Sip

I just find it very fitting that Jug wants to erect a statue for the "drunk guy on the bus" Jug, there's NO hope for you bud!

http://zr2.cs.ucla.edu/hf/dummies.jpg Why? Why are these things so successful? What possible reason drives a person to spend money on a book that on the cover so prominently declares that the reader is an idiot? What's the appeal? I just don't get it. I guess you could say I need an "Explaining the Dummies Books for Dummies" (anyone follow the Ziggy cartoons?)

HA HA HA ... YAH RIGHT! We all know what you meant by boys and their "toys" ... especially after mentioning playboy. SHAME on YOU!!!! Talking of fugly, yes it is in fact a new term. And just the other day, MTV was listing the top 10 or so fugliest rockers out there ... and I think #3 went to none other than Serj Tankian (SOAD)!!!! It was hillarious.

Amen to that! Except it's sometimes also a lot of fun to share your "toys" and let others play with them.

Call me shallow but I never even would look at the ones without a picture. That's just not how the male brain works The ones without a picture are mostly "blah blah blha blah blah ... funny, sense of humor, understanding, blah blah blah, outgoing, blah and then some more blah's!!!!" Now about being a chef ... I think that is the ONE profession I would not be able to pull off. Why you ask? Because I have never been able to "finish" cooking a single meal I started ... it usually disappears with all the "tasting" and "checking" that I have to do.

You've gotta be kidding me! Really?

DAMN at times like this I realize it's so good to be Armenian!!!! Have you seen some of the pictures? But too bad I'm moving VERY far from california so the satistic will most likely continue edit: ... oh and total accident MY ASS

There is no fee for the trails (in the west) usually as far as I know. Around here, in the San Bernardino Forest for example, if you park a vehicle you are supposed to have a Forest Pass which is $5 for the day. The lands are usually "public" lands maintained by the forest service or some other government agency (I'm not exactly sure of the logistics). However, I do know that BLM (Bureau of Land Management), the environmentalists (such as the Sierra club), and the organized off-road enthusiast clubs are often in a lot of friction fighting back and forth ... the environmentalists often try to close ALL land while the offroad community is trying very hard to keep the current official trails open to the public. There are also clubs that adopt trails and go maintain them (in addition to the forst service) ... they fix damage caused by errosion, vehicles, etc and ensure that the trail "difficulty" remains the same (people tend to move or stack rocks over time). Here in california, especially in the southern CA that I am very familiar with, there is a very well-defined trail system in the forests and in the deserts. You can get maps and information for them and they are also very well marked with signs throughout. It is ALWAYS expected that people MUST stick to the established trails and NEVER venture off of them with their vehicles for any reason. On top of that, it is common etiquette to respect the environment ... to pick up all trash and junk (even if it's not your own) ... and basically leave everything the same and take only pictures. Of course there are always those few yahoos and idiots that have no respect for anything ... go pedal-to-the-metal destroying everything on their paths These few morons ruin it for the majority of the responsible wheelers that are there to enjoy the beautiful nature. So in some cases I do understand the environmental concerns since I have personally seen some of these bozos in person. Fortunately, the people that I often wheel with are VERY responsible and very nice people. Also, if someone is in trouble, they will go completely out of their way to help in any way they can. I also do the same ... if one of the people that I am wheeling with breaks down, I do everything I can to help get them back on their way (or tow them to safety). To answer your question about the "others" ... well, yah you don't know right away. Trust builds over time and as usual you do your best to build friendships with the right people and groups (just like anything else in life). Are there those that can endanger themsleves and others on the trails? Sure. But they are also on the streets and freeways. Hope that answered your questions but let me know if you want any more info.

The beauty of it is that there is NO indoor plumbing anywhere to be seen! But don't worry, I won't look ... I promise

Heheheh ... you want to try it in the volvo? Just take a loot at this .. yes, that fence is all made from broken axles!!!! I don't plan to brake anything but I'm going to take a couple of spare axle shafts, u-joints, steering components, etc along just in case. Actually the trail is open to anyone but the vehicle better be seriously set up. This is not a trail for the faint of heart nor the unprepared. A few of the sections are notorious for chewing up suspension and driveline parts, as well as a few body parts. But the jeep rubicon (guess where it got it's name from!) is probably the only new "stock" vehicle that is sold in the US right now that has a chance at this trail. Anything else will require quite a bit of serious modifications. It's not the "toughest" trail by any means ... but it's just one of the most famous and in my opinion, definitely one of the most beautiful. The Hammer trails around Calico are much tougher I would say. There are boulders larger than me that people drive over. It's INSANE!!! I actually have some video of a hummer (H1) doing the rubicon ... that is a sight to see. The hummers are so big and bulky and hard to maneuver ... this guy tried to take a hill sideways (couldn't fit between the rocks) and the H1 just slid on the slick rocks and bashed the driver side on a big rock.

