Sip

Look on the bright side ... you may be doing them a huge favor by helping them turn into little "me"s For me, it's usually the opposite. The only "touch" I have never minded at all and actually crave at times is the occasional punch in the stomach or shoulder (or if they miss in the face) by one of the brothers But that usually involved very strong retaliations which feel just as good, if not better. Yah lots of unknowns and maybes in life... I just can't justify changing things now based on how I "may feel" a long time later down the road. I'll deal with that hurt much like I've dealt with other "hurt" that I have had so far when the time comes. That's what life is after all I think. Although I will admit that including foresight in current decisions can be VERY good thing to be able to do (or also disasterous at times).

A parallel that just occured to me is with cats ... my uncle has a cat that LOVES being hugged, brushed, etc. But oh boy I just want to see you try that with my cat! She'll tear a gash on your skin down to the BONE trying to get away. She hates being grabbed, touched, or petted ... except on the head. She loves being scratched on the head but that's it. On the other hand, she'll spend hours playing with you. Just tie a piece of paper on a string and gnaaa galis em!!!! Hours of non stop action

It's interesting you should mention that since I have never experienced anything like that. Ever since I can remember (since very very young) I've hated "hugs" ... and not to mention the really annoying cheek pinches from the relatives but that's another issue. I would rarely ever complain about pain or hurt (including the time I broke my shoulder and it took us 2 days to realize it maybe good to have it x-rayed since it just didin't look right ... ended up spending a week in the hospital and have surgery and pins inserted etc) and I can't remember ever being scared about anything and needing to run to parents or ask for help from anyone. Seems like this is something that is very personality dependent.

Here are a few examples: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=15055 ($70) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=32825 ($95) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=32825 This is what I have http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=32825 (SDVD-100) and it's pretty cool ... I haven't tried playing mp3s with it though but it does great with DVDs. Although I use with with a 7" LCD and use the onscreen menus ... not sure how well it would work without a screen but I can try it out and let you know if you want (with mp3 cds) The cool thing about this is that you can use it as a "portable" dvd/mp3 player if you go anywhere (trips?)... just take it with you and you can use it with an AC adapter ... it comes with a connector for an AC adapter but not with the adapter itself. But you can use any 12V adapter that can provide enough current for this thing (my guess is about 2 amps). Edit: But the only problem I see with this device is that you can't mount it vertically. The specs say +/- 30 degrees from horizontal is ok but not more. http://www.soundstormlab.com

Sorry Azat Jan ... I actually had a long reply typed up for this a couple of days ago but my DSL had some routing issues and I lost it ... then forgot to repost later So I'll try to remember .. About the "double" thing ... there are decks that can fit there ... I suspect yours is a "double DIN". Most GMs are actually 1 1/2 DIN (that's what my blazer is) and the majority of aftermarket decks are DIN sized. So "fitting" will not be a problem most likely. They also sell these kits that can then close the gap above and below where the deck is mounted in your dash and it will look pretty cool. Just take it to Best Buy or Circuit City and have them install it if you don't feel like doing it yourself ... tearing the dash on S10s is really easy but I have no idea how complicated it can be with the volvo. Anyway ... just keep in mind that these things are signifiantly cheaper online than at bestbuy, good guys, or circuit city ... so there's a tradeoff. My point being that don't think replacing the deck is such a huge and impossible thing ... it's actually pretty easy (especially for a pro) and the outcome will surprise you in terms of look and feel, as well as audio quality. About a separate car dvd/mp3 player ... if you look on ebay there are plenty. Usually starting around $100. That's where I got mine. It looks a lot like a PC cd drive but most of them don't have a "tray". You insert the CD through a slot and then the CD/DVD is supported by a full suspension mechanism inside since the car will vibrate of course. The other option is personal CD-based MP3 players that can be around $50 or more (not 100 sure on price). They are like those walkman type CD players but can play mp3s. The problem with all of these is practicality ... you are going to have to mount this somewhere around your dash or put on the seat next to you and then connect the audio ... the straight forward way being using an FM modulator which I dislike (but you can get one for about $20).

Yes, please kindly deliver to: Gamavor 7412 Wiley Road Madison, WI 53706

It has to be ... I am guessing it's some sort of script that automatically generates this on every access. If you actually look at the file carefully, it seems to be a PNG file and not JPG. It's a neat idea ...

... oh just where oh where have I heard that before

Did anyone call me?

... and here is the armenian alphabet for you to figure out the rest of "ian". If I'm not mistaken, 1-st row, 5th letter (yeh), folowed by 1st row 1st letter (ah) and then 3rd row, 2nd letter (n). The lower portion of that figure lists the capital letters while the top part is the lower case stuff.

Yah that's the full "ARPA service" for you If what you say is true, then I think the site Arpa pointed you to spells it out correctly. Here you have it in all caps (without the ian): http://www.martik.am/images/nkar1.jpg Here, you have to rotate it 90 degrees clockwise and you'll see it in Capital "M" followed by lower case letters for the rest. http://www.martik.am/images/MARTIK_02d3.jpg

http://www.danasoft.com/sig/Audi5000G.jpg

Talking of hummers and rocks ... http://sajeeps.billmcgaw.com/video/KilledIT.wmv (sorry modem guys, it's ~7MB) D'oh! By the way, Thoth, maybe it's a good idea to lookup hummer on urbandictionary. I don't know if you were intentionally going for the double meaning there so even though I am not a big fan of the hummer line of vehicles, I dig what you're saying As far as the bill, I say SPLIT it. Why does one have to pay? In general, my philosophy is the person who asks the other person out gets to pay. BUT, after a while where no one is asking anyone anymore, then split ... that's where an all-you-can-eat type of a scenario would work great since it's an easy 50/50 split

Seems to me benefits get higher and cost gets lower as age goes up. But at the same time, I think you yourself pointed out that with age other things also happen (such as selection availability, youthful energy, etc) which I'll refer to as the "shrinking solution space". So this whole entire thing boils down to optimizing your cost/benefit function in a strange dynamic solution space that changes over time. Yah good luck finding the optimal solution

Arpa, thanks for the info.

So how do you think "old Armenians" can stay "friends" (let's even assume your statement is true which it may well be and is not just an anti-western rhetoric ...) The reason is the keyword old. The "old" lifestyle ensures everyone pretty much having the same set of goals and objectives in life. I say out with the old, in with the "new" which believe it or not can actually completely include the "old".

All my close friends are either married or have been "coupled" for a long time about to marry. Some are already dealing with kids issues. So I know exactly how that can be (how it starts) ... they decide on a certain path for various reasons and they start to intentionally and/or unintenionally pressure those around them that are not necessarily heading in the same directions. I think that's NUTZ!!! I gotta be able to just throw a couple of things in the truck and just leave for a random location for a week anytime I want. I don't want to have to confirm with anyone, ask anyone's permission, or have to plan ahead. Just get up and go to Alaska for fishing or something ... maybe run to Arizona and drive over some BIG rocks for a few days. I don't even want to have to worry about a starving pet at "home". Gamavor is very right about there having to be common interests for a relationship ... and I'll extend that for even friendship. And unfortunately that means that "friendship" is not something that is supposed to last indefinitely. It's existance depends heavily on shared interests and just what life may bring. ...and of course that also means that I am also open to the possibility of there being someone who shares the same interests as me ... but knowing me, that's highly unlikely. There's just this thing about girls and "running water" and "blow dryers" and "bed" and all that fancy stuff

Hahahah .. that shirt is famous!!! Even people I don't know sometimes refer to that shirt And to think I bought it for $2 a few years ago Yah, the kinds of things you have to do as a poor grad student

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH ... RED LIGHT. That's the number one red flag sign. Do NOT do it because of external pressure. It's YOUR life, YOU decide what YOU want. That's the one thing I can tell you that I believe with every fiber of my being.

By the way, I just want to clarify that my main area of expertise is computers and to a certain extent 4x4's, GM trucks, and offroad vehicles. So just keep that in mind.

Yah but to my defense, I ain't the one looking for a girlfriend. About parties ... sure there are ALL kinds of people. I don't think I should have generalized even in this case. That's why you have to learn to watch for the signs. And if a girl is interested, most often she'll find a way to let you know. It won't be very obvious so you have to be on the alert. On a related funny note which is kind of unrelated, a couple of months ago, back in LA this not too bad looking blond almost made a right turn into a guy that had stopped to pull into the gas station cause she couldn't take her eyes off of me (I was in the left turn lane waiting for the light). She was making a right into the same street as me. I'm in the opposite direction waiting to make a left (red light). As soon as she started to turn (obviously not looking to where she is going) I had to point to the front of her car and that's when she slammed on the breaks just in time

"syed rizvi" is not an armenian last name so obviously it doesn't have the "ian". As far as I know "Syed" is used to denote descendent of the prophet mohammad or something. It has some religous connotation but it's a pretty common prefix (as I have seen it a lot). But Kirakosian is an Armenian name and I fully understand why you wouldn't want that to be your last name in Iran That basically is as bad as it gets in Farsi. Welcome to the forum!

That's essentially what I am saying. If God is the almighty creature religious people make it sound to be, then what we insignificant pieces of irrelevant dust on a tiny planet in a secluded corner of the universe do is completely irrelevant. By the way, I think we have had discussions on free will vs pre written destiny and that in itself is quite a long topic to discuss. But in my opinion, if there are absolute rules which we must follow then there is no need for free will. There is only need for a simple "automaton" to follow those rules and we already have plenty of those ... called PCs. On a related note ... have you paid any attention to "prayers" in the Armenian church? Doesn't it disturb you just a little that some, if not almost all, prayers sound like wheeling and dealing with God? God you do this and we will do this. God be good to us and we will be good. God I will be a good person and in exchange you do this this and this for me. Well, at least that's as much as I was able to understand from the gibrish most (NOT ALL) priests have uttered that I have come accross in life. And to make it worse they speak in a language foreign to my ears which is supposed to be old Armenian I guess.

That's all nice and good but I choose to refuse a God that likes to toy with me. She creates time and space and everything else, she already knows exactly what I have done, am doing, and will do (she created time), and now she's sitting back enjoying all this ... about me thinking that anything I possibly do can imact anything ... not realizing that she has created everything and anything and I am nothing but a powerless automaton who is supposed to follow her absolute rules (given to me by the absolute church) blindly. See where I'm getting at? Your absolutes make my life meaningless. If I accepted your version of things, I might as well just lay down and die. About premarital sex and prostitution ... obviously two VERY different concepts. BUT, how is either against rational morality? For example, how is prostitution different than a man who pays for sex by commiting the ENTIRE rest of his life (i.e. marriage) which seems to be arbitrarily OKed by your church?

By the way, I only used those parties as an example ... I personally dislike the atmosphere (and often the types of people) that show up to these places and on top of that how they act ... there is this level of fakitude that I just can't stand. But you're living in a University enviornment Just look around! There are many people and are just asking to be talked to but you have to look at the signs. If you see a girl sitting at the campus coffee shop with her head into the books quickly taking notes ... stay away ... she's got something due and she'll punch you in the face if she could if you try to get between her and the deadline! If you see a girl sitting in a public place "reading" ... just pay attention. If every few seconds her eyes start to wonder around, she ain't reading CHIT! Now you'll be lucky if she's reading something you are familiar with but that NEVER happened to me so I can't help you there. So all I'm saying is ... as a general rule of thumb ... people who sit in coffee shops ... people who "study" in libraries ... people who are just hanging around public places are not there just to drink coffee or to study. Heck I've tried the library "study" thing myself at UCLA when I was young. It just doesn't work. Your eyes inevitably start to wonder ... of course that changes when there is a test or deadline in an hour but those types of people are very easy to spot and avoid. Hope what I'm saying is clear.