Skinny Puppy
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Posts posted by Skinny Puppy
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NOTAM:
No cats were harmed in the making of this thread! :roll:
Watch, you'll see that it isn't "Cat-A-Tonic" yet! :lol:
GaryGB
Hey Gary,
That ET cartoon had me in stitches! Now that was funny stuff! :D
Oh, for anyone that might think that cat in my picture underwent any harm, no fear, it was actually being supported in mid-air by magnets. It was a test that was being done to study the effects of being upside-down and was being done for the benefit of the astronauts. It was only in the air for 5 minutes and then was returned safely to the table a few feet below it.
If one looks at its rear feet, you can see the magnet.
Pups (Caring for our furry friends in Seattle)
P.S. This thread is becoming a behemoth! Your post marks page 6 !!
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By Jove I think we've cracked it..
an Energy Efficent, Renewable power source for all generations..
By combining the Teories of:
Newtonian Cat Physics,
Quantum Foam,
and Eienstiens Theory of Catativity..
One could quite possibly construct a
Buttered Toast and Cat powered Electricity Generator Plant
The Spinning Cat in equilibrium with the Toast in a perpously designed Milti-Plane Ground Field would offer enough Torque to turn the Input shaft of a Generator.
This just in…
It was discovered today that a fiendishly diabolical scientist from down-under has been conducting experiments to test Einstein’s Equivalence Principle. An anonymous source says that the experimenter, know locally as ‘Madaz’, has been using cats (with a helpless mouse as bait) and toast to test his hypothesis that a cat, with the aid of an aerodynamic piece of buttered toast, could defy gravity!
The international community was appalled upon hearing this news and immediately the ‘Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Toast’ was sent to investigate. Pleas by his fellow scientists went unheeded. Madaz was determined to win the Nobel Toast Prize regardless of the care and well-being of any innocent toast that might stand in his way.
Unknown to Madaz, a photographer was hiding in his secret underground lab and snapped this picture. Despite Madaz’s best intentions, the toast became detached from the cat and one can only imagine the terror that piece of toast must have endured under such extreme distress.
Upon seeing the picture, it was reported that many bystanders fainted and were calling for immediate government action.
Madaz declined to be interviewed and this reporter’s calls went unanswered.
From the picture, many of the world’s top physicists were called in to answer the question of why Madaz’s experiment was so disastrous. Most were in agreement. They concluded that Madaz in his haste to win the prize had inadvertently forgotten to add butter to the toast. From the evidence in the picture I believe all will agree that that piece of toast is indeed unbuttered. Madaz is currently in hiding and charges are pending.
Donations to save that piece of toast may be made by calling,
1-800-SAVE-TOAST
A charitable receipt will be issued for all donations under $1.
http://www.newtonphysics.on.ca/EINSTEIN/Chapter10.html
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Pups (following his amazing discovery of the much sought after foam) is still much perplexed by that weird object hovering in space just below his foam. Tired and worn he heads for bed in the hopes of a restful night’s sleep. Laying his head upon his pillow, he falls fast asleep, but has recurring nightmares. Gary’s flying toaster has him troubled, as well as Madaz’s many references to strange cat-like anomalies that are so pervasive throughout the universe. Puppy’s mind is now in a tizzy; weird images pop in and out of existence, cats are everywhere and Pups finally looks back to a more peaceful time when hippies threw-off the pretenses of society and lived the simple life.
To sleep, perchance to dream, ay, there's the rub."
Pups (Restless in Seattle)
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MADAZ... That was excellent and super funny! :D :D
CHRIS: Excellent stuff too. :)
But if plank length is about 10^-33 centimeters,Here's a link (for ol' One Eye) to a freebie book on the powers of 10.
Kees Boeke
http://www.vendian.org/mncharity/cosmicview/
GARY... I split a gut with laughter at your pics. :wink: In fact, I stole one of them to use below. :P
Pups
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Not a problem Francois, Wednesday it is then. :wink:
Pups
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Super funny stuff Madaz and Gary. :D :D Here’s my contribution.
Einstein’s Theory of Catativity
Nothing can travel faster than a cat in heat. In honor of the cat, the symbol C is now universally accepted.
Time will slow down (dilate) when a cat has its claws near your nether regions. The closer it gets; the slower the passage of time.
