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I know many people are technophobic and/or technologically ignorant, but this person my sister works with has reached a new level of ignorance. First of all, she thinks that when you change the batteries on your remote you need to do in another room because if you don't it can cause the TV to...

Interestingly, I don't have writer's block if it's something factual that I'm writing about (I could literally write a book about trains or LEDs or lighting, for example). However, fiction is another story. I tend to think that the more real life experience you have then the easier writing...

Increased LDL, uric acid, and triglyceride levels in some people, and I think it's more prone to end up as fat than excess glucose. It's also slower to metabolize than glucose, which is both a plus and minus. On the plus side, there's less insulin response. On the minus side, it can't be used...

A good point. One thing I heard about was the use of fructose instead of glucose as a sweetener. And then you have all sorts of additives and preservatives which may interact in as yet unknown ways to contribute to weight gain. Finally, most processed foods these days are far too soft. The...

I'm not one to just run around calling people names. My father is about 100 pounds overweight. My mother and I have explained to him numerous times why it would be good for him to lose weight, especially in light of the fact that he had a heart attack in 1989, and is essentially being kept...

4 ) Sedentary lifestyle because of office jobs, automobiles, TV, and computers. 5 ) Ingesting growth hormones in the foods we eat. 6 ) General acceptance of "fat" as just another body type (in essence this amounts to throwing in the towel on weight loss). 7 ) Easy availability and low cost of...

I'm aware of it, and I don't see how it can possibly be good for you in the long term even if it does cause you to lose weight faster. An all-meat diet is no good (unless you're a cat or dog), too much fat is no good. The Atkins diet basically combines these two things while getting rid of...

I almost peed myself reading the final outcome of your troubles with Sony but I certainly sympathize. I think I'll stay away from Sony products just based on your experiences.

And it'll probably happen sooner than we think. In the event that it doesn't, I've already tasted "veggie" hamburgers, meat balls, ribs, chopped meat, and a few other things. In most cases it was as good as the real thing. The only drawback is that it costs as much or more, so most people...

That's just part of the e-mail address for Bluelight, which is my ISP. You pick a user name, and then your e-mail address is yourusername@mybluelight.com. Only $9.99 per month for unlimited access. :) The only restriction is an automatic timeout after four hours, but then you can just log...

And how lousy this is making the food taste. Store bought tomatoes are completely disgusting which is why I grow my own. Most other foods are getting increasingly bland and "processed" tasting as well. I mentioned in another thread how I'm enjoying most foods less and less. Especially all...

I ended up getting that Seasonic Super Tornado 300w Active PFC Silent Power Supply. Unfortunately, it didn't arrive until yesterday. Very nice supply. I can barely hear it at the power level my PC uses. Total power draw is about 90 watts according to my homemade wattmeter versus 100 or so...

I've had one person whom I really cared about. I understand perfectly where you're coming from, Mercutio. Given my personality (I find it hard to initiate new friendships), the fact that I just don't meet many new people, and my general selectiveness (I'm really specific in the types that I...

It probably won't bother me either, but my reasoning is a bit more involved than yours. First of all, I'm not expecting anything from Social Security. I know what shape the system is in, and I've also alluded to the fact that it is likely the US may fall like the USSR before I'm old enough to...

Sorry, Merc. I know that subject hits a bit too close to home for you. Still, I'm curious if any candidate has even brought up this issue. Maybe some R&D might bring about some miracle cure for the chronically obese. I know the sedentary American lifestyle and calorie-laden foods are a big...

They raised it again? Ugh. :( I think there's a grain of truth to what I said about never collecting. :cry:

For some purposes 55 is the cutoff, but it's usually based on the age at which you are eligible for full Social Security benefits (this is 65 for my mom's generation). Many so-called senior citizen discounts (like half-fare on mass transit) start at age 65. I'm sure the definition will remain...

I think every candidate for public office gives at least lip service to improving education, but in the end they all make little difference. Right now New York's Mayor Bloomberg is fighting the unions tooth and nail to try to get rid of stupid union work rules that make firing bad teachers next...

As strange as it seems, both my parents are now senior citizens (my Dad turned 65 on October 2, 1999). For what it's worth, they generally don't look the part, although my Dad is about 100 pounds overweight. If I'm still posting here in 24 years, you'll all know when I become a senior...

I'm too young to be personally familiar with Ike but from those who were alive during the time it was frequently regarded as one of the high points of the 20th Century. WWII was over, people enjoyed unheard of prosperity, courts and public services really worked, crime was very low, there was...

I finally saw the first two parts on cable when I had the flu. In fact, I probably watched them about five times each. I think I might break my self-imposed cinema boycott (last movie I saw was in 1997) and see Return of the King. BTW, Gollum is by far my favorite character. I've even...

Exactly what I said about designing on the bleeding edge, only in this case I would say the accountants were more responsible than the engineers. After all, if you get rid of one $0.40 cap and make 100,000 boards you save $40,000. I'm sure the engineers weren't thrilled to go along, but they...

I know what you mean about money. Mercutio. I'm in the same boat as you are because I don't yet feel comfortable managing my money in stocks or even mutual funds (well, at least two of my IRAs are in mutual funds). However, nothing is stopping me from learning, even though I'll admit I hear...

I'm under the impression if you're really destitute Medicaid takes care of you. If not, what is New York State spending $40 billion per year on it for? To pay for the health care of the rich? My biggest problem isn't that I'm against this (or public education) in principle. The problem is...

If any of the other choices had really great environmental plans that I thought they would follow through on, I might vote against Bush even if I didn't much care for the rest of their platform. However, when the shit hits the fan, no candidate from either party will really stand up to the oil...

Clark is about the only one of the pack that I would find palatable. Generals usually make good Presidents. They have a can do attitude and an excellent sense of organization. One of the candidates (I think it was Clark) came out for getting rid of income taxes on everyone making under...

That's not a marking. That's a pressure relief "valve". They purposely weaken the top of the cap so that if it overheats the gasses will force the cap open at the weak point before pressure gets so dangerously high as to make a violent explosion. At least that's the way it works in thoery...

A higher internal resistance at a given ripple current means more heat in this case. Remember V=IR and P=IV? At least that's what I learned. You're thinking of a resistor across a fixed voltage, and here you are correct. I'm talking about filter caps whose purpose is to smooth the ripple...

Looks to me like they're using capacitors with too high an internal series resistance. At the high currents observed when filtering the microprocessor power supply (this could be tens of amps), the capacitors get too hot, and eventually fail. I also wonder if the fact that many boards just...

My outdoor thermometer read -1° F last night. I heard with the wind chills it felt like -35° F. I walked a few blocks when it was about 10°. The wind made it brutal, sort of like being on a mountain during a whiteout. This is the coldest NYC has been since 1994. I can only imagine what...

Cycling when the weather allows (which it hasn't for two weeks if you count that I'm also still getting over the flu) and walking at least a mile (frequently much more) each day. Other than that, not much on a consistent basis. Digging in the garden is a great workout, but that's a seasonal...

I have 2 20MB MFM drives in an 8086 which I'm basically keeping as a working "museum piece", but they're not for sale obviously. However, I do occasionally find old stuff by the curb. If I come across a working MFM drive in the course of my travels I'll give you a PM. In the meantime, you...

A short summer? Seriously, though, love of warm or hot weather certainly isn't universal. While I'll admit -31°C might be a bit too cold for me, I'd be very happy if it never got warmer than about 50°F in NYC. I just don't see any point to warm weather.

It's a stretch but you could be picking of 60 Hz line noise because of the speaker wire acting as an antenna. Only thing that might help is changing all the connections to shielded wire, and even then I'm not sure. The amp should have had filters to reject 60 Hz to prevent just this sort of...

Sure, I have A/C also, but I like to go out for walks, bike rides, touring around Manhattan. In the summer I just can't do any of those things without feeling very uncomfortable most of the time, so in effect I'm trapped indoors for three months and/or forced to do everything after the sun...

Funny how quickly people forget the horribly hot summers and then complain how cold it is. It was 3°F here this morning-beautiful winter weather. If I had a proper sleeping bag I even would have slept outside in the yard. This cold weather is helping to clear up my flu. I can't say hot...

:mrgrn: Actually, I try to let the bullets enter my ear so they just come out the other ear. It's mostly empty space in between so that usually works. I think it was pretty obvious which sentence was a tall story, wasn't it? Now I have seen people who were shot (this is NYC, after all), but...

If it wasn't smallpox it was chicken pox. Smallpox happened to come to mind first. I know it was some sort of pox. My memory isn't too good these days for diseases I had 30+ years ago. I wasn't aware that the last case of smallpox in the US was that long ago, or that it had such a high...

Isn't SARS much worse than smallpox? Lots of kids had smallpox in NYC back in the 1960s when I was a kid IIRC, and it wasn't any worse than the flu. It certainly wasn't unusual or anything that would raise an alarm with the CDC, but at least they have a vaccine for it now. I had measles, too...

Well, my temperature has been 97.7°F (normal for me) for two days in a row but I still feel horribly weak. I did manage to get out Tuesday but only felt well enough to walk about two miles. I really hope I get my strength back soon. I really can't do anything for more than an hour, and then I...

Compared to most other soft drinks, Coke and Pepsi have more sugar, more calories, more caffeine, and more carbonation (which leads to a bloated feeling). Not to mention serving sizes are getting ridiculous. I'm frequently amused at the TV commercials on drugs for frequent urination. Do the...

Coke and Pepsi are disgusting. And both have a severe laxative effect on me, even with only one glass. I never saw why they are so popular. I remember one of my relatives went overseas, and she said that they don't understand why we Americans drink Coke by the gallon. Over there they only...

First time in a few days that I actually posted in threads besides this one. Still a long way to go before I feel normal, no doubt about it. Not quite as tired as before. I don't know whether to attribute this to the smaller doses of medication, my body getting used to no caffeine (no coffee...

I doubt two cups a day qualifies me as an addict. I used to drink three but then cut down to keep from feeling wired all day. I haven't had any for the last few days. I think it's more a habit than anything, although as addictions go it's probably one of the least harmful ones in moderation.

I think TrintonAzaleth in that thread may by another of Gigger Hertz/trollaxer's alter egos. Check out this SR profile, apparently of the real Trinton Azaleth. Good detective work, Jake. Now that's he's found out, it should be interesting to see what happens.

No alcohol for me until I'm off this medication for a while (I'm just an occasional, social drinker anyway). In fact, the symptoms seemed somewhat better so I cut my dosage to one caplet every six hours. This seemed the prudent thing to do as acetaminophen seems none too good for you long term...

Thanks guys for the suggestions and sympathies. This is the first time since I posted yesterday that I feel well enough to sit for a few minutes and post again. I'm taking something with acetaminophen (500 mg), chlorpheniramine maleate (2mg), dextromethorphan hydrobromide (15 mg), and...

Anyone else going through this? My mom was sick before Christmas, and eventually diagnosed with the flu and bronchitis. I think I've got at least the flu. Temp was 101.7° F early this morning. Normal for me is around 97°F. I go from ready to pass out to able to sit for a little while in...

I hope this rover and the next one have a bit of luck. With the success rate of these Mars missions lately am I the only one who thinks maybe something up there doesn't want to be found?

Merc more or less echoed my thoughts on the New Year. At least I have an excuse to get drunk once a year and watch the Twilight Zone all day. Outside of that I don't see that anything is different from last year, or the year before. Same crap in the papers each day, same powerless feeling to...