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Test - Page 159

post #4741 of 4982
7/15/09 at 11:34am
Looks like you are going to take my winter this year.

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post #4742 of 4982
7/15/09 at 11:47am
Thread Starter 
I don't believe in long range forecasts like that.  I also don't believe in global warming and black ice.

At least the nice folks at the Old Farmer's Almanac don't pretend:

How Our Weather Forecasts Are Made

Our weather forecasts are determined by the use of a secret formula (devised in 1792 by the founder of this Almanac, Robert B. Thomas), enhanced by the most modern scientific calculations based on solar activity, particularly sunspot cycles. We also analyze weather records for particular locales. We believe nothing in the universe occurs haphazardly; there is a cause-and-effect pattern to all phenomena, including weather. It follows, therefore, that we believe weather is predictable. You can read more about how we predict the weather.


Modesty requires, however, that we add this caveat: It is obvious that neither we nor anyone else has as yet gained sufficient insight into the mysteries of the universe to predict weather long-range with anything resembling total accuracy.


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post #4743 of 4982
7/15/09 at 3:18pm
tesing post in ie7
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post #4744 of 4982
7/15/09 at 3:24pm
testing post in ie6
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post #4745 of 4982
7/15/09 at 3:52pm
Testing
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post #4746 of 4982
7/15/09 at 4:17pm
Testing post in IE8.   
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post #4747 of 4982
7/15/09 at 9:13pm
Thread Starter 
I am beta testing IE 14!

So there!


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post #4748 of 4982
7/17/09 at 6:08am
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post #4749 of 4982
7/17/09 at 6:51pm
Are you awake little Dukie?

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post #4750 of 4982
7/18/09 at 10:16am
LA sucks.
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post #4751 of 4982
7/19/09 at 4:41pm
Thread Starter 


Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls View Post

LA sucks.

This Northeaster doesn't know what's going on in that picture.  Looks like they're drilling for oil in their backyard...
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post #4752 of 4982
7/19/09 at 6:07pm
Mike,

The scene is in EXPENSIVE Huntington Beach. The house on the right is $1 Million Plus.  Those are oil well pumps on the left.

The point is that you can be stuck next to a 24 hours a day oil pump even in expensive neighborhoods.

By the way, how was your "vacation"? 
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post #4753 of 4982
7/19/09 at 6:08pm
Isn't Dukie cute?
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post #4754 of 4982
7/19/09 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 


Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls View Post

Isn't Dukie cute?

Very...although it looks like he hasn't had his first cup of coffee yet. 

"Vacation" was fine...just some last minute running around. 

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post #4755 of 4982
7/21/09 at 10:08am
Thread Starter 

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post #4756 of 4982
7/22/09 at 7:47pm
I caught the final episode of this documentary the other night, and had to order the DVD to see the entire series.  So far so good - it's what I wanted.  The story of the Revolutionary War taught by a Brit.

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post #4757 of 4982
7/22/09 at 9:27pm
Thread Starter 
Sounds very interesting.

Give me one interesting perspective which made you take note.  Or more if you are so inclined! 
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post #4758 of 4982
7/23/09 at 1:57am
It's a 2003 BBC production starring/narrated by British historian Richard Holmes.  He discusses the events driving between, say, modern Lexington and Concord in his red Mustang convertible and then gets out and walks the present-day street going up, say, Breed's Hill.  This gets intersperced with scenes of re-enacters fighting battles.  Historical figures such as Generals Burgoyne and Gates are shown at dinner or on the battlefield and then turn and address the camera to make short statements.

Four 1-hour episodes.  Reminded me of nothing more than "James Burke's 'Connections' doing the Revolutionary War".  Somehow I never saw this on broadcast PBS until a week or so ago.

Holmes repeatedly makes the connection - which I personally have made over the years - that the American Revolutionary War was "Britain's Vietnam War".

Your library probably has a copy.  I got the DVD for around $10 from an Amazon partner who turned out to be DVDPlanet/DigitalEyes.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/183463/htf-review-rebels-redcoats-how-britain-lost-america

From a reviewer at IMDB:

Quote:
Richard Holmes, as always, is informative and interesting and often gets hands on and practical with the battlefields. Interestingly, a lot of his motivation for making this was triggered after watching [Mel Gibson's] 'The Patriot', so appalled was he of the historical butchering that the film made



Edited by Dennis Nicholls - 7/23/2009 at 09:28 am GMT
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post #4759 of 4982
7/23/09 at 6:45am
Thread Starter 
The idea of Britain's Vietnam War IS thought-provoking, indeed.  But kind of flawed considering the massively different relationships between the principals of each conflict, wouldn't you think?

One of the oft-stated causes of the insurrection is the various taxes and Acts which really put off the colonists:  the Stamp Act, the Townsend Act, Tea Act, etc.  Do the Britons realize the flaw of this approach--or that they mis-read the anger in the colonies?  How about their view of the loss of their well-trained militia against the American rabble?  How do they view that?   


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post #4760 of 4982
7/23/09 at 11:35am
It's a flawed comparison, but certain details are worth considering.  Parliament was split between hawks (Tories) and doves (Whigs), and the Whigs certainly sympathised with the rebels.  The British military was to some degree prevented for waging all-out war against the rebels for political reasons.  General Gage I think it was who was much conflicted:  a Whig politically, he had to do his duty as a soldier and fight the rebels, even if his American wife leaked information to Paul Revere et al.
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post #4761 of 4982
7/23/09 at 12:57pm
Thread Starter 
So...even though, in both cases, both parties entered into the conflicts with the goal to "win"...there were extenuating circumstances which made it really difficult for them to do so.  Interesting. 

Meanwhile, the underdogs, in both cases, had the incentive and wherewithal to make make life difficult enough for the "favorite" to eventually wear them down.  Hmm.
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post #4762 of 4982
7/23/09 at 3:40pm
One other point Holmes makes is that the American militia wasn't just a "rabble".  British forces in America, such as used in the French & Indian War, consisted of British regulars augmented by American militia men.  The American militia were trained by the British regulars and became skilled in many military virtues.  The film points out how the British regulars often knew the American militiamen against which they fought.  These older militiamen, who had been trained by the British, formed a cadre of senior NCOs who in turn could train the raw recruits for Washington's army.
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post #4763 of 4982
7/23/09 at 6:17pm
I can't believe I spent $98 on a non-essential second bluray player for the downstairs system. 
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post #4764 of 4982
7/23/09 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Dude, I sometimes have  a hard time remembering what I had for lunch a half-hour ago.

 

So why  are you a history buff? 
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post #4765 of 4982
7/23/09 at 10:26pm
Thread Starter 
I may not remember what I had for lunch (although today was pulled pork!)...but I'll always remember the Battle of Hastings was fought in 1066! 

I was wondering why you bought one of those $98 players...

It is a good deal though...as long as the player's any good!
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post #4766 of 4982
7/24/09 at 3:02am
There's a 1066 Foundation at Hastings law school UCSF.....

http://www.uchastings.edu/alumni/volunteering/1066-foundation/index.html

The upstairs FP system doesn't get much use in the summer.  The A/C doesn't keep it cool and there's too much light leakage since the sun doesn't go down until after 9:30 PM.  It's easier to just watch stuff on the RPTV downstairs.

The Magnavox cheapies appear to have fewer problems than many of the more expensive players.  It's only a 1.1 spec drive, not a 2.0, but I couldn't care less about those "link to internet" deals on disc.  The principle drawback of the Magnavox is the lack of 6 analog audio outputs - I get stuck listening to DD via coax to my receiver since I'm not rich enough to replace my receivers with ones that can strip audio off of HDMI.

Funai builds the Sylvania and Magnavox BRD players even though both names are trademarks owned by Philips.  I'm guessing they are Philips designs manufactured by Funai.
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post #4767 of 4982
7/24/09 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
Are Susie & Duke okay with this?  I expect them to be finicky audiophiles.

I'm in Burlington, VT as I type this.  Portable computing is kind of cool.

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post #4768 of 4982
7/24/09 at 9:47pm
Sadly the cheapest BRD players with 6 analog audio outs are in the $500 range.  I can't swing that, but $98 is OK.  Joe 6 Pack doesn't care about audio so none of the cheap players spend the money for the 6 analog outs. 

Replacing my receivers with ones that do HDMI would also cost too much at this junction.  My downstairs system is used also for music - it has my Philips SACD drive - and has a powerful Yamaha receiver for which I paid the rediculous sum of $250 with a coupon and close of model sale at The Good Guys.   IIRC GG had a $100 off coupon for purchases over $300, and GG put my Yamaha on half-price from $700 down to $350. 

The long-term solution will be something like the Oppo BRD player which also does SACD and does have 6 analog outputs.  I'd rather go 6 analog outs rather than HDMI for audio since my downstairs system also has an Outlaw ICBM bass management controller.

The two Magnavox BRD players I own appear to be decent designs.  I like how they stay cool - always a good sign for long-term reliability.
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post #4769 of 4982
7/24/09 at 10:02pm
My red2blu package from Warner Bros. should arrive soon.  I'm thinking of selling off all my HD-DVD stuff as a package, since I have so few discs in that format.  I wonder what I should ask for a Toshiba HD-A2 and these disks:

Planet Earth
Blade Runner
Casablanca
2001
Blazing Saddles
March of the Penguins
Perfect Storm
Sky Captain - World of Tomorrow
U-571
Apollo 13
Digital Video Essentials

Nothing more aggrevating than equipment and discs in a dead format.
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post #4770 of 4982
7/24/09 at 10:59pm
Thread Starter 
If you could find someone selling a Panny BD-10 blu-ray player (which is what I have), they have the 6 analog outputs for audio.

I'm not sure what to advise about your HD-DVD stuff.  You could search the bargain & deals section.  A bunch of HD-DVD stuff has traded hands in both the software and hardware sub-forums. 
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