Cid_MCDP

Game is on ESPN360, for those of us in the states... 7am (CST) start.

What kind of net access do you have again? DSL?

Of course we believe that! It's crammed down our throats every day when we're kids! American dream and all that shite. lol... that along with honor and patriotism and honesty and all those other existential vague ideals that don't actually get you anywhere in grown-up land but we like to pretend we at least pay lip service to. I don't know exactly how they pulled it off, but one of the greatest tricks the rich in this country ever pulled was getting the other 99% of us to think that one day we might be them, and we should vote, act, and think accordingly because one day it'll be us picking up the check for all those poor, uninsured, uneducated, lazy immigrants.

This may sound dumb, but do you have a rain loop in the line? Can't really find a good picture, but this is sorta what I'm talking about- Basically, you try not to run a line straight down into a connection as the water (and more importantly the electrically conductive minerals in the water) will run straight into the plug/ socket/ whatever. If you put a bend in the wire so that the water will fall at the bottom of the loop and curve it back up into the connection, you don't get much (if any) water entering the picture. Sorry for the late reply- works been a bitch lately. Post a pic if you're still having trouble. Good luck!

This is the problem, in a nutshell. The reason the U.S. manufacturers can't get their collective shit together is because they keep trying to out-China China. There's been a massive push to create equipment and tooling that does all of the thinking for the worker to the point where an average third grader could run about 90% of the processes in the plant I work in. This is so the companies can hire less skilled workers which of course, they can pay less, which lets them charge less for their particular product in an attempt to compete with China's super low cost products. It's a losing proposition, but nobody seems to get it. The government gets involved by allowing states (like Indiana) to create these "Right to Work" laws which basically let a company fire you for any reason whatsoever without any kind of advanced notice or warning (and in most cases, a week's severance for every year worked), which attracts companies to the region. It's how we ended up with a Toyota plant (and their suppliers, i.e. my company) here. This creates new jobs, but they're, for the most part, average paying jobs. They pay enough to live on, and pay just a little more than the other manufacturer's in the area, which keeps people on the straight and narrow at work, but not enough to really cut into the bottom line for these companies. Maybe I'm just a communist in American clothing, but it seems like if there are less jobs around, you've got a much more compliant workforce. I'm a prime example- I've never put up with the shit (hours, job expectations, wage and raise freezes, etc.) like I have at this job, but what else is there? The national unemployment rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% and my wife's expecting our first kid. I'd love to tell my boss to eat me, that I've been taken for granted, and I'm moving on, but there's nowhere to move on to. I feel more sorry for the poor bastards coming out of college today. Four year degree and no jobs- deferment only works for about 6 months- then it's time to start paying on the loans. No jobs = compliant workforce = mo' money for the companies, which bringsssssss ussssss baaaaaaaaack to do, do, do, do, do. Some good insight there, cheers. The U.S. and Europe can't compete with labour costs as found in India and China, end of story. The dream always has been that we are going to out hi-tech the cunts, but that is expensive and returns on new tech and all the research involved is at least 5 years and sometimes a decade - shareholders aren't so patient not are greedy execs. Japan and HK and a few other rising far tiger economies can match us in most areas bar weapons in hi tech anyway and if silicon valley weren't busying themselves with misslile guidance (as are BA and Racal) they would be at deaths door as well. America has one of the most overprotected and subsidesed econonomies on earth with state bailouts, grants and import duties keeping a lot of shit alive across the country, remove those tariffs and all those things from wheat to alu/steel would be decimated. There are no easy ans here, but one thing is for sure the American economy and the dollar are looking down the barrel. The way the world works and the interactions and needs between countries needs to change, excess value needs to be re-invested and not go into the pockets of the super-rich. The dark empire will fall. Quicker the better. Exactly man, China and India function more or less as government approved slave labor. Anything short of a full repeal of minimum wage and OSHA will not allow us to complete on that level for those goods. Like you said, we could out-tech those countries easily, but the truth is not only is it expensive and time-consuming as you mentioned, but it's also difficult and with the schools here getting more and more dumbed down in the name of kids' self-esteem, I really don't see how we'll be able to compete on that level with the other countries you mentioned, at least here in the US. Maybe things are in better shape over there. In just my lifetime (I'm 35), I've seen us lose manufacturing as something we do better than just about anybody. We used to do software and computer hardware better than just about anybody too. Now it seems as though the only thing we do better than anyone is produce entertainment (strictly from a dollar standpoint- believe me, I'm not going to debate that Twilight and Britney Spears are better than anyone else's media). I'd say swindle banks too, but that guy in China they executed last week had embezzeled something like 13 million. Maybe we corner the market on getting away with it... Its funny because I tell people that it'd take a complete cultural overhaul to salvage the epic fail that is Iraq and Afganistan, but really, we're kind of looking down the barrel, to borrow your metaphor from above, of the same gun here. Being the child of two teachers, I always tend to point the finger at education spending (specifically, the lackthereof) as the root of our problems. Sure, pumping money into education at the federal level might not be a quick fix, but as long as we keep getting dumber, things are just going to keep getting worse. You lot like to poke fun at us because we, as a country, are shockingly ignorant of the rest of the world, but it isn't you- it's us. Everyone knows how Miss Teen USA responded to the 1/5 of Americans can't find America on a world map question that prompted her crazy ass response (that's in the funny YouTube thread I believe), but in 2006, 2/3 of the Americans between ages 18-24 couldn't even find the state of Louisiana on a map. And yeah, that was post-Katrina. I'd remind you all that these people are of voting age. Still wondering how exactly George W got elected twice? Might not be the total answer, and it's definitely not a quick fix by any means, but I think it'd be the first step in the right direction. Too bad we're already spending billions on bullshit wars and bank bailouts. Probably not much to go around these days.

This is the problem, in a nutshell. The reason the U.S. manufacturers can't get their collective shit together is because they keep trying to out-China China. There's been a massive push to create equipment and tooling that does all of the thinking for the worker to the point where an average third grader could run about 90% of the processes in the plant I work in. This is so the companies can hire less skilled workers which of course, they can pay less, which lets them charge less for their particular product in an attempt to compete with China's super low cost products. It's a losing proposition, but nobody seems to get it. The government gets involved by allowing states (like Indiana) to create these "Right to Work" laws which basically let a company fire you for any reason whatsoever without any kind of advanced notice or warning (and in most cases, a week's severance for every year worked), which attracts companies to the region. It's how we ended up with a Toyota plant (and their suppliers, i.e. my company) here. This creates new jobs, but they're, for the most part, average paying jobs. They pay enough to live on, and pay just a little more than the other manufacturer's in the area, which keeps people on the straight and narrow at work, but not enough to really cut into the bottom line for these companies. Maybe I'm just a communist in American clothing, but it seems like if there are less jobs around, you've got a much more compliant workforce. I'm a prime example- I've never put up with the shit (hours, job expectations, wage and raise freezes, etc.) like I have at this job, but what else is there? The national unemployment rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% and my wife's expecting our first kid. I'd love to tell my boss to eat me, that I've been taken for granted, and I'm moving on, but there's nowhere to move on to. I feel more sorry for the poor bastards coming out of college today. Four year degree and no jobs- deferment only works for about 6 months- then it's time to start paying on the loans. No jobs = compliant workforce = mo' money for the companies, which bringsssssss ussssss baaaaaaaaack to do, do, do, do, do.

Under the Bridge by RHCP is pretty damn funny too.

I know no one will believe me, but he's not half the headcase he used to be. Showed a lot of poise in the US matches over the summer. Wouldn't be surprised to see this work out.

<----- Being very careful not to spoil it for anyone who has not seen the finale With shows like Dexter that use a a traditional genre (he's a serial killer!) with an uncommon twist (but he's a cop and a vigilante!), the main thing you have to be careful with is keeping it fresh after the "oooh! new unconventional take on old, boring genre!" wears off. The conclusion of this season sets them up beautifully to take the story in several different directions and let the writers keep everything fresh and interesting. I'm really excited for what the next season will bring.

Just saw this season's finale last night. Could be the best season yet. Either this one or the very first one. Absolutley brilliant.

We've got 3 cats to go with the 2 weiner dogs. Both are cool, but while the dogs are more trouble, the cats are less accessible. You gotta put in a lot of time with a cat before it warms up to you, whereas a dog is almost immediately your best friend. How does the balance of power work out there? Can a large domestic cat overpower a small dog? I'd guess not. Ehhh... define "overpower." Really, the current ruler of the roost is our six month old female dachshund puppy and she's the smallest by far of the whole bunch. Two of the cats are freakishly large, one is basically average. They're all sweethearts though. Do they ever play fight? I'm just wondering if a large cat could pin down a sausage dog or some other small breed of canine? I reckon even the smallest dog is stockier and has more muscle on its frame than a large house cat. Oh God yes, they play fight all the damn time. The Dachshunds are hard to pin down because their long bodies allow them to turn corners or turn around much faster than the cats. Generally the cats just smack them in the face when they fight. The dogs bark and run circles around them literally.

We've got 3 cats to go with the 2 weiner dogs. Both are cool, but while the dogs are more trouble, the cats are less accessible. You gotta put in a lot of time with a cat before it warms up to you, whereas a dog is almost immediately your best friend. How does the balance of power work out there? Can a large domestic cat overpower a small dog? I'd guess not. Ehhh... define "overpower." Really, the current ruler of the roost is our six month old female dachshund puppy and she's the smallest by far of the whole bunch. Two of the cats are freakishly large, one is basically average. They're all sweethearts though.

Boom Boom by Immortal Lee County Killers for me, but definitely John Lee of the listed choices. I wish I could post a YouTube video, but there doesn't appear to be one. Tragic. It's a brilliant song if you dig JSBX/ White Stripes kind of blues punk.

That's got to be the most vandalized car in the history of vandalized cars. If it's not, then we as a country have failed.

"Cashing In" starts at about 3:40. Quality is a bit shit, but you'll have that...

We've got 3 cats to go with the 2 weiner dogs. Both are cool, but while the dogs are more trouble, the cats are less accessible. You gotta put in a lot of time with a cat before it warms up to you, whereas a dog is almost immediately your best friend.

one of the only movies i've ever walked out of in a cinema, and for exactly that reason. Irritated the crap out of me, i'm surprised he didn't break out scones and tea at some point. The book is really, really good. I know everyone always says the book is better than the movie, but in this case, it's waaaay true.

I'm no financial wizard, but if I write myself a check for $200 and go cash it, I don't actually make $200. Cunt.

Short answer is whoever wins Group C will play the runner up of Group D. Similarly, whoever is the Group C runner up will play the winner of Group D. Check this- http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/schedule.html Scroll down. It breaks it all down.

Is Cashing in on Christmas by Bad News available?

Fag. Aye, looking forward to it. Gawking at the inbreds and the fatties is all part of the entertainment. I'm a couple hours away from Nashville... want to meet up for some good natured trash-talking while we watch the match? Haha! Sounds like a plan. PM me when it gets closer and we'll figure something out!

Fag. Aye, looking forward to it. Gawking at the inbreds and the fatties is all part of the entertainment. I'm a couple hours away from Nashville... want to meet up for some good natured trash-talking while we watch the match?

Dachshunds FTW!

Not to sound like a retard, but did you ask why you couldn't drive it? I mean, if it's some horseshit where their lot insurance has lapsed or something, that's one thing, but I'd have to agree with everyone else on the fucking planet and suggest you not buy a car you can't test drive first.