Overfed and therefore heavy cats will warp the fabric of your new couch.
A rocking chair and a cat’s tail will release an incredible amount of pure energy.
Moving along into the strange world of the quantum…
It was disclosed today that a future would-be scientist, a one S. Pups, trained his electronic microscope on an empty patch of space. He was trying to prove what Wheeler had theorized upon some time ago. As S. Pups moved closer and closer to the Planck length, an image began to appear, but ever so slowly. As Pups adjusted his thumbscrews, the image soon became crystal clear! He did indeed find the foam, but unexpectedly, another object was seen juxtaposed below it. Pups believes he’s found the ‘Holy Grail’ of physics and plans to announce his findings to the academy of science when they next meet. In an exclusive to the Emporium’s Daily Bugle, we’re publishing Pups’ picture. This is a scientific first and we’ll leave it to you, our most noble and gentle readers, to ascertain what that strange object is and what its composition might be. At this point in time it’s a mystery that must be solved at any cost (under a dollar).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_foam
Pups
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Whoa Gary, that's a tall order!
Can I fill-in a lot, yes, but we're talking a huge field and you've raised quite a few issues in that 'massive' post above.
Time is pretty short this weekend, (today Bonnie and I are going out for a better part of the day and tomorrow is TONGASS release day and Puppy is going to play), but one thing you did mention above,
Now that inflation theory is approaching dogma, it is bringing science to the brink of answering one of the largest questions of all: Why is there something rather than nothing?That's easy to answer, but the answer will take some explanation. (It's based in part upon my own reflections on that subject.) No, not because I'm brainy, but I've given that question umpteen hours of thought and consideration.
For now though, the answer...
'Because nothing is something'.
That may seem like nothing more than a 'play on words', but in reality, it's true. The answer actually lay in the question for eons, but until QM came along, the answer appeared to be elusive to human thought.
Also, another point. You're familiar with Dante and his famous...
Abandon hope all ye that enter here.
Well with QM that could read...
Abandon logic all ye that enter here.
Our concept of logic isn't advanced enough to fully (or to even begin) to understand many of the concepts that are required for a true and deep understanding of what makes a universe.
I've really gone astray on an FS forum, but these questions are about as close to my heart as any question could be.
For now though, (I have to flee to shop,) here's an interesting video that you might enjoy watching.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/
Then click on: ‘Watch the Program’.
It’s a streaming video, but if you’re interested, you can buy it on DVD. (I did.)
It's a 'primer' on String Theory. Well presented by Brian and there's also a book (I have it) of the same title.
One thing though if you're entering unfamiliar territory, String Theory is unproven, and at present, only has 'postdictive' powers. That's not deadly (yet), but puts a damper on whether to take it seriously or not.
Pups
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Hi Francois:
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. It's interesting to learn of other's backgrounds, and how the directions we take in our lives can be influenced by the experiences we have with people and our environments as we grow up. :D
GaryGB
Today is a rich and profound day in the history of Emma. One might hesitantly call it a 'gala' day! Gary has made a boo-boo. Puppy (waiting patiently like a hawk after its prey) has relished this moment of moments, this time of times that will surely go-down in the annals of Emma's history books as 'Gary's Day of Infamy'.
The story begins...
The innocent word 'other' is an 'indefinite pronoun'.
Now we make it plural... others.
Now we want that most humble of plurals to be possessive, so what do we do?
Yes, that's a hard decision by any standards.
So what can we possibly do to it? Got it!
others'
O death, where is thy sting?
[This lesson in correct English usage was paid for and brought to you as a public service by the Emporium's series of lectures aimed at the betterment of all Emma's citizens. No vowels/consonants were harmed during its production.]
Pups (relishing his victory in Seattle)
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Holy erudite historian Gary!
Is there any discipline that escapes you?
I’m struggling to work my way through Eunuchversity, (at great expense I might add) and you waltz through most fields with nary a care.
Woe is I, my learning has just begun.
Pups (Learning in Seattle)
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Okay, I finally understand the method that MS uses with that file. Thanks guys for the info.
On a side note... Tongass (I've got the manual now and did a speed-read of it) looks like it's going to be a real adventure for me.
I have more payware sceneries than I care to count and an incredible number of payware planes. What I've never had in FS before, is an entire area recreated!
