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Messages - mjmsprt40

951
DnD Central / Re: How To Sit
I probably sit way too much. Especially at work. I have to stop now and then, get out and walk around-- or I could become stiff when I finally get the job to its destination.
952
Browsers & Technology / Re: XP after XP
A lifetime warrantee on a computer doesn't mean much simply because of the upgrade cycle.
Right now, my old laptop is near the end of its life. Windows XP is nearly at the end of its cycle, and while it looks as though the old machine could take Windows 8 it would mean getting a bigger hard-drive at a minimum, and it would be struggling to keep up with now limited RAM (when I got the machine 2 gigabytes was almost unimaginable, now it's pathetically tiny). I have to really think about it before spending money trying to update the old machine.

I don't think I would spend much on extended warrantees for that reason. Anything much over a couple of years, you're probably looking at replacing the machine anyway.
953
DnD Central / Re: Maps-Maps-Maps! ?
I make my living by being able to follow map directions, but it appears that Josh is looking for something a little different than anything I'd be familiar with.

What ARE you looking for, or do you even know?
955
Forum Administration / Re: Logo
OK, I got my vote in.
I admit to being a bit slow to vote on this, seems it's more important to some than to others and after I came in from yet another fight with snow and cold I have to say logos don't rate high on the totem pole for me.

It brings back a memory from my high-school days. Our school colors were blue and grey, the time came to decide whether to add orange to the school colors. The decision met with rampant apathy, truth to tell it was a decision with almost no impact on anybody outside of the jocks who would have to wear the team emblems with the new color on it. To this day I don't know whether we added orange to our school colors.
956
DnD Central / Re: Imposed licencing versus Natural Law
Quote from: Belfrager on

Quote from: Frenzie on
If you're contrasting that with the situation in America, you've been misinformed.

I couldn't care less for situation in America, Frenzie, it happens that many, (the majority?) of software for personal usage comes from the US.

It's inadmissible that softwares I bought can't be reinstalled again when old computers goes to trash and many other situations. So, I pirate them the most I can.
Intelligent companies that actually gives a good service in exchange for fair payment, I prefer to buy their products. I still believe in the value of intellectual production.

By the way, confession also doesn't have any legal value here but I suppose it will have in the USA. :)


They'd have to bring you to an American court to make that confession stick. I have a suspicion that if they tried to enforce the EULA in a Portuguese court the attorneys would have to explain the facts of life in Portugal to them.

It should be noted that even here in the "oppressive US" a lot of that stuff in the EULAs is felgercarb and everybody knows it. The big companies have bigger fish to fry than chasing you because you put an OEM copy on a replacement machine. I wonder if even the people who write that stuff actually read it.
958
DnD Central / Re: Celebrity Is FXXXXXG Nauseating
How about-- oh, I don't know-- deciding not to click on the links of the celebrity stories?

Sure, they're gonna be everywhere-- but I don't have to read any of them. That way I can keep my knowledge of Kim Kardassian's latest failure at life to the headlines and photos just below the headlines--- the details are for others.

Note: Mayor Rob Ford won the 2013 GOOF* awards, and from the stories that came out he was a well deserving candidate. That, of course, was before Governor Chris Christie's problems with "Bridgegate" came out, placing the presidential hopeful solidly in the running for the 2014 GOOF awards. He's gonna be tough to beat, Kim and her sisters are going to be hard put to it to out-do him for a chance at winning this year.

* "Grossly Overexposed Overhyped Fool"
959
DnD Central / Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?
I am in the somewhat weird position of being pro-second amendment while at the same time being more than a little afraid of some of the pro-concealed carry crowd. I read some of what these guys write on various forums, and so help me they're some of the very last people who should be allowed to have guns. The reason is that in too many cases it's apparent that gun ownership has more to do with their manhood issues than it does with any legitimate need for protection, hunting, target shooting or any perceived threat a renegade government might provide. Before you have a conniption, Smiley-- I'm calling it the way I sees it, according to way too many posts on forums other than these D&D forums. I state again that way too many people want to carry because the gun seems to help them with their manhood issues-- which is one of the worst reasons imaginable for packing heat. Regrettable incidents have a way of happening when folk like that are armed, and they perceive they've been "slighted" in some way.

How about something else to think on. Look at the photo below, and ask: What could possibly go wrong?

960
DnD Central / Re: Anthropogenic Global Warming
Anybody here been following the "Spirit of Mawson" ship of fools story? This was a classic, a bunch of warmist "scientists" chartered a ship to go to Antarctica to, amongst other things, see how much sea-ice has been melting down there. The problem is that the sea-ice refused to cooperate, it trapped their ship and they had to be rescued by helicopter. Then the ship they got taken to had a job and a half navigating out of the heavy sea-ice, then had to stand by while the Chinese ship that provided the helicopter indicated that it, too, had become trapped and might need assistance. Fortunately, the wind shifted and the ice-bound ships were able to work themselves free of the sea ice that shouldn't have been there (it was supposed to be melting) and now the ships are on their way to their various destinations. Interesting story, makes for good reading, I've been following it on the "discredited" WUWT blog.
961
DnD Central / Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?
Quote from: SmileyFaze on

Quote from: mjmsprt40 on
Somebody in West Suburban St. Charles, Illinois found a novel use for his gun. He used a .22 to shoot icicles that were hanging from his roof


Now, I've done a lot of things with a firearm, but that's a first to me.

Did you know the .22, as bullets go, is one of the least accurate at longer distances, so depending on the distance this guy must have been either 3 donuts shy of the looney bin, or a freekin ' outrageous marksman!

Just guessing here but I have a suspicion the range wasn't that great. Many of these houses around here are either ranch-style or bi-level, and in either case the roof isn't terribly high. A 20-foot ladder will easily be able to reach the roof in most of these cases, allowing you to keep the gutters clear and do minor roof repair without much trouble. Shooting icicles from, say, thirty feet away isn't that much of a challenge even for a .22. The problem comes in trying not to put holes in the roof. The other problem comes from the fact that the bullet won't stop once it busts through the icicle, it will keep going until it runs out of steam and hits the ground-- unless it hits something else first.
962
DnD Central / Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?
Somebody in West Suburban St. Charles, Illinois found a novel use for his gun. He used a .22 to shoot icicles that were hanging from his roof, the neighbors understandably had an issue with this so the cops paid him a visit and told him to stop shooting icicles. This took place in an unincorporated area so shooting is not subject to the usual in-town ordinances against such things. Gee, I always used a pole to knock down icicles.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/batavia_geneva_st_charles/chi-cops-tell-man-80-to-stop-shooting-icicles-from-roof-20140114,0,3488666.story
963
Browsers & Technology / Re: Keeping an eye on Opera
Quote from: Frenzie on

j7n was being sarcastic.

What makes remarks like this harmful is not that they're offering the option of an online installer—although I'd rather they finally make bookmarks at least superior to IE3 instead of making some stupid online installer no one wants—but the disdain displayed toward the classic installer is worrisome.


Right now, that disdain is classic Opera ASA. They've thrown out the old browser, are in the process of tossing the community out, and now we're surprised that they have disdain for the classic installer?

Special note: I've reached the point where I will be tossing the last of Opera out. Can't be helped, it seems the point has been reached where it's useless to fret over it anymore. I can't download 12.16 onto this machine, the new and improved version doesn't come up to Chrome standards and that's saying something, and the decision to run us out of town on March 1 lurks. So, when I clear this browser's memory-- I'm using Firefox-- the last of Opera will be gone with it. It's way past time to figure out what's next and devote energy to that. I will put time into this site, Vivaldi, my blog on Wordpress and I will possibly be closing out my account at 2liv3 because that place is nearly dead. Truth to tell, I'm not sure that I'll put much effort into my Vivaldi "holdings" because it seems to be headed-- it doesn't have any idea where it's headed.
964
DnD Central / Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?
Quote from: myminpins on

Quote from: mjmsprt40 on


Er-- ahhhh--- If you could see some of the stuff I see, you'd wonder how some of these folk-- including "professional" truck drivers-- ever got drivers licenses. When you get passed on a snow and black-ice covered road by an 18-wheeler who is trying to do the posted speed when maintaining forward motion is driving too fast for conditions, you just know that they're giving out driver's licenses a little too easily. Frightening thought: that driver may be licensed to be able to conceal-carry as well.


Please don't tar all truck drivers with the same brush.  My husband drives truck and NEVER drives too fast for conditions - it's insane to do so with an 18 wheeler and those who do earn scorn and disgust from good truck drivers as well.  If the weather is really poor, he won't drive at all.  Period.  Some truck drivers are exemplary and deserve respect - same with some car drivers.

