riddler

If I added up all the time I actually spent playing D&D, at 24 hours a day, it would probably total months. I was the DM most of the time (call it a control issue). I remember always asking for D&D books (author, Gary Gygax) for Christmas. The days of imagination games are all but over. Computers have replaced our imaginations. Anyone feeling nostalgic about D&D, but can't remember where they left their 20-sided dice, can just pickup a copy of Neverwinter Nights, which faithfully reproduces the D&D environment on a computer. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Maybe the oil companies will realize that solar and nuclear power makes more sense than fossil fuels The RIAA is pure evil. They aren't going to change until they are whittled down to almost nothing. Even then, they might not change. Good opportunity for companies that are looking to replace the current model of recorded media sales. I think Madonna went with Live Nation as an alternative to Warner Brothers music. In ten years, the RIAA companies will probably just buy them, rather than be replaced by them. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

considering the value of the US Dollar in relation to most European currencies, my guess is he would get MORE selling it in Europe. This scammer is likely not associated with the US military at all. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Totally agree. The modern media is just showing everyone what few people have known all along. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I tend to believe personal experience more than either commercials or studies. I've never taken anti-depressants, but every person I know that has taken SSRIs has felt a significant benefit. Placebo effect or not, feeling better is worth the money. Of course, we could all just eat better and take care not to pollute our surroundings, get more sleep, avoid alcohol and drugs, and there would probably be a lot less depression in the world. But that sounds like really hard work Easier to take a pill, I guess. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The accident report only works if the accident was filed to the police. The reports get pulled from the police records. Personally, I prefer autocheck to carfax - it's $5 cheaper, you get 60 days, instead of 30. But there's no guarantees that the reports will find everything - required government filings (such as emissions tests/title transfer, police reports) will show up. Things that aren't required to be filed do not. If someone was involved in a single-car accident, didn't file it, had a tow-truck driver tow it, and have a mechanic fix it, it's not going to get reported anywhere. Even if the VIN is entered incorrectly in the report, or someone was just too lazy to file, or if the records are lost or damaged, you won't get that back in the report. Overall, there seem to be quite a few private parties as well as dealers scamming used car sales (at least in my experience) - you are going to do better with a car report than without. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

PM sent. Reported 5 owners, with the last purchase only four months ago. Fleet vehicle, sold at auto auction, 175,000 miles. Anyone in the market for a car - I can't stress enough, buy the carfax or autocheck report. It's only $20 or $30, and you get unlimited checks for 30 or 60 days. About 1/3 of the private parties that I met were complete liars. The last one was only a few weeks ago - kid said he "bought" the car from the original owner a year and half ago, and it never had any problems. The autocheck record said 4 owners, the kid really acquired it two weeks previous, and it had been in an accident (those reports show the police records as well as salvage titles, fleet use, and all the other nasty things). There are a lot of otherwise unemployed people that are making side income by buying used cars, getting them detailed, lying about their history, and marking up the price of the vehicle. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I had no idea there was a vaccine! Circle, circle, dot, dot, .... That probably explains why I gave more of them than got them. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Totally cool centerfold. Even the belly flyers on the hybrid did a great job keeping the round level (notice the use of upper-arm grips). Nice formation, for sure. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

A good friend of mine - smartest person I ever worked with - was quoted by the local tech news as saying something to this effect: "Surround yourself with the smartest people you can find. Give them whatever tools they need to get the job done." That pretty much sums up Google's strategy. I'm sure they have processes, but they also have more PhDs than any think-tank from the 1950s. And they can afford all sorts of cool toys. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