Oh, I should mention, letting guys get the manual for an app prior to buying it is an excellent idea! You get a really good idea of what you're buying before spending any money. I wish other developers were so free with their manuals. That's not a put-down of other companies (they have their reasons), but it sure helps to get a feel for an app before the purchase.
So far I haven't seen the price for Tongass, but that's a moot point now. I've been given the go-ahead to buy it (as Francois knows from another post) :wink: so Tongass will be mine on Sunday... regardless. :P
Pups
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I'm certainly looking forward to buying Tongass on Sunday. :wink:
In preparation I'm getting FS ready for the change in VERTEX levels but one thing has me a little perplexed???
Here's where I have my mesh.
[Area.036]
Title=Propeller Objects
Local=Scenery\props
Layer=36
Active=TRUE
Required=TRUE
Remote=
[Area.037]
Title=Addon Scenery
Local=Addon Scenery
Layer=37
Active=TRUE
Required=FALSE
Remote=
[Area.038]
Title=FS Global Europe
Local=FS Global Mesh\FS Global Europe
Remote=
Active=TRUE
Required=FALSE
Layer=38
[Area.039]
Title=FS Global North America
Local=FS Global Mesh\FS Global North America
Remote=
Active=TRUE
Required=FALSE
Layer=39
And so on.
Is it in the wrong location? Should I move it so they are the last entires in my scenery.cfg file?
Pups
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So, is that like "Whit and Whizdom" to diminish my purported high capacity snow whizzing? :wink: http://www.dictionary.net/whit
Hmmm... To pee or not to pee, that is the question... :?
GaryGB
I made a mistake with Whit... Oh Sh__.
O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I. My unholy use of English has been exposed.
In my defense, I can only offer-up this tiny morsel, a crumb if you will...
To hair is human...
To wig, Devine.
(Andy didn't have a wig Puppy!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Devine
Printing 'selected' words in living colour (for subterfuge).. hmmm must add that to my arse-nal.
(There's 3 cylinders in that word Pups)
Okay, ar-se-nal.
Pups (whitless in Seattle)
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Super funny pics Gary! :D
Pups
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The Emporium News is pleased to present the first day’s coverage of the 'Tale of the downed C-130’.
This just off the wire!
‘It was reported today that a beloved C-130 ditched into the water. At first it looked as if all hands were lost, but by some miracle, they were found floating on an empty barrel of Uncle Elmer’s. The rescue attempt was fraught with danger and peril! The plane had ditched into the deep end of the pool and rescue attempts were hampered by a few children that were swimming lengths in preparation for the upcoming Emporium Olympics. The rescue vessel had to navigate between the kids in order to reach the survivors. The survivors showed severe signs of dehydration as they’d been on the barrel for well over 5 minutes. The rescue attempt was further hampered by 100s of onlookers looking on. They were taken safely to the side of the pool and then with great care and concern, were transported to the shallow end of the pool amidst the cheers and wild applause of the onlookers. This should have been a happy ending to a potentially tragic story, but empty barrels were found floating in the pool and an investigation was instigated.’
The Emporium News will be covering the entire trial. Our story begins…
A day or two later after the unholy crash… the trial is about to begin. First let’s look at the evidence that will be presented.
The investigation of the downed craft, a helpless C-130, has caused quite the commotion since the pilot; a one Captain Madaz was reputed to have had a cargo of Uncle Elmer’s onboard. The cargo weight was reported by the ground crew as being approx. 113,000 gallons when the plane departed the field. During the flight however, the weight of the cargo went from 113,000 gallons down to 3 pints! The ground crew (under the strict directions of the investigation committee) was able to verify this figure when the blackbox was examined. In addition, the aircraft itself and its cargo were taken to a secure hanger facility and the cargo was thoroughly examined. Rummaging through the remains of the cargo, the investigators found numerous empty bottles, 50 gallon drums that had been drained of their contents and some very suspicious looking ‘stains’ (more like puddles) covering the entire area. Investigator Pups noticed that all of the stains were ‘yellow’ in appearance leading him to believe that something was amiss since Uncle Elmer’s is well-known to have a distinctive brownish texture. Pups now rules-out ‘spillage’ as a possible cause.
Moving to the cockpit, investigator Gary found that the pilot’s seat was wet. At first he thought it was pool water, but upon tasting it, he soon realized that it indeed was not water, at least not water that came from the pool! Gary knew in his heart of hearts that that water had to come from something or from somewhere, but where?
We now jump to the courthouse where Madaz is being lead into the courtroom in chains. No he’s not under arrest, these chains are… but I digress.
As Madaz approaches the witness box a strange ‘sloshing’ sound can be heard. It becomes louder and louder as Madaz approaches the box, then suddenly dies-out as he sits down in the witness chair. A few of the spectators had looked out of the courthouse windows expecting a storm, but the sky was clear and the area was as still as the night. The only sound that could now be heard was the strange sound of escaping gas. It soon became near thunderous in intensity and many of the spectators were alarmed and frightened. The air in the courtroom turned blue and the tribunal had now donned gas masks in an attempt to remain conscious.
For a moment it looked as though the trial would have to be postponed, but a quick thinking court reporter found the source of the gas leak and applied a rather large ‘cork’ to the problem. All the while Captain Madaz had the strangest of grins on his face, one might describe it as a ‘Cheshire-like’ grin. Why? Well to this day no one has been able to answer that, but thanks to that cork, the trial was able to continue unabated.
The tribunal consists of two of Emma’s most honorable citizens.
Pups
(A self-proclaimed expert on gas release. In addition, he’s the beloved proprietor of the Emporium and he has a keen interest in sanitary pedestals. His aluminum thumbscrews are sold throughout Emma Land and he’s beloved by millions minus one or two.)
Gary
(He’s notorious for cartooning most of Emma. He’s also famous for his quick whit and ability to write words in snow. In the winter of 2005, he broke the Olympic ‘Snow Writing’ record by managing to write the first 5 chapters of Hamlet in the snow without a break. Because of his world renowned ability at cartooning, he’s also known as the fastest ‘draw’ in the West.)
The prostituting attorney for the case has yet to be selected.
Madaz has decided to act as his own defense council.
We now pause for station identification. The trial will continue…
Pups
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Hi Pups,(and all of you :wink: )
You can use this for "multiple FS9 cfg's .... READ THE README ! lol (like alway's)
Succes
Heli
Hi Heli,
Wanna hear something weird?
Just today I was sitting in my car, drinking Tim Hortons coffee and reading.
I was reading the May 2006 issue of Computer Pilot (I buy it every month) and guess what's on page 36?
An article about that file. :oops:
Whoa, I read it last month, but didn't really soak it all in at the time since I hadn't planned on doing that. Weird eh?
Pups
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Hi Peter,
Those pictures are really impressive and extremely interesting to view.
As was mentioned on that site, it really brings history alive when a photo has a more than just a short caption attached to it, as is common with many pictorial history books.
I can only reiterate what many others have said, keep 'em coming. They're really interesting.
I was also wondering about this...
My logbook records that I got airborne for only 35 minutes from N'Dola and something went wrong that forced me to return. I can't remember what it was,...I entered it in my logbook as Livingstone to Chileka
Was that you personally making your own logbook or did every pilot have to make one?
As I was looking at the target practice pictures, I was quite impressed with 2 things.
1) That a pilot can have such deadly aiming abilities considering the size of the target. (Those drums.)
2) How a pilot would even find such a tiny target. When you look at a ground shot (from above) everything looks so similar and it seems like it would be such a difficult task to identify where the target is located.
One thing that I found to be a bit amusing. That shot with the mechanic under the plane and where one guy is leaning back (nap time?) :wink: on the fuselage and the other guy is sitting on the wing looking very bored or perhaps he's just enjoying the breeze.
Larry
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Hi Pups, thank Bonnie from us already 8) :D :wink: She just made our day !
Francois (Sleepless in Blokker)
The screenies on your site (and the ones that have been posted here) sold me on Tongass.
I have UT Can/Alaska and when I installed that, it was like going from night to day. I also have Ultimate Environment and FSGlobal and using those 3 apps, Canada/Alaska went from dismal to unreal.
I looked at the progressive screenies on your site and couldn't believe the incredible change. Basically that area went from night to day again. :wink:
The example below was the clincher for me! That improvement is beyond belief!! :P
Pups
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Thanks for the tips Francois and Heli.
I got the file and I'll try a few options. Here's the name of it at Avsim for anyone that's looking for it.
multiple_fs9.exe__no_tool.zip
I have 3 hard drives so I might get a little bit creative.