Blame the schools who give those poor drivers truck driving licenses.  There used to be one here who gave out truck driving licenses to drivers who could NOT back up with a 53 foot trailer in tow.  It is now, thankfully, out of business due to complaints.

I see some of both to be sure. The truck-stops and rest areas fill up in bad weather with drivers who have concluded that it is insane to drive when the roads are icy, and on the flip side I've seen the writings of those who think that because they weigh 80K and have five axles the laws of physics don't apply to them. You usually see them later, in the ditch on their sides after having proven that the laws of physics do, indeed apply to them the same as to everyone else. Once those tires break traction with the road, it doesn't matter how much you weigh or how many axles you have. You're not driving any more at that point, you're just along for the ride.

Back on thread: I wondered if Smiley was gonna pick up on what the judge said about Chicago's gun laws. Seems that restrictive laws are failing the "Constitution Test" right and left lately.
965
DnD Central / Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?
Quote from: ersi on

Any society where access to guns is not regulated at least on the level of drivers licenses is insane.


Er-- ahhhh--- If you could see some of the stuff I see, you'd wonder how some of these folk-- including "professional" truck drivers-- ever got drivers licenses. When you get passed on a snow and black-ice covered road by an 18-wheeler who is trying to do the posted speed when maintaining forward motion is driving too fast for conditions, you just know that they're giving out driver's licenses a little too easily. Frightening thought: that driver may be licensed to be able to conceal-carry as well.
966
Browsers & Technology / Re: After XP — OS alternatives for Samsung NP?
For what it's worth, I'm running Windows 8 now. I wouldn't let horror stories of having to re-learn Windows throw you, it turns out that you can live with 8's worst touch-screen habits (I use the keyboard a bit more because the built-in mouse is a bit "touchy") and in truth I hardly touch the screen at all.

Whether you'll even have to deal with "touch" on an older unit depends on whether your unit has the hardware support for it. If not, then Windows 8 will look a little different but will act similar to what you're used to on the older OS.

Note: I made the jump from a machine that ran XP Media Center Edition (based on XP Pro but with a few more "toys") to this machine which runs Windows 8, and am at a loss to figure what the problem was "having to learn Windows again". It just wasn't that hard to work my way through, though finding some of the things-- like Control Panel for example-- took a bit of "feel and grope" the first time through. It would help if they would ship these things with at least a six-page book showing where to find stuff, but they don't so you just have to muddle through. Much of the stuff you're reading about the difficulties of learning 8 is that it's a little different in appearance. Much the same sort of thing happened when Windows 95 came out-- I remember hearing people say it was hard to learn hard to understand and so on and so on, what it was is-- different. We've been running on Windows 95 type user interfaces since then until 8 came along, and the changes made in 8 are mainly cosmetic. If you have enough on the ball to successfully turn on a computer, sign on to a browser and get to this website, you should be able to figure out Windows 8 without too much trouble.
968
DnD Central / Re: Blasphemy and Free Speech
Quote from: Macallan on

Quote from: Jimbro3738 on

Quote from: Macallan on
Blasphemy is an incredibly squishy concept. First, how would you determine which religions, beliefs, superstitions etc. are worth protecting? It's either all or none. I for one find public displays of ancient torture instruments seriously offensive.

If you pick the wrong religion, say, radical Islam, you're likely to find out quickly. :'(

They can wail & gnash their teeth to their little hearts' content.


Unless you're physically in a radical Islamic state when you make the blasphemous statement. Then, you could have a problem. Wailing and gnashing of teeth while selecting stones to throw--- uh--- it was nice knowing you--.
969
DnD Central / Re: Blasphemy and Free Speech
I'm going to break my own self-imposed ban about replying-- or even opening-- threads that have a religious character because this one has to do with "free speech" and Smiley brings up an important-- but often misunderstood-- point.

True, the First Amendment does grant-- or maybe the word is protect-- the right of "free speech". Actually, it protects the freedom of the press, but leave that for the moment or we'll never stop.

That "freedom" is not an absolute however. It doesn't give me the right to call other users here bad names without consequences, for example. That freedom really extends to the person who owns the press, not necessarily to the guy who writes an angry letter to the editor. So, if I have a bad falling out with Macallan (for example) and decide to say on open forum exactly what I think of him and his ancestors, I can expect that somebody is going to step in and do something about it, up to and including banning-- whether temporary or permanent depending on the situation. My right of free speech has very definite limits and if I trespass those limits I will suffer the results of my actions.

I'm not even really sure to what extent the American constitution pulls any weight here anyway because this server is not on American soil as far as I know, and trying to insist on "rights" while in somebody else's house never seems to come to a good end.

Blasphemy-- well, that's something else. There, you're trampling on someone's religious beliefs and it becomes important where you do it. Some parts of this world still have stoning to death as a punishment, so I would think twice before saying anything while in one of those parts of the world. Here in the States-- it seems that belief in God is fair game and you can say anything against anybody's god-- and probably be celebrated for your brave stance against superstitions. Different parts of the world have different ways of dealing with blasphemy, pay attention to where you are physically before shooting off your bazoo against your fellow man's beliefs.
970
Browsers & Technology / Re: Keeping an eye on Opera
It's the funniest thing, but--- even though on the surface Vivaldi may seem to have more to offer, I don't feel "safe" about it. The idea that it's being run by Opera folks leaves me wanting to take my probing stick and bang extra hard on the ice before putting my weight on it. I actually feel "safer" here even though I know there isn't as much to support it-- we're on one guy's site and he's having to take space from his blog to make room for the forums-- but it still "feels" safer than Vivaldi does right now.

I know the feeling of space constraint-- having opened a blog on Wordpress.com, I have just over 3 gigabytes available for storage. That's not as much as you might think if you post a lot of photo and video content, it wouldn't take long to run out of room. Of course Wordpress offers you the option of buying more space with their premium package, and it might be worth considering later. Right now, the point is that having a "free" site can really make things tight when you stop to think of how little 2 or 3 gigabytes really is today. (Great Scott-- was it only a decade ago that only a James Bond villain would have any use for 2 gigabytes of space???)
972
Forum Administration / Re: Moderation
Bantay is the only one I recall having used sock-puppets to form a group that all agreed with his statements. Besides using sock-puppets to keep resurrecting himself, of course. He went to great lengths to try to hide that they were all him, but in the end it failed.

I note that I am supposed to be a "global moderator" and I wonder just what "powers" I do have. Deleting spam goes without saying, and it appears I have powers to close threads if things get out of hand, but-- who controls the mighty "Ban Hammer" and how does that tool of the trade get deployed when necessary?
973
Browsers & Technology / Re: The best browser of 2013
I used to use Opera almost exclusively. However, the latest greatest playing around both with the browser and with the users left me cold, so when I got this new laptop Opera didn't get included. Right now I have Internet Exploder because Windows comes with it, and I use the latest update Firefox for just about everything. I don't know enough about any of the other browsers-- and from the sounds of it there's not much point in trying them because everybody is trying to make their offerings as plain-Jane and barely functional as possible.
974
DnD Central / Re: Do you consider yourself free?
I think you are going to need a larger can.

Once you get onto the subject of "freedom from" you open up a can of worms that "freedom to do" knows little of. Some freedoms we took for granted here turn out to be illusions, too-- freedom from unwarranted search and seizure being right up there if reports are any indication. Freedom from fear-- uh, remember that freedom from unwarranted search? The reason for all that warrantless wiretapping is fear of terrorism--so I reckon we can rule that out for awhile. Freedom from want? Not so you'd notice, and in case it does escape your attention just ask RJH-- I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you all about how the free-est country on earth can't feed its own people.

Freedom to do is, by comparison, relatively simple. If I want to build a bookshelf, I can do this. I just need decent plans, a couple of tools and some supplies and I can build a bookshelf. I have as much freedom to build this as my finances will allow. I can call a friend any time I want, I have freedom to do this. I can make bacon and eggs until the very sight of it turns your stomach-- I have as much freedom to do this as a body can stand.

So-- Freedom from may be more crucial, and much harder to come by, than freedom to do. Even in so-called free nations, it turns out that certain key freedoms simply don't exist-- or if they do, they have to be bought at such a dear price that I doubt "free" is the word I'd want to apply to it.
975
Browsers & Technology / Re: Keeping an eye on Opera
I shudna dun it. I really shudna dun it.

I just casually glanced at the post count. Smiley, this site hasn't been up a month and you already have 1200 posts?? You must live in Franz' basement and do little else but post here.

On the opposite end, my count may well be one of the smallest of the members here from near the beginning, I've been spreading myself a little thin and also I generally only reply to threads that really interest me. So, that accounts for the low counts.

While I'm here at the moment: Smiley, you're right, it wasn't you that got my goat this last time. I don't recall you posting replies to that letter that started us on this track, in fact. It was someone else.