My 16-month old speaks in baby-asl. She knows about 100 signs. It's just like how parents understand their kids when they start to talk, even though no-one else does. Same with the sign language - her "pronunciation" with her hands isn't very good, but we know what she's saying. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Try to convince your typical Dilbert Pointy-Haired Boss of that. They usually buy into it for six months, get everyone to switch effort in order to focus on changing the process, then when all productivity dies, let the process slip away quietly unto the night, while continuing to taut the process to the BOD until next year, when a new process comes along. Or maybe you are the Pointy-Haired Boss Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It took me about half-way reading it to figure that out. I don't watch TV, so I was pretty clueless at the beginning (I assumed "lost theory" meant that everyone forgot about it). Still it would be kinda neat if everyone put this much thought into every detail of their lives, not just television shows. We would probably take better care of ourselves, make better judgments with our relationships, finances, society, et al. Maybe some day ... Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Studies that indicate negative effects caused by Six Sigma. Hopefully, that process beast is on it's way out - I've been through ISO-9001, CMM level 4, XP. Most are a waste of time - the Process Du Jour. I recommend learning about Agile methodology instead. If you can swing it, PMI is a good bet, but it takes quite a bit of continuing education and/or experience to even qualify to take the test. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

And now US Airways is following in the footsteps of United. U.S. Airways to charge for second check-in bag Probably all carriers will be doing this within a year. Small problem for those of us that do check our rigs. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

That disclaimer should be mandated on every news story/video/et al in the US - it would be about the only true statement you hear from the media. How do you prove there wasn't any oxygen anyway? Both bottles used, all the O2 gone, whether it was there in the first place or not. I doubt AA will take the rap for that one, but you may want to short-sell their stock until everyone figures that out. AADs are simple enough that a five-year old can admin them (I'm certified as an O2 administrator, as well as on AADs, and I can tell you that AADs are much simpler of the two). I have a hard time believing it didn't work - they will tell you if their batteries are too low for use, they will speak clear instructions on what to do on every step. BUT they can not solve every heart problem out there - they will activate only if they detect fibrillation. It's going to get to the point that someone sues someone else in this country every single time someone dies There are clear cases of negligence, but there are also clear cases of greed. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It's good that these topics get reposted once in a while. I still occasionally hear students that I coach say 45-degrees. Fortunately, I don't think it's coming from the instructors - they seem to be hearing the message. I ask the students where they heard that, and it's usually from up-jumpers that have been around a while. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

But then the robot got free, and caused utter destruction in the city: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3137876296322648791&q=robot+smash&total=420&start=40&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4 Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Nice idea, but not available in my area (and I live right in the middle of the city). Yeah, I originally said screw Comcast, went BACK to Qwest DSL. The Comcast guy said "you'll be back", and he was right Qwest service sucks worse than Comcast. So I went back to Comcast - much faster, much more reliable service for slightly less money. Rats! I would like to have fast, reliable, wired broadband. I guess that's just too much to ask for. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've been port forwarding for a while now, with ranges as high as 52000+. Doesn't help. Comcast isn't blocking any ports - they have some way of detecting the swarm that I don't know about. It could be as simple as measuring the rate of transmission. I am paying extra for the faster "8-meg" download, but I still get cutoff when I do this. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Hopefully this isn't a revelation. The IRS does not care about the law any more than any other government agency in the US. They can and will do whatever they want to extort money wherever they smell money. Your best defense is doing what is reasonable and customary. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Some years ago, the government sued Microsoft for the same thing, resulting in huge fines, and a 70-million dollar payment to the contractors. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

But if you say fuck off, and they STILL hire you later, it's akin to being a god. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

*bump* The lawsuit is still ongoing. Comcast says they are only reducing speed of Vuze at peak times. I can still attest that Vuze is the only application that shuts down my service, it does it at all times, 24 hours a day, and within about 60 seconds of a download from Vuze. Here's the latest story. Vuze to Comcast: It's not a fair race when you own the track Basically, it's not worth my time to get up and restart my modem manually after every minute of use, so I'm no longer using Vuze. I guess Comcast wins this time Too bad, Vuze (Azureus) is a really nice P2P client. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Maybe the "survivalists" in Deliverance. I'm all for rubbing two girl scouts together, myself I've heard vegetarians suggest that people that eat meat should kill their own animals. Maybe raw foodists should say anyone that eats cooked food should have to make a fire using only two sticks Saw it as a teenager. Fond memories Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD