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john

Member since: May 24th, 2006

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Our Picks: Top 5 Flea Markets in the Country (Shelterpop)

Sep 19th 2010 8:35PM flea markets like this are venues for you to purchase someone else's great "finds", as each vendor tends to be knowledgable about what they are selling nobody is giving away anything special. I prefer thrift storing meself, that's where you're going to find stuff of real value hiding amongst worthless knick knacks. Goodwill seems to have a great donations solicitation program, as does Amvets, Goodwill's policy of not allowing employees to shop where they work ensures an equal chance for all of a good selection. Bottom of the rack is Salvation Army, lots of overpriced wares-who manages those dives?

Civilians Run City-Wide Surveillance in Pennsylvania Town (Switched)

Jun 22nd 2009 5:58PM that commonly voiced statement is perhaps the worst argument ever to use in surrendering the priviledges- no, the rights of our freedoms. it assumes we are doing something wrong in the first place that the authorities have the right to watch us for, or that we have to argue we aren't doing.
more on topic, as the article also implies this surveilance net seems to be great at catching meaningless infractions while we can be certain the talented criminals will have little problem working around it. it's like the barcode scanning devices at any store today, a heavy reliance on a single technology creates a feeling of false security, several national crime gangs found a way to beat it with shielded shopping bags and went to town at malls in several states before they were caught by accident.

Switched Splurge: McIntosh 60th Anniversary Audio System (Switched)

Jun 22nd 2009 5:35PM I'd love to have this setup, right next to the '72 Pantera or slightly newer Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer I could only dream about owning someday. Pushing a pair of Klipsch speakers (you know, the ones you need to move into a larger house to make work right!) I'm sure it would sound world class and make most married guys single as fast as you can say "honey, you aren't putting that stuff in MY living room, are you?"
Those of us on a real world budget from the divorce settlement a decade or more ago and child support payments since will have to suffer along with our pre-1980 Marantz receivers. I picked up a pair over the years, one in the living room and one in the shop, (what you do with spare bedooms or garages when you make that decision yourself) and each powers a pair of thoughtfully designed homebrew speakers (with top drawer drivers) with the kind of full, "no IC chip to adulterate the signal" authority that the Mcintosh probably musters on a bad day.

I said it eleven years ago, it's still true today- "it's about the music, stupid!" not about falling on your knees for brand loyalty for the system that reproduces it- and from what I have heard about the good folks that used to and still do work for McIntosh, I'm sure they'd agree. (see Roger-Russell.com, one of their key engineers in their history who humbly shares his technical knowledge and personal history at Mcintosh in a vast website, you won't regret the time spent!) I don't know Roger personally but thank him nonetheless for some entertaining reading.

Nokia N97 review: a tale of two bloggers (Engadget)

Jun 22nd 2009 4:02PM Although certainly amusing to read for the trading barbs aspect, it is clear these two would be Shakespeares have lost sight of what they were here to do in the first place, write a review about the phone people could use. Seems to me the first entry did just that and it went downhill from there. When you guys get done reading the fan mail from your e-review groupies and start focusing on the products and not your preconceived notions of brand loyalties, let the rest of us know.
The irony of my criticism (or hypocrisy, as it were) being nearly as pompously self involved as their exchange is not lost on me, FWIW.

Virgin Mobile Helio Ocean 2 unboxed, scheduled for launch with Britney Spears (Engadget Mobile)

Jan 29th 2009 5:26PM Sure you had three phones go bad? I have the gut feeling it was really just one and you just kept hitting the "send reply" button repeatedly at the complaint page.... ;-P

Lower speed limit movement spreading as John Warner jumps aboard (Autoblog Green)

Jul 7th 2008 2:29AM I think it's bad logic being used here when people are saying "I get Xmpg at 70 but Ympg at 55! Let's do it!"

Are you going 70 mph? You're speeding. Slow down. Are you going to be driving 15 mph less tommorrow if Warner's law goes into effect? I sincerely doubt it.

The reality is most of us are driving around 68 mph on a clear day on an uncongested road. If this law went into effect that MIGHT drop to about 64, if even that much. However we will be liable for criminal charges by our government's law enforcement entities. The fuel and safety savings are just not worth another Draconian government restriction on us, as we seem to be plunging headfirst post 9/11 into an authoritarian police state.

On another note, and I rarely go off on such personal issues, Axiom, your avenues of argument show very little logic or factual basis and are false moral posturing- a lot of finger pointing and judgement. It's actually bordering on anti-social behaviour IMO, in a democracy.

What makes you think those guys are endangering anyone's lives? And is government ALWAYS right? Finally, if you'd support this just because 55 saves lives as opposed to 65, well do you think we should make it 45? 30? Why not ban vehicles with more than 20 horsepower and cover them all with foot-thick foam?

What? You don't support the 30 mph, 20hp foot-thick foam law? You KILLER! Shame on you! You should go to jail when this passes!

Take a look at yourself, my friend.

Lower speed limit movement spreading as John Warner jumps aboard (Autoblog Green)

Jul 6th 2008 2:52AM Spot on, and funny you mention the I-5 central valley haul. In a forum I post in regularly I was just discussing this issue and used an example of one day in the '80s, back when I was in the Navy at Miramar in San Diego. Home was east of Sonora, 433 miles north on state 99, parallel to 5 but more direct. Drudgery until Merced, then glorious rolling smooth highway the last hour to Twain Harte. (you know this, for others it is what he says only a bit worse, more heavily patrolled, uneven lanes and pavement, a few stoplights in small towns in those days) Anyway I made that trip countless times, on that day it was on my newish Honda 900 with dual range transmission geared so tall that made 55 nearly a risk of stalling the engine. In 8 hours I received 3 speeding tickets, one just north of SD, but two in a hundred miles near Fresno on 99. All three by CHP, for 63, 68 and 71 mph. After two more tickets that year I was suspended for negligent operator, none of those events resembled reckless or dangerous operation by the farthest stretch of the imagination. The thought of an officer writing a speeding ticket today for 63 in a 55 on a modern highway- at the courts' current fine rate, with resulting increased insurance rates- is really the only thing I'd like to see legislated into a criminal offense.
(FWIW to those who might call me pathetic- I have not had a moving violation since '88)

Lower speed limit movement spreading as John Warner jumps aboard (Autoblog Green)

Jul 6th 2008 1:35AM RJ, that's a cheap ploy to label someone a pathetic speeder when he's merely driving at a speed which is accepted by the democratic majority and is perfectly safe in the vast majority of situations. State highway engineers lower limits in congested areas as needed. What must be realized is this legislation will not see a significant reduction in speeds actually driven by Americans, so your 75-55 preponderances regarding "let's get safer" or even "let's get green" (should you go there) are moot.
Then again "let's get green" may be the philosophy after all. It will be whispered by lawmakers in relief as they can stop earning their pay burning the midnight oil balancing their books. When 55 was repealed Americans did not instantly drive faster on the highways. They merely stopped being criminals for driving at the safe speeds they always had and that modern autos were engineered to safely and efficiently operate at.

Lower speed limit movement spreading as John Warner jumps aboard (Autoblog Green)

Jul 6th 2008 1:17AM Please, don't fall for this! 34 years ago cars were like a brick in the wind. Not only are they more aerodynamic now, the safety features in all cars from tires to brakes and suspensions and the roads themselves, both fuel savings and accident rates will NOT see a similar positive effect as before.
What's really going on here is Americans are driving much less and politicians who must balance their budgets are faced with decreased pump tax revenues. Speeding tickets are incredibly easy to write when NOBODY heeds the limit- that's the way things were pre '95 and you could quickly lose your license for perfectly safe driving- leading to MORE revenue generating punitive actions against you. Of course insurance companies are eager to chime in with bad studies to raise rates on us "lawbreakers".
Here's what's important: If they lower the limit, Americans will NOT instantly slow down to "get out and walk" speeds to get green.
We'll simply become marks for cash strapped municipalities. Does Warner think we're so stupid we forgot it wasn't lower crude that ended 55, it was rebellion of the feds by more and more states over state's rights?

Stuart Scott Says Calling a Woman a Ho Is 'Affectionate' (Fanhouse NCAA Basketball Blog)

Apr 12th 2007 10:38PM Just because some of you "can't imagine it being used in a positive way, I've never heard it" does that really make it so? I'm not going to defend Imus here, his words were inappropriate. What he SHOULD have called them was "thug beeatches" or "g-hos", and it was damn well called for because of their behaviour and attitude to the other teams in the contest. If they want to play trash talking ghetto hoops, they can take the lingo without offense. This is simply PC ivory tower finger pointing, to my fellow Americans in the black community, if you are truly offended by the words of Imus, I sympathize but sugggest your outrage would be silent if it were Don King at the mike.
Re: "Ho's", I had a long time GF whose "pet" name was not "bunny" nor "honny-poos" but "you stupid ho!"
After it's heard a million times, a word like "F---" loses its impact. Imus gets a free pass for me because the comment wasn't to degrade but call it like it is describing their behaviour.