Sip

To the defense of Microsoft, I believe their OSes (especially newer ones) do really well considering they run on more than 90% (that's a very conservative estimate) of PCs. Take OS X or Linux and put it on every PC out there ... I bet you, you will discover just as many, if not more, bug, security holes, and instability issues as with Windows XP. I am not defending win 98 ... win 95/98 were inferior operating systems no doubt. But as Domino said, with XP (also NT/2000), Microsoft is in the same ball park as the other serious Unix-based OSes.

WHAT? Where did you hear that? I almost never hear Win 98 and "security" being mentioned in the same paragraph!!!!!!! As far as user interface, sure, Win XP looks really childish out-the-box but you can easily disable all the bells and whistles and jazzy stuff and you'll be left with the good old simple Win 95/98 looking interface. That's the first thing I do with mine ... i.e. get rid of all the "animation", "wizards", "web looks" blah blah blah. Hint: Right click on "Start", choose properties, and select "Classic Start Menu".

I am not too up to date on Mozilla so I'll check out the link when I get back (gotta go climb some rocks today!!!) ... but Netscape browser, as far as I know, was based on Mozilla ... maybe it still is but since AOL bought Netscape, I am not sure what they have done. Basically, Mozilla is a web browser ... as far as I know, it is open source which means everyone has access to the source code of the program ... which means you can take it, modify it, and do all sorts of custom changes to it. Since it's open source, you can pretty much get it to run on any system ... Mac, PC, Unix, Linux, etc. As of it's current state, I don't know. Do you need it? Probably not. Will your cool-ness factor go up if you get it ... sure! You can boast to everyone how you don't conform to the masses and use the standard Netscape or IE! If you like to try another browser, take a look at Opera. I don't know if it works on Mac but it may be worth a try. I personally just stick to IE.

I can assure you, most of their conversations do NOT revolve around the eyes!

Here's a rather odd set of developments ... just as I was thinking that I am probably one of the geekiest people on earth and also thinking that nothing could be "cheesier" than Jug's "nut-and-bolt" party story (long story, this thread towards the bottom), I learn something that completely changes my entire view of myself and life! So these couple of guys that I have known for years at UCLA ... fairly typical geeks I guess. They also happen to be greeks if it matters. Didn't really know them too well ... just enough to say hi and normal chit chat and stuff. So I found out just a couple of days ago, that ... listen to this! ... these guys ALWAYS carry laser pointers anywhere they go! Why you ask? It's because it turns out that it is very convenient to use laser pointers to refer to exact body parts being discussed of the nearby and/or passing females!!!!!! I really couldn't believe it!!!! These guys go out, sit at a restaurant or a "coffee shop" ;), and use freaking laser pointers to point out the exact "things" they are discussing and analyzing! Now tell me that doesn't take geekness to a whole new level. Needless to say, I started feeling pretty good about myself knowing that there is probably no way I am ever going to sink to that level.

Wow! He was just on CNN telling his story LIVE ... I could not believe it ... man this guy has BALLS of TITANIUM ... simply INCREDIBLE what he was able to endure. 5 days of being pinned under a rock with no food or water, and then you have the calm mindset to cut through your own arm and hike to safety? In freaking creadible

Ahahahhahahahahahah !!!! Hey Azat, look at what these guys did to you (star wars the lost jedi): http://www.waxy.org ... seems like there were also some people making fun of you!!!! Edit: A more permanent link http://www.waxy.org/archive/2003/04/29/star_war.shtml

House Approves $2.4 Billion for Nanotech Research Article on yahoo. Wooo Hooo ... that's great news!!! Such an exciting area of research with so much potential a few decades down the road Combine nano-technology (especially nano-computers) with MEMS (Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems) sensors and actuators, and the possibilities are limitless! I even heard talk of minature nuclear-powered batteries that can run for a LONG time before dying.

I haven't seen the game, but I read that both Real goals were scored by two really really boring players.

Boredom is a factor, but I dont think its the biggest one: I think its just the way society has become, I mean if todays kids are bored, what about those born 500 years ago? When there were no computer games, no internet etc. I have a feeling you would get your ASS WHOOOPED 500 years ago if you did drugs (kids). Parents had much tighter control as far as I understand (obviously I didn't exist 500 years ago). I can also imagine that kids didn't have very easy access to drugs due to the fact that their surroundings were much more controlled (also pretty much everyone knew everyone back then in town). Societies were no where near as dynamic as we have now ... both parents working, kids being unsupervised (parental supervision) for more than half the day ... etc etc. Kids now (compared to 500 years ago) know much more, are exposed to much more, have much much more opportunities, and far far fewer constraints placed on them. That was a very different time my friend My boredom coment is more for what is happening NOW. If I was a kid 500 years ago, I would probably kill myself.

I personally don't have much to say directly on this current "drug" debate since I've never done any and will not do any ... heck I don't even take tylanol when I have a headache (but thank God I am very healthy at the moment and don't need any medication) ... but that's my personal choice. I have also often said that I'm not a big fan of alcohol and with the exception of an occasoinal beer or wine with xhorovats, I don't drink much either. I don't need alcohol to feel lose and rediculous and happy most of the time! (Note: this part was for the impressionable kids that may be reading this ... you can be just as cool as me, and maybe even cooler, without doing drugs! ... this message sponsored by the local all-you-can-eat buffet) But, having said that, I think Vavava totally hamered the nail on the HEAD, dead center, knocking it into the wall and out the other side. I think in general, young kids do drugs since they got nothing else to do (also due to peer pressure but boredom is a much stronger force I believe). With teenagers and adults, it gets more complicated ... a lot of psychological reasons play into it ... some do it to escape reality (sad), some do it as a stress releiver and mechanism to cope with pain (very understandable) .. some do it to be accepted and be considered cool (by far the WORST reason in my opinion) ... and some do it just for the heck of it since they got nothing else to do (I can accept that!) So, we can deal with the "drug problem" the correct way, i.e. trying to see why there is a need and getting rid of the need, or we can deal with it the brute-force and idiotic way by outlawing it and just saying no, you can't do that. I think it is fairly obvious that the second way doesn't really work with humans. I mean that stupid Eve "ate the apple" (and swallowed ;)) 2000 years ago and we got kicked out of eden (from what I've been told), even though she was specifically told not to touch the "apple". You have to give a purpose to kids ... you have to give them things to do, goals to accomplish, rewards for goals and punishments (sometimes harsh) for failure. In the US, we now have a society where everything a kid does is rewarded. They give trophies for 10th place! WTF? So of course the losery dumbass kid will go and start playing with drugs and frying his brain ... he doesn't need the brain to get rewards ... and there is no punishment in sight for anything. Kids think they cannot fail ... kids don't know the meaning of the word failure until waaaaaaaay into their adulthood, when they realise they are nothing more than worthless bums and leeches on the rest of the world. And that is when they come crashing down from their "high". Ok, I'm off the box!

wait wait wait ... how did they get from "adultery" to "shnutyun"? Wouldn't "darikavorutiun" or "chapahasakutiun" be more appropriate? On second thought, this really explains the "shun shan-vorti" thing that people used to scream at me ... I thought it was an insult but I guess not ... they were just saying that I was an "adult" and also that I was the "child of an adult" Wooooooo Hooooooooooo --- Learned something new again!!!

I don't think they did it before 16th century. But I could be wrong. Arfa, do you know?

Yes, that fornication business is certainly one of the theories behind the origin of the word but I think it's more of an urban myth. My dictionary for example says that the origin is unclear: "Early 16th century. Origin uncertain: perhaps from a Scandinavian, source, in which case the underlying sense might be “to beat, bang.” Encarta® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1999,2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

I'm not 100% sure but I think that information is on the website. Hope this helps.

I hear in Vegas you can get PLENTY for that kind of dough but here, at the CS department at UCLA, I get to have a good day and a thank you. Strange thing is that as soon as I saw the seller/dealer was Lebanese, I KNEW there was a BIG chance I was going to get very screwed in the deal. So I made sure I was very firm and started very low to give myself plenty of room. Fortunately, they were desparate to sell. It's unbelievable how smooth these middle easterners can be! But seems like I got some of that blood running in my veins too!!!!!!