Azat, I know the feeling! BUT, I have a solution ... get a Jeep and start prepping to hit the Rubicon trail with me in mid/late July ... I'm going with a few other jeep guys ... it's going to be AWESOME .... just to give you an idea, THIS is what it looks like (the trail ends in Tahoe). ... a couple of nights of primitive camping like THIS or this will do wonders for the soul ... can you imagine waking up to this?. Anyway, not too late ... there'll be plenty of time to fine tune those driving skills on the local trails (I'll be glad to help ) until it's Rubicon time!!!!!

Interestingly enough, I've never had to deal with ticketmaster or their "ilk"!!!

That's amazing since a very good friend of mine said the exact same thing to me a couple of weeks ago!!! I think still if you go to their store, they won't charge that convenience/shipping crap. They have plenty of locations around here (click)

Nah, it takes too much effort to do those types of things ... plus I KNOW how to release my tensions

Cucumbers? Tomatoes? These new developments give a whole new meaning to "shopping list"

What kind of attack and where are the attacks coming from (IP addresses)? I guess one typical way is to block the IP addresses from which the attacks originate. If the server is behind a firewall, the admin can block those IP addresses at the firewall or maybe ask the internet service provider to do it. If this is a more organized denial-of-service type attack (i.e. flooding the server with requests from many different places), then the service providers have to see how they can fight it.

... my personal feeling is that they don't have to. The world is full of strange sort of individuals (statistically, almost exclusively young males below 33 with no girl friend) that will keep the market for anti-viruses going strong for a while to come. However, by far the majority of computer viruses developed never leave the lab ... actually, these companies have pretty smart people working in these areas doing research and I am sure they do come up with clever new "viruses" themselves ... but I doubt they intentionally release any of them. It's the very very small percentage of new viruses developed (who knows where) that start to spread and an even smaller fraction of those that sometimes wreak havoc. Of course often they try to boost their profits by dramatizing and exagerating the effects of a virus/worm/trojan (like in news stories) and do create some undue panic in people in order to sell their products ... but those types of tactics exist for pretty much anything if you look carefully!

http://zr2.cs.ucla.edu/hf/protection.jpg

Sounds awesome! I'm not too familiar with that area of town ... how is it in general?

Here's a conversation I just had with the dealer who's fixing some problems with my blazer: Yesterday when I dropped it off: Me: My truck keeps dropping into 4Lo by itself, the fuel pump is making a lot of noises, and the gas gauge is off about 1/4 of a tank (plus a whole bunch of other things to fix) ... Today: Dealer: We think we figured out what the problem is with the gauge. Me: Wow! So what is it? Is it covered (warranty)? Dealer: Your fuel tank is completely bashed in on the bottom ... Me: Really? Dealer: Yah, and that would explain why you can't fill your tank all the way anymore. Me: D'oh Dealer: It's going to be $__ (I left the number out for those who have weak hearts ) Me: Never mind then ... I'll fix it myself. Can't believe I didn't notice it! I just assumed it's some sort of electrical problem and didn't bother to look under there ... there is a skid plate on it but the problem is, the skid plate is made of plastic on the gas tank ... after you crush it on a rock, it pops right back out and looks completely normal!!! You can't see what happened under it, until you take it off. You would think that at least on the gas tank they would put a serious shield of some sort. I just thought this was funny. I Felt like a complete idiot!!!!!

I always like a nice dual transfer-case setup! Of course with the Jeep I now have 4:1 4LO with a 66:1 crawl ratio!!!! By the way, I just took the doors off today ... there's nothing like driving a Jeep with no top and no door ... I'm really going to miss this so-cal weather when I move.

I am VERY impressed!!!!

Thoth, normally I would have a clever and witty reply but watching too much TV and eating processed food has left me with no choice but to say: ah never mind ... forgot what I was going to say. In any case, it's too early in the day for me to put any stress on my brain, but later ... For now, just enjoy THIS !!!

Note to self: I will never again mistake garlic powder for parmesan cheese

OH yah? If you love it so much, why don't you marry it?