jhoak

I do not wish to ignite a firestorm of divisiveness but I've always believed that a well funded space program was a crucible of innovation. Many of these innovations go on to become thriving tech companies providing jobs and a myriad high tech products available to Joe & Jane Sixpack. Gutting a space program with a long proven record of innovation is in my opinion very short sighted. The billion dollars given to a group of very smart and very tatalented scientists and engineers will reap MUCH more in the way of "benefit to all" than handing out that same billion dollars in the form of food stamps. The arguments over spending billions on space research versus spending those same billions on social programs here on Earth will rage on endlessly. Someone once said: "We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th US President.

This has been SOLD! I put this guy up for sale last August. It sold rather quickly. When I tested it prior to shipping I found what I thought was a problem with the analog output. I refunded the buyer and put it in my rack as an occasional CD player. I recently discovered that it was the TV I was using that had the problem and not the DVD player. So I'm putting it back up for sale. It is in very good condition and operationally perfect. I've yet to have a CD or DVD that it wouldn't play perfectely. I no longer own any SACDs or DVD-As but when I did it played them all without any issues. Included is the remote control, power cord, original box, packing, paperwork, and a pair of interconnects thay you'll likely want to throw away. Detailed info about the model can be found here:http://usa.yamaha.com/product_archive/audio-visual/dvd-s2500_black__u/?mode=model If you've been looking for a way to check out SACDs and DVD-As without plunking down the coin for a new player here's your chance. Asking price is $75.00 and includes USPS Parcel Post delivery to a CONUS address. No extra charge for PayPal as I prefer it for payment. Thanks for looking!

It is... Or more accurately was. []

A big ole "loaded" baked potato for dinner A few years ago a big baked potato was a fairly regular evening meal for me. Sometimes they were topped in Chili and sharp cheddar cheese. Other times it would be butter, chives, bacon bits, onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese, kosher salt and ground black pepper. Always good and always eaten down to the very last scrap, skin included. These came about when I was working a job where I needed to be able to cook something quick and easy when I got home. I have a microwave/convection oven that cooks even the biggest ones to perfection in around 30 minutes. I never have liked microwaved baked potatoes. The internal texture just isn't quite right. I don't know why I stopped eating them but I've been craving them lately so I bought all of the needed stuff today. As a rule I would pre-mix the sour cream, onion, bacon bits, onions chives, and cheddar cheese together in a covered bowl and store in the fridge. In small batches it would keep for a few days and would do 2 or 3 potatoes For the curious here are the steps involved: (1) Wash the potato very well and dry with a couple of paper towels. (2) Prick the skin all over with a fork. I mean go medieval on it. (3) Rub with a little vegetable oil (I use XVOO) and liberally dust the oiled skin with kosher salt. (4) Place it on a microwave safe dish and pop it in the nuke-box. (5) Cook using a combo of microwave on low and the convection at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. (6) Take it out (be careful the plate will be hot), split it, fluff it up a bit with a fork, stuff it full of liberal amounts of your favorite potato fixins. (7) Enjoy! Yes... I know that it's probably a heart attack on a plate. All things considered at this point I don't care. It just tastes good. Good tunes too... Rush Retrospective spinning as I dust off the remains of my tater. GAWD I'm stuffed.

OH... GAWD... Do you know what you've done? You've commited "parenthood". Did you not pay attention during sex-ed? This is an entirely preventable condition. OK... Just kidding... There is no other experience quite like the moment the OB/GYN hands your newly born child to you. For reasons that don't matter to this thread I only managed to father one. My Son is now 28 and also a father. All his young life I told him about the moments after his birth and it's effect on me. In the days following the birth of his daughter (my first grandchild) he said to me "No kidding Dad. There's nothing quite like that moment". OMG... I find it hard to believe that just a couple of weeks shy of 29 years ago I cradled a tiny life in my arms. A tiny life that grew in to a 6'2" 200+ pound very fine man. Congrats to you. You've embarked on a journey of great joy and a few tears. Myself I wouldn't trade the experience of parenthood for all the gold in the world.

If it has a standard 3 pin IEC connector you can get it here: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10228&cs_id=1022801&p_id=5286&seq=1&format=2

A pretty good sammich for lunch today... Over the last few days I've been helping a good friend with some computer issues. All said and done I sold her one of my older Dell machines (for $50) which is WAY faster than what she was using. The catch was that I got to migrate her data over to the new machine. Right now I'm dealing with how to eliminate over 900K (out of 1.4M) duplicate files. I have my hands full. Knowing that she offered me one of her homemade Reuben sandwiches as partial payment for my troubles. She basically supplied it to me "partially built but near ready to grill". Today I cooked it up for lunch. Once grilled I added a portion of local deli Cole Slaw on the side and washed it all down with a big glass of iced tea. Hands down one of the best lunches I've enjoyed in quite a while. What I really needed was a big tub of a good potato salad but I don't have any and didn't feel like making the drive to the store to buy some. Tonight will be a bowl of left over from last night linguine & clam sauce, a couple of slices of bread, and maybe a highball or three. Or perhaps not. Truth be told I'm still stuffed from lunch.

The "add-on" sales are where the big box stores make most of their money. As a rule there's not much margin in a large electronics piece such as a receiver or a TV. But if they can tack on an expensive HDMI cable or overpriced mount it makes the overall sale much more profitable. The markup on accessories such as cables and mounts is usually pretty obscene. Years ago I worked as a Radio Shack store manager. There were special commissions paid to the sales drones for adding on to an electronics sale. A salesman that added on 4 or 5 accessories to a basic stereo sale could get $20 or $30 in extra commission on that sale over and above the normal % based commission. I try to support local stores and buy as much as I can locally. When I have to choose between $10 Monoprice HDMI cable and one from Best Buy at $60 or more I become a little less loyal to the local stores.

Fun video and song for sure. Like I needed another reason on a dreary Friday evening here in Central Florida. Thanks!

PM sent.

Yes the power cord is included. I can also toss in a couple of pairs of interconnects if needed.

I have a very nice Yamaha K-903 dual well deck I'm not using. Includes box, packing, and manual. I'm looking for $20 plus actual shipping.

If you can lay your hands on a legal copy of XP (not too hard these days) that's the way I'd go. Even "fully optimized" Vista is still a pig. Just no way around it. Unless you're prepared to throw a LOT of memory in the laptop XP will out perform Vista for the tasks you stated. Out of the 6 PCs in regular use in my house 4 are still happily running XP and 2 are running Windows 7. Windows 8 is Vista reincarnate and doomed to go down the tubes like Vista did in my opinion.

Great news! I simply can't imagine the life changes she's witnessed in 93 years on this rock. I'm 54 and stunned at how much our world has changed (for better and worse) in the short time I've spent walking around. My Great Grandfather lived to be 92. He was born in 1876. He was a neighbor and friend to the Wright Brothers. He was at Kitty Hawk for some of their earliest flights. In his lifetime man went from the first powered flight to very close to landing on the moon. Had he lived another year he would have seen man walk on the moon. I tip my glass and extend the very best wishes to Ms. Rose and to my late Great Grandfather George Delano Hoppes.

Retired Army General Norman Schwarzkopf passed away yesterday at his home in Tampa Florida. In my opinion one of America's heros. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16197379-desert-storm-commander-norman-schwarzkopf-dies-at-78?lite

That's great. I'll be using that one. [] THANX!

I'd be happy with nothing else but a real job and a steady paycheck Say it out loud. []

Does this help?

I just put the third timing belt in my Acura Integra at 180K. 90K is the recommended change interval. Changing out the water pump and tensioner pully is also suggested while you have it torn down. On my car this is NOT a trivial task. It requires dropping and removing the driver's side axle. I had to purchase a special tool in order to immobilize the damper pully. I have come to the conclusion that many Japanese cars are assembled by people with really small hands.

Klipsch Technical and Warranty Support Toll Free: 1-800-KLIPSCH (1-800-554-7724) Mon - Fri, 8AM - 5PM ET E-mail: support@klipsch.com

I have version 16 installed on my living room HTPC. I like it a lot. It puts Windows Media Center to shame. I bought it primarily for it's ability to play FLAC files without a lot of futzing with it. Yes... I know that WMC/WMP can be made to play FLACS but it's more effort than I want to put in to it. Especially when there's a drop in app that will do all the heavy lifting for me. Recommended!

48187 = Canton, MI

If you're a dog lover you'll appreciate this

The burgers served up at my "local bar" are an abomination at best. Not worthy of eating much less a picture. On the flip side the beer is cold and the company good. I visit there when I have the coin to toss back a couple of cold ones.