Ever had one of those REALLY good days? If so, then you know how I feel right now. On top of it being a great day and me getting a great new toy (doesn't matter what it is ), I helped this girl who is in our research group with getting an awesome deal on a car ... the final price they had agreed up to the point I was brought into the mix to was $8000 on this 01 Corola which can easily sell for $10000+ (it was a great deal to start since the car was in awesome shape) ... and after I got through with the guy, we got the price down to $7300 (even though I was really trying to get it to $7000)!!!!!! Ah I feel GOOD. So now unfortunately, that deal is so good, we are wondering what can possibly be wrong with the car! But it's under factory warranty and really clean and I didn't see anything wrong with it.

What do you mean "even"? I think the term "guy" just about said it all. The way I would fix that sentence is this: 1) Get rid of "even good-looking" 2) replace "can be" with "are". Good night. Or as they say down-unda, good daaaay mayte

oh hahahahahahha ahahahah haaaaaaaaaaaaaa hahahahaahahaah That nut-and-bolt thing has got to be the CHEEEEEEEEEZIEST party idea I have ever heard oh ahahahah that's a true classic! Seriously ROFLMAO over here! Scary thing is, I'm sure someone must have thought it was a brilliant idea!!!

Are you sure that the "chick" wasn't in fact the fire hydrant and the funny thing you said wasn't more like http://zr2.cs.ucla.edu/Sip/zr2/barf.gif Ahahahahaah LMAO dude! Too funny!!!! The one time a chick tries to pick you up and you're too wasted to respond or to remember!

You should have told him that instead of "I rather talk"! (i.e. in my mind, I rather "just" talk and none of that other stuff)

Almost sounds like you have a problem with "addiction" in general and not coffee shops necessarily. Would coming to Hyeforum on a sickly regular basis qualify? Everyone has their weaknesses; no need to stigmatize, IMO. Besides it kind of makes me feel comfortable when I keep running into the same faces in a cafe. Oh yah! Don't even get me started on why "internet forums" are growing like wild mushrooms everywhere! I mean people from all over the place just drop into these completely public forums, often sharing their most intimate thoughts and feelings ... that is also very related to this whole coffeeshop thing I was referring to so I agree with you.... and I don't think it's just an "addiction"... it's much deeper. It's becoming a way of life for many. Interestingly enough, Armenians are much more reserved and uptight from what I have seen at this forum. But in some of the car forums that I have been around for the last few years (also been a moderator in one) it is absolutely shocking what kinds of information people feel like they need to share, some of them desparate for help from complete strangers. And you know what, it often seems to help them in some strange way to be acknowledged by some other person whoever that may be, which has always been fascinating for me. I even remember this one occasion when we successfuly responded to a suicide cry and got one of the members that lived close to the individual to go and visit the person ... it did in fact turn out to be a true cry for help ... just mind boggleing .. but this one was with a very happy ending! So yes ... internet forums are also in some senses similar to the coffeeshop phenomena that I am referring to. And you know what, with the world continuing the way it is, with modernization, with the slow replacement of human-human interaction with human-machine and machine-machine interactions, I think the situation is going to escalate. People are much more dyanmic these days ... they move around due to jobs, opportunities, other factors, but are still bound by the good-old small village everyone knows everyone and close family attitudes. I really think modern societies will change a lot in the next few decades ... they have to ... humans are social creatures by nature.

Just to clarify, I did not mean to imply that those who sit at coffee shops are pathetic. The pathetic comment was more in reference to singles bars and drunken idiots ... The point I was making was about the desparation and loneliness (very different from pathetic) ... and to clarify even more, I'm not even talking about "relationships", or anything serious ... just talking about basic social human contact. However, if you are at a coffee shop by yourself, there is a good chance someone who thinks like me (but not necessarily "looks" like me ) will hit on you! So BEWARE ... especially if he hasn't shaven for a couple of days

I had this argument with someone recently, and it got fairly heated and LOUD at some points! Just wondering what the "Armenian" perspective is on this. The whole question basically revolves around the success of cofeeshops as businesses and how Starbucks is taking over the entