Desipio Message Board

Quote from: Armchair_QB on November 12, 2009, 09:52:14 PM

Quote from: PenFoe on November 12, 2009, 05:50:00 PM

Quote from: MAD on November 12, 2009, 05:40:58 PM
I appreciate SKO's beatdown as I'll gladly defer to him for football thoughts and things, but is the Big East really that bad...I mean worse than the Big 10? 

What about Miami and VA Tech.  Good, yes?

And Pat Fitzgerald's hilarious.  He quotes his old mentor Gary Barnett like he's not an opportunistic scumdouche, and he apparently truly believes that Northwestern has been a perennial power since he had been roaming the middle for that '95 team that began NU's current bowl einless streak by getting spanked in Pasadena by Keyshawn and Co.

Outside perspective from someone who doesn't really know anything about college football:

Pat Fitzgerald seems like a pretty good coach.

That's because he is.

Thi. Then consider the fact that he's all of 34 and still learning on the job.

I have a home theatre setup with an SD projector in the basement. Combine it with a nice stereo system, and it's just fantastic. You need the right room and lighting for it to work. I wouldn't really recommend it as your everyday TV though. The bulbs have a short life (1k-2k hours or so) and are very expensive ($200 for my SD projector).

I'll add that a true 1080 HDTV projector is quite a bit more expensive than a decent 40-inch HDTV. You also need to factor in that good projector screens (with decent reflectivity) aren't cheap either. About $100 for the cheapest.

I really loved Dune and the rest of the series as a kid, but I re-read Dune a couple years ago and it's just not all that. Some great concepts, interesting characters, and a good plot, but Herbert doesn't have the writing chops to make it great.

The Koz and Memolo post-games are brutally bad. Awful awful radio.

Quote from: Jon on August 27, 2009, 11:44:43 AM

Quote from: Kermit, B. on August 27, 2009, 11:39:40 AM

Quote from: Jon on August 27, 2009, 11:30:46 AM

Quote from: Oleg on August 27, 2009, 11:19:36 AM

Quote from: Kermit, B. on August 27, 2009, 10:54:18 AM
I saw it last Friday.  Tarantino needs an editor with the balls to stand up to Tarantino.  I enjoyed it, but I disagree with "full of action and tension."  There were some VERY slow parts.  I thought it was worth seeing, though.  Pitt is terrific.

I thought the parts that weren't just a bunch of shooting at least advanced the plot, and were therefore effective.  I guess I do see what you're saying; the scene with the "Bear Jew" was a bit drawn out, waiting for his entrance (I didn't give up any plot, don't worry).  Maybe I just chose to remember the awesome parts.

It's no Pulp Fiction, but that would be like comparing the American version of The Office to the British one.

The tension and suspense was evident from the first scene, and there were few scenes where I could relax before something else was happening or going wrong or whatever.  Could just be me though; I am known to be somewhat uptight.

I didn't mind the build on the Bear Jew part. I thought there could have been a lot less plot and a lot more Nazi killing, though.

THI.

I agree, Oleg, that there weren't any pointless scenes.  I just felt that some of the scenes could have been a lot tighter.  I wouldn't have changed a single thing about the scene in the underground bar, though.  That was terrific.

THA.

I loved the opening scene (even though it was long as hell), and the bar scene. They were perfect for me. Pretty much every other scene in the movie could have been tightened, especially the ones between Shoshanna and her would be beau.

The opening scene/chapter is about as close to perfection as movie-making gets. I never see movies in the theatre twice, but I may go see this one again. It's not the masterpiece some critics called it, but it's a pretty darn great movie.

Quote from: PiniellaTailOnTheDonkey on August 03, 2009, 11:04:46 PM
Anyone have experience with Rosetta Stone?  Does the program work?  Anything work better?  I'm looking to learn me some Spanish.

We have German 1. It's fairly slick (esp. if you use the microphone option) but still basically rote learning and geared to get a fairly low level of conversational German. My kids got bored with it very quickly - even when bribed with treats, etc. (And don't blame me for buying it, it's my better half's doing. She, of course, is always right. Even when she's wrong.)

I'm pretty sure I saw it at my public library. That would be a good way to give it a test run.

I took Spanish in high school and college but really learned it by practicing with people at work back when I worked in restaurants. If you're older, a good way might be to volunteer to teach ESL and strike up a friendship where you both learn each other's language.

Quote from: Fork on July 23, 2009, 07:16:31 AM

Quote from: Tank on July 22, 2009, 10:45:17 PM
REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(* * R O U G H * * D R A F T * *)

Maybe the final draft will install someone other than Hillary Clinton as "interim provisional Chief Executive." But I guess that's up to we the people.

Eliminate the US Government, replace it with one of the exact same size and scope, then eliminate its funding?

It's just crazy enough to work!

We have to protect our phony baloney jobs here, gentlemen! We need to something about this immediately. Immediately. Immediately! Harumph! Harumph!

Quote from: Poon on June 07, 2009, 05:02:22 PM
Waiting until the 14th?  Selfish.

And lazy.

Quote from: Pre on June 01, 2009, 05:45:52 PM

Quote from: Kermit, B. on June 01, 2009, 04:47:45 PM
That's exactly how I feel about Anathem so far.  He's taking me on a very lengthy journey between interesting parts.  Snow Crash was much tighter.

Anathem, like the Baroque Trilogy got better towards the end.  I enjoyed both, but agree on the editor.  Crypnomicron could have used with about 100 less pages too.   Diamond Age (Sci Fi) and Zodiac (Eco-Fiction?) are tighter novels and I recommend them both. 

Yeah, I was going to recommend them too. Skip the Tom Clancy-esque books he did with his relative. I consider it an accomplishment that I finished the first book of the Baroque series. I hate verbosity for the sake of verbosity. See Wallace, David Foster. *ducks*

I'll second (third?) the Foundation series, although it's been many years since I read it. The Library of America's Philip K. Dick compilation is very good.

http://www.amazon.com/Philip-K-Dick-Library-America/dp/1598530097/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243742349&sr=1-2

I do not recommend the Baroque trilogy. The man's a genius but he needs an editor and is just out of control here. Cryptonomicon rocks.

I enjoyed Richard K. Morgan's series starting with....

http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Carbon-Richard-K-Morgan/dp/0345457684

Finally, it's not pure sci-fi (more cyberpunk) but Daniel Suarez Daemon is very very good.

Quote from: Andy on May 27, 2009, 04:36:00 PM
And you all thought I was kidding when I suggested they shut off his microphone during the games. 

It only gets worse when JUDD SIROTT STARTS YELLING DURING HIS INNING OF WORK FOR NO REASON!!!!111!!!!  LOUD NOISES!  I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE ARE YELLING ABOUT!!!!11!!!!

Sirott yells all the time. He annoys me much more than Santo. And really, I have to have manly love for Pat and Ron because they managed to make my wife a Cubs fan. She likes listening to them.

Quote from: Slakee on May 11, 2009, 05:34:25 PM
Wanted to mention I had a Franziskaner this weekend at Cooper's on Belmont. Pretty tasty beer. Very different. Had a hint of banana to it.

Very likely that would be their Hefe-Weiss (an unfiltered wheat beer), and it is indeed excellent.

Is this where we post videos of Megan Fox? Good morning, Megan Fox.

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/video/megan-fox-video?click=pp

FYI. Really good seats behind home plate available for Saturday and Sunday's games vs. the Marlins at cubs.com. Field Box Infield for Saturday and Club Box Infield for Sunday's game. I picked up 2 for Sunday's game about 13 rows behind home plate. Can't go Saturday.

Um, FYC!