My FS installation is well over 60 GB (the last time I checked), so I've been trying to trim it down a bit. The easiest thing I did was to remove some liveries. I think the Lago F-16 comes with around 65 of them built-in. That's more than I'd use in a lifetime, so I removed 60 of them and gained around 400 MB in the process.
I've also got some payware scenery that isn't installed right now. I have so much of it that when I'm not in a specific area, I remove some of them.
Lately, because I'm learning to use the FMC with my heavies, I've been sticking to mainland USA, so I removed many of my payware stuff from Europe.
Here's something I'm not sure of and perhaps someone here knows the answer.
I can simply remove the entry from the scenery.cfg file for a particular scenery. For example, Harvey-Monroe. Or I can 'turn it off' by editing the line:
[Area.078]
Title=FSAddon Harvey-Monroe S43-W16
Local=FSAddon\Harvey-Monroe
Active=TRUE
Required=FALSE
Layer=78
Remote=
and changing it to:
[Area.078]
Title=FSAddon Harvey-Monroe S43-W16
Local=FSAddon\Harvey-Monroe
Active=FALSE
Required=FALSE
Layer=78
Remote=
This is just an example, the ones I've removed are European ones.
But... I've read on some Web sites that even if you try to hide scenery from FS, it will still be read by FS and can add more time to the initial loading time.
So some sites say to remove the scenery from the FS folder completely and others say that turning it off or simply removing the entry from the scenery.cfg file is enough.
I'm not sure which procedure is the best?
Pups
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Hi Peter,
Here is a rather artificial picture, posed for the Press. It is supposed to be the briefing for "Operation Longtrek". I don't quite know why we would be briefing on a wing and wearing our leather helmets! But, that is what the gentlemen of the press wanted.I got a kick out of that one. :wink:
I have a real avid interest in history, primarily Roman, Greek and Egyptian, but I'm also developing a keen interest in aviation history.
I scour the Net for old photos (I just spent hours and hours going through archival pictures of the American Civil War, (another interest of mine)) and I've often wondered just how many of the photos that I come across while searching are 'posed' for the press as you've stated above.
I guess the photographers give the public what they expect to see, whether it's realistic or not.
Larry
P.S. For anyone that's wondering where this came from, click on the link at the bottom of Peter's posts.
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It looks like I'm going to be a happy owner of Tongass when it's released (should be by month's end, I believe.)
Bonnie and I had a friendly chat about it,
and she agreed that I can buy it the very day it's released. At first she said
So in my typical, yet rather mature fashion
I explained that I just really had to have it or my life wouldn't be complete. I spoke calmly,
but firmly with her 
and since she knows that I'm a bit of a 
she relented and said, 'yes'. Now I have a question.
Will I need to change my MAX_VERTEX Level?
It's at 19 right now. Not a prob if I do, as I'm planning on making some alternate start-up scenarios for FS9 and if that vertex level needs to be changed, I can start the preparations for it so my system will be ready when Tongass hits the market.
I'm also toying with the idea of running 2 installations of FS. One for GA flying and the other for my heavies. I have a ton of payware scenery apps, but when using the heavies, there's not much point in dragging my system down when I can't see most of them at FL360.
Truth be told, I really have far too many payware scenery apps and planes. If I was sensible, I'd put a stop to the buying. I'm not, so I won't.
Pups (Restless in Seattle)
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1) PS: Which graphics card did you end up getting, by the way? :roll:
2) Oh, and for all your good buddies out here in the rest of the world, what was the name of the perfume (just so we all can be prepared with a defense strategy the next time we get dragged up to the cosmetics counter)? :wink:
GaryGB
Hey Gary,
First off, those pics you posted were super funny! That's what I really like about this forum, no matter what one's mood is; you can always come here and get some comic relief!
1) Actually the original graphics card was made by ATI. It was awesome, but for whatever reason, it wouldn't work 100% on my computer. My war games were a sight to behold. Whoa, did they look awesome! But... FS9 wouldn't work at all. When I'd load FS I'd get distorted graphics, missing textures and so on. I'd then jump to either SoF, Medal of Honor or whatever and those games were unreal! Totally clear, pristine and beautiful graphics. (I don't remember the specs or the model of the ATI card, except that it was a 256 MB card with its own built-in fan.)
So back I went to Future Shop and told them of my woes. They were most helpful. They said, 'No problem, you can have your money back'. I asked the guy why FS wouldn't work when my games worked perfectly. He said that it's one of those strange anomalies that can happen with computers and not to worry, if the ATI wouldn't work, then an Nvidia card should do the trick.
They're an awesome store to deal with. I could have (didn't of course) butchered that card while installing it, they'd have no idea, yet they took me at my word that the problem was inherent to the card/computer and not the result of me perhaps having 10 thumbs.
So they gave me my money back and I then bought a 'GeForce FX 5500 OC 256 MB' card. Now compared to Chris, that's pretty lame, but prior to that I had a pathetic 64 MB card, so it was a real step-up for me.
The story I told about Bonnie and I shopping for that card actually took place last fall and at that time the card was around $220 give or take and they had quite the rebate on it since newer cards were coming into the store. We're also taking CAD money, so the price in US bucks would be somewhat lower.
Anyway to continue... I brought the Nvidea card home and it worked like a charm! Whoa, did it kick butt compared to my old 64 MB one.
Oh, I also bought a dedicated sound card. Prior to the graphics and sound card update, my PMDG (and other high-end planes) would stutter quite a bit until they were up and running. Once I added the sound and video cards, they all loaded normally and the stuttering and slow-downs were a thing of the past.
Even the sound card purchase was awesome. I asked the guy what would happen if I installed it and didn't notice any difference. He told me if I was an unhappy camper then I could bring the card back and they'd give me my money back, no questions asked! Like whoa, any store that operates on those types of principles, gets business to beat the band. Because of their very liberal return policy, I do 100% of my computer shopping there.
2) That perfume from hell! Gosh, I have no idea of the name. Bonnie buys quite a few different ones and the names of them all tend to just blend together after buying 5 or more varieties of them. The less I know about them, the better! I do know they're almost always French perfumes since Bonnie reads tons of girlie mags and most of them recommend French perfumes and for the most part, French fashions seem to take the lead in the female market place.
Pups (Smelling like a rose in Seattle)
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That's an incredible system you have there Chris!
I doubt in a month of Sundays that I'd ever be able to justify that to my wife.
It's odd how men and women perceive things so differently. Example, I bring home a new graphics card that costs a mere $200. I eagerly open it up on the kitchen table, eye its beauty (ya gotta love all those neat looking circuits, nifty built-in fan and the host of other electronic parts that make most guys drool all over themselves.) I handle it with the greatest of care for fear that even the tiniest of fingerprints might cause it grief when I get to the installation phase. All the while I have this gleam-like/ghoulish look in my eye as I imagine the wonders that will now appear on my screen when this card is up and running.
My wife looks at it as if it's a silly little board full of silly looking parts and can't figure-out why anyone would pay $200 for a card that's not much bigger than your hand.
I try to explain all of the 'wonder to behold' that this new card is going to bring to my gamming experience, but to no avail, women are like oil and water when it comes to 'boys and their toys'.
Prior to the actual buying, I talk about the new cards and mention the prices to her. As the price gets higher, I speak in a quieter voice since $649 for a card sounds easier to accept when said in a hushed voice. Doesn't work though, she catches-on to my little trick in an instant and puts a cap on what I can spend. So then I try the 'ballpark' trick. I tell her it'll be around $200-$300 or so !!! The word 'so' is my way of sneaking-up to the $400 mark.
Crap! That fails and fails miserably! She then pulls out the big guns and asks me to specify within $50 what I really intend to spend. Now I'm trapped and have to tell her what my true intentions really are.
We negotiate for a few minutes and with a few well-placed sweet words, I manage to get the best price I can hope for. She agrees that the $200-$250 mark is my limit. (To my credit, I at least get her to agree that that's the before tax price and I might have to pay a tiny bit extra for a warranty for my beloved new card.)
Now the weird part.
We're out shopping for my new graphics card and we pass a perfume counter. We stop and she tries every single sample they have on the counter. (At last count, I think most 'girlie' stores have anywhere from 1-2 million samples per counter. They'd put even more out, but they don't want to appear 'pushy'.)
So I stand there for... oh I don't know, 20 hours non-stop! She tries them all and then shows me this tiniest of bottles that's the latest rage from Paris. The package is in no way representative of what's actually inside. The size of the perfume bottle in relation to its container is like a marshmallow sitting in the Grand Canyon. She asks me to smell it, and then asks what I think of it? What can I say, even if it smells like a locker room on a hot and humid day, I exhort the virtues of that tiny bottle.
She looks at me with those eyes that always win guys over and asks if I'll buy it for her. 'YES" is said by me automatically, and then pure panic and terror sets-in. I didn't look at the bottom of that most humble of bottles.
Without her noticing me, I casually admire the package, all the while flipping it over to catch a glimpse of the price tag that's concealed at the bottom.
I then catch a glimpse of it and wish I could take my 'YES' back, but too late, the lady at the counter has now zoomed-in like a hawk after its prey and knows a sure sale when she sees one. Any guy with a girl is a sure sale in their eyes.
'Ah, you've picked our most popular and best selling brand' she says to my wife. She then casts an angry and piecing glance at me. It speaks volumes! She knows if I protest the price, she'll pull-out the heavy artillery which goes somewhat like this...
'Doesn't she smell pretty?'
'It suits her!'
'All the fashionable girls are wearing this!'
Ad infinitum….ad nauseam.
Now I'm standing there holding this pathetic little bottle of imported perfume that's going to cost me $150 an ounce! That's death unto itself. The saleslady then does what I fear more than death itself, she reaches under the counter and bring out the 'BIG' size and the dreaded 'COLLECTION'.
There is nothing in this world that's more terrifying to a guy than a 'collection'!
She then covers the counter with these packages from hell. One (it's always the most popular and most expensive) has a bunch of silly little bottles and fluffy girlie stuff in girlie colours laid-out in the most expensive material money can buy. Good idea too, since once the package is home and is opened, the package goes into the rubbish bin!
The saleslady then hits home with the perennial and time-worn favorite, 'Sir, wouldn't you like your beautiful lady to have this?'
GOOD G*D! She's now showing my wife a package that costs $250 and its real net value is probably around $10 before their mark-up!
I'm dead! No point in trying to deny it, I might as well save the saleslady time and get the noose myself. I’d run, but to where? I’m now surrounded by salesladies since they’re already briefed in guy escape tactics and have every exit tactically covered.
I’d use the typical guy excuse, ‘Oh, I left my wallet at home, gosh, sorry!’ Won’t work. I want to go to the computer store next and I need my wallet for that. What to do?
In a flash of inspiration I blurt out, ‘That first bottle you were looking at is really my favorite and I just know you’ll be the talk of the town if you have it!’ I’m lying and I’m lying big-time. I’d rather pay $150 for that pathetic little bottle than be stuck paying for an unholy ‘collection’.
It works! My wife agrees that she loves that little overpriced bottle and the saleslady is now dead in the water. She can browbeat a guy, but she’s no match for another woman that has made up her mind.
I pay (trying to hide my tears) and make a hasty retreat for the ‘EXIT’ sign.
Now we just paid $150 an ounce for something that’s probably produced in a factory in 50 gallon drums at $5 a drum. Now if we fast forward a month or so, that little bottle will be empty and we’ll go through that same procedure all over again.
We now move along to the computer store. We eye the graphics cards and I’m now in love! Since it’s a guy store, everything is behind bullet-proof glass because guys are well-known to be very trustworthy around computer parts.
The sales guy comes-up to me, asks what I want, I point to the beloved card and he hands it to me. It’s also in a big box, but it’s also carefully packaged to protect the beloved contents and there’s a hefty colour manual enclosed plus many little pamphlets that really aren’t necessary, but guys love pamphlets. The more the merrier. The price is displayed boldly on the front of the package since this is a guy toy and hiding the price won’t work!
At this point we’ve been in the store for perhaps 10 seconds. To put this into perspective, we spent an easy 30 or 40 minutes buying that perfume from hell. Now my wife says to me ‘Is this going to take long, we’ve been here forever?’
The card is $220 but there’s a rebate from the manufacturer for $100 (mail-in). So my net cost will be $120 plus tax. For a guy, we’re talking Nirvana! My wife then looks at the card and the price and figures that I’m being taken to the cleaners. I’m about to go into a long spiel about the many virtues of that card, but she knows that once I start, her life will be one of misery and boredom, so she relents and lets me buy it.
Now my card will last for years, her perfume… a month, tops! What’s the better bargain?
Now some fancy footwork! I did spend what I’d expected to, but that most welcome rebate will be arriving in the mail. It’ll take around 2-3 months to arrive, but I tell my wife that ‘days’ would be a reasonable guess. I just don’t mention that we’re talking 60-90 days! So card in hand I have to maneuver my wife to the game section. Not an easy task. It’s on the other side of the store and is far removed from the exit. Using the excuse of crowded isles, we move to the gamers’ paradise area. Now we’re talking light-speed. I have to find a game and one that I’m dying to have… but I have to do it within 1 minute or less. I also explain to my wife that I’m still only spending that limit we’d agreed upon because I’ll be getting my rebate in the mail. It works! I used the typical guy tactic; I put on the sheepish, boyish, and sad-faced look that guys are born with! Women always fall for that one and I’m determined to get my game one way or the other.
The story ends with me getting my graphics card plus an FPS game and my wife getting her perfume, which incidentally, we had no intentions of buying when we left the house for the shopping center. So who fooled who?
Pups
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Well Chris, I truly envy (a correct and most proper type of envy by the way)
you your new beast on steroids. 
New computers are fun to say the least. FS is a real resource hog as everyone knows and smooth frame rates... well that's the name of the game. I wish I could afford a new computer, but that's gonna be in the future for me.
(Where are you going with this Puppy? No idea, I'm just rambling on and on.)
I have a ton of payware scenery apps and some most-awesome heavies. Run 'em together and it's a bit of a bit*h, FPS wise.
Not to be daunted though, I still love FS, plus my toys and I've accepted a drop in FPS so I can have everything running simultaneously.
The only concession that I do make is to keep my AI at 50%.
I did buy TweakFPS and I use that periodically when I want my heavies to fly like they would on your new machine. Can't see one hell of a lot at FL330 anyway, so I'm not missing too much.
When you got the time, how about a screenie or two of the new love in your life?
Pups
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Hee Hee Hee :lol: :lol: :lol:
Well, I'm off for a flight at "Higgs Field" 8)
PS: A false vacuum that small would suck, wouldn't it? Hmmm... or maybe it wouldn't! :?:
But at those high densities, maybe the associated black hole would be more fun! :wink:
GaryGB
Whoa Gary...
right on the nose!Yes, they suck and they suck big-time. (They also blow, but that needs to be explained.)
I'm off to bed, but time for a quickie.
Gravity is actually produced 3 ways. The most well-known is matter. That's one that everyone is familiar with. The 2nd is energy. Energy is just another form (in a restricted sense) of matter, so what matter can do regarding gravity, so can energy.
The least known method is through 'pressure'. That also creates gravity.
Anytime there's positive pressure, then we get an attractive gravitational force. This is in accordance with General Relativity.
So where is this going? Well a false vacuum has negative pressure. A bit like sucking on a straw.
But... a negative pressure creates a 'repulsive gravitational field'. With a false vacuum, that repulsive function of the gravitational field is 3X stronger than the attractive gravitational field.
So, while the false vacuum does suck, it also blows since it's now acting as a repulsive gravitational force and will overpower gravity and cause an expansion or in the case of our discussion, inflation.
(A technical note here: It's like (only like) Einstein's Cosmological Constant. It exerts a repulsive force against gravity. Unlike the cosmological constant however, it's temporary and disappears when the false vacuum decays.)
Holy science class! (Better get back to flight simming Pups.)
Pups
Too much Quantum in here
in Emma Field Flying Club
Posted
Chris (ever mindful that a neat computer workstation is a happy workstation) asks Gary to show a tiny bit of patience while he puts the finishing touches to his beloved new computer.
Chris has been working non-stop on this project and hopes that when guests arrive, they’ll have to ask ‘Where’s your computer Chris?' We don’t see any evidence of it!’
Yes Chris will baffle all of his friends with his subterfuge and abilities at making his beloved computer merely melt into the surroundings, unnoticed and very unassuming.
This candid camera photo shows Chris adding the last tiny wire to his set-up. He’s just moments away from powering-up his computer and were it not for the bright lightening in the room, one might be forgiven for asking, ‘Where the hell is it!’
Pups (Wired in Seattle)