when you're on the road. But I learned a long time ago - keep to yourself and all will be fine. They even have a code of ethics within their own - do them a favor and they'll do anything for you in return. But I digress... One poster here remarked how sad it was that this wasn't an exploration of beliefs and sharing of knowledge about this sub-section of society. I agree. It's become rather Springeresque in how this thread has developed and how some of you have posted. Rather than pointing out you think someone has no clue about what they said, why not tell them how they coulda handled things better? Why not educate rather than raise an offense? So... wasn't this thread about gangs or something like that?

Have you considered a little oven cleaner or similar product? Easy Off makes a great degreaser - we love it and use it on our grill, which is Teflon coated - it's safe for Teflon... Just a thought...

WatersEdge... I hear what you're sayin'... I do... And I'm no moderator, but I've had posts edited. And I've even requested they be edited because I "stepped" in something I didn't mean to. BUT... The liability of this place is huge on the owner - Paw. If something is legally out of bounds, it would come back on him. If something is ethically out of bounds, then it would come back on, I feel, all of us. I don't know if you ever visited some of those x-TWI sites that were out during the late 90's or early 00's... but some were horrid! They had the most uninviting atmosphere there I think I've ever seen on a forum - and I frequent many more than just this one. In fact, our rules here are actually a little looser than some others I visit. I don't know about you - I can only speak for myself and my experience - but have you ever walked away from a post and thought "maybe I coulda done that a little better than I did?" I mean that sincerely - be honest. And God Bless the poor schmucks that moderate and manage this place!

well... looks like everyone is safe... cuz 60+ views so far an no posts... or respondents to your survey... <_<

To make a long story short, I think I may have bought a lemon of a computer a few years ago... It's died and been resurrected a few times now. My computer is almost 3 years old - some of you may remember when I bought it. I'm starting to think it should have come in yellow - like lemons. The power supply went after a year - and got replaced. The power supply was like 2x's better than the old one - could that damage the motherboard or processor? Now, either the processor or the motherboard is bad - and it's back in the shop to get replaced. BUT - the tech said they might not have a replacement (OH PLEASE! LET IT BE SO!) and I might get credit for a new computer. Hell, I almost have a new computer now - but is this normal? The last one I had was almost twice as old and had less problems - it was a Compaq - almost the same thing as an HP, really. What do you think?

Pickled Octopus - Oktapodi Toursi 2 1/4 lb young octopus 1/2 c olive oil 1/2 c red wine vinegar 4 Garlic clove salt; to taste black pepper; to taste 1 ts dried thyme lemon wedges, to serve Prepare and wash the octopus (as in Octopus in Red Wine). Place the head and tentacles in a pan with 6-8tbsp water, cover and simmer for 60 to 75 minutes until it is tender. Test it with a skewer. Drain off any remaining liquid and set aside to cool. Cut the flesh into 1/2" strips and pack them loosely into a screw-topped jar. Mix enough oil and vinegar to fill the jar - the exact amount will depend on the relative volumes of the seafood and the container - stir in the garlic and season with salt and pepper. If you are using dried thyme, mix it with the liquid at this stage. Pour it over the octopus, making sure that every last piece is completely immersed. If you are using thyme stalks, push them into the jar. Cover the jar and set it aside for at least 4-5 days before using. To serve, drain the octopus and serve it on small individual plates or saucers with the lemon wedges. Cubes of at least one-day old bread, speared on cocktail sticks, are the usual accompaniment. Servings: 8

There's now cooker bags - like roaster bags that you use for turkeys - but you use them to line your crockpot. They're worth their weight in gold - whoever thought of that is a saint! I tried them out a couple of weeks ago and was very happy to lift the dirty bag out of the cooker after the meal, and just drop it in the garbage - perfect!

I get what you're saying - I really do. Why should God get "credit" for what conclusions you came to yourself? It would bug the stuffing out of me when people would pray for things - like parking spaces - that just didn't need to be prayed for. Why would God care? Why would God tell you what toothpaste to buy or what the best grocery store might be? Why is your measly life so freakin' important to God? And didn't God give you the ability to make decisions and get information for yourself? Churches aren't the only organizations that do this all the time - you see it all the time in marketing. The ultimate chicken or the egg argument could be, who started it? Who started with wanting and being your first thought?

I'd vote 'em all off the island... Just when this is as weird as I think it can possibly get... someone takes some LSD and does some prophecy while they're watching the Exorcist....