Zixar

Since the other thread dealt with down songs, here's a different question. What songs make you turn up the radio from the opening bars? (i.e., best opening for a song) A few candidates: Start Me Up - Rolling Stones Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd Up Around The Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival Should I Stay Or Should I Go? - The Clash

Oh, one more thing for those who have seen the movie: Watch the commercial the next time it comes on and notice: Spoiler space!

Yeah, that's because Sony and Fox had to split the supporting cast between DD and Spidey. Urich couldn't work for the Bugle because Peter Parker does. Silly, but that's lawyers for you...

Fellowshipper: That was "Gallipoli" and you're right. The British threw the Australians into a meat grinder.

Well, Oak, there's a reason for that...sort of. Spoiler space!

"Mister Roberts" when Jack Lemmon finds out that Henry Fonda was killed by a kamikaze.

Wow. That's a tough one, I usually don't go for tearjerkers. I guess it would have to be "Glory" with Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman. When the 54th fights doggedly right up to the doors of Fort Wagner only to have the doors swing open and the cannons cut them all to pieces. Second was probably "Gettysburg", after Pickett's Charge has completely failed and his troops have been decimated, Robert E. Lee (Martin Sheen) rides up to him and says "General Pickett? You must tend to your brigade, sir." Pickett looks at him, the once-cocky general utterly broken and says "General Lee...I have no brigade..." Heartbreaker.

Major Spoilers below! If you must read (it will ruin a major scene in the film) Hold your mouse button down and swipe the pointer across.

double post...

I just think it's odd that people who don't like cats frequently joke about killing them. Sick bastards... So, in the interests of balance, I hereby advocate mangling puppies in a tree chipper. Little, yippy rat-dogs? Skeet targets! 3 a.m.-yowling German Shepherds? Korean Barbecue Surprise! "Dog: The Other Red Meat" :D-->

I still remember reading the Elektra storyline in Daredevil 20 years ago (God, has it been THAT long???) and being blown away by the finale in issue #181. Frank Miller rescued Daredevil from the bottom of the sales charts where it had been languishing as a bi-monthly up until issue #158. Miller had originally wanted to write and draw for Batman over at DC, but it never came to pass. Re-read the Elektra saga knowing it was originally a Batman story and the whole thing takes on a new perspective. Of course, Miller later got his chance with the definitive Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a high-water mark in the comics industry. Now THAT story would make a killer mini-series...too much plot for one movie.

Yeah, it's not really a happy-fun movie. Everybody is really messed up in DD. They had to make a couple of ludicrous special FX decisions in order to get a PG-13...one person's throat is cut, but doesn't BLEED! sigh.

Okay, I'll give you a five minute head start, then It's Clobberin' Time!!!

Or, it COULD be that the second one was written by a Research Department that had a clue what ethical research was, and he just slapped his name on their work. (Oh, don't start THAT again... :)--> )

Well, whatever. I just got my WET11 Ethernet bridge tonight, and had it running in about 5 minutes. Now I can move it from room to room, hook my Xbox and PS2 up with no probs. It's about the size of a half-sandwich. Oh, Best Buy has the LinkSys Wireless Router on sale this week for only $79.00 after MIR. Might as well go grab a couple and try it. I don't know if it will be good after Saturday, though.

Which one? We have five of them, and they're great pets. They're clean, quiet, independent, and self-entertaining. Geez, if I had five dogs, I'd be on the phone with the local Chinese restaurant negotiating a per-pound price! (Just kidding... :D--> )

We just saw an advance screening of the new Daredevil movie. If you're a comic book geek, this one is a 10. If you remember issue #181, you already know the story. (and will get a lot of the in-jokes, like the guy Matt's father boxes, the name of the rapist in the first trial, Kevin Smith's cameo, Stan Lee's cameo, and if you are an &uumlber geek, even Frank Miller's cameo...) If you're not a comic fan but you liked Spider-Man, you'll probably think it's just okay. A lot darker than Spidey. Great cast, good FX (not quite as good as Spider-Man though). Colin Farrell steals every scene he's in as the psychotic hitman who never misses, Bullseye. Jennifer Garner as Elektra is even more beautiful than she is in Alias. Michael Clarke Duncan is perfect as Kingpin...So what if he's white in the comics? Ben Affleck gives one of his most believable performances. Don't leave immediately, as there is another scene inserted about a minute into the credits! It is PG-13 for a reason, there is some bad language and some non-Comic Code violence.

Geez, John! It'd be cheaper to just buy them their OWN cable modem! You'd have to run old-style Thick Ethernet to get 1000ft. 10Mbps max, vampire taps, the whole nine yards. CAT5 twisted-pair will get you 100 meters. If the two houses have wireless access points butted up against the closest interior walls, you could get a fair distance, and there are antenna boosters for WiFi equipment, too. Why on earth would you steal internet service for your neighbors?

Of course, you can't really explain the difference between a duck.

There's a lot of cool stuff about walking and running, but I don't want to derail the thread. Well, okay, a quick one. :)--> Stand up and try to run backwards for a few steps. Not that difficult, was it? Now, put on a helmet and do it again, but this time make sure your heels hit the floor on every step. [...] Did that hurt? :D-->

Evan: Why does that not surprise me? ;)-->

Okay, what you're looking for is a product like the Linksys BEFW11S4. It's a combination wireless router + 4-port 100Mbps switch. You run all your wired stuff out of the 4 Ethernet Ports on the back, and the wireless nodes seamlessly integrate (just like they should) with the others. When you pull up Network Neighborhood, you see everyone, wired or wireless. It also has a WAN port for your DSL/Cable Modem. It runs embedded Linux and has a browser-control panel. I have this one in my house and it's a set-and-forget piece of equipment. I have 1 wired PC, a wireless PC, an old laptop via wireless PC Card, and occasionally a wired Playstation2 and/or Xbox. The BEFW11S4 has a built in DHCP server, so it's a snap to install or remove computers. And it's a true hardware firewall as well. No more ZoneAlarm! (Although ZA works with it just fine.) Make sure you set your wireless station id for the router something other than the default, and turn on 128-bit encryption. Sure, it won't stop a really determined hacker, but it will mean your neighbors can't mooch off your WiFi connection. Some newer laptops come with WiFi built in, but I use a PC card on my 166MHz Pentium 1 ThinkPad, and it works like a charm. It's best if you use equipment from the same vendor, but my PC card is a D-Link brand and it works with no problems. If you have some computers that can be wired but you don't want to run a cable back to the switch, or if you have an Xbox/PS2/ReplayTV that doesn't have drivers for wireless, you can get a Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge and plug your wired appliance or hub into its Ethernet port. Voila! The dumb appliance doesn't even know it's not wired. (Very cool!) As far as brands go, the only two decent laptops I've used were a Compaq Evo and an IBM ThinkPad. That's the only piece of IBM equipment I've ever recommended. Your mileage may vary. As far as transitioning between home and office nets with the same PC, that will work too, as long as you set the station ID and Encryption key of both to be the same. (Actually, come to think of it, that may not even be necessary. I think XP shows a list of available WiFi nets to connect to. At any rate, if that doesn't work, setting both to the same ID/key will work regardless.) You can relax about wireless. It's as stable as hard wiring without the hassle or expense. That Linksys router is about $129 on sale. Cheap.

Actually, walking really is a controlled fall. Think about it: if it weren't, striking an object with your foot while walking would only stop you, not make you stumble and fall. This is why walking robots have been prohibitively expensive to make. Wheels and treads are far simpler. Walking is all about controlled shifting of balance, monitored and adjusted constantly by a large network of nerves and the balance centers of the inner ear. We do it unconsciously, but the processing and response required takes a fairly sophisticated computer and motor system to reproduce. BTW, George, have you tried leaning backwards and walking? Watch where your feet go when you try it.

RB: No, I was thinking of a reverse-curved projection screen just big enough to stick your face into. VR goggles don't work perfectly because they don't cover peripheral vision enough. Unfortunately, someone beat me to it. Pesky IMAX....grumble, grumble...

Larry: Fear not. I don't have time to draw you a picture, but all your pent-up frustrations would be released if you would just heed Dicktor's Penultimate Hidden Lost Hidden Hidden Lost Lost Teaching, and master yourself frequently. But do it in private, and wash your hands afterwards. If you start seeing through your glass darkly, or have to shave your palms more than usual, stop. Doc buh-lay-ess, Zix the Wonder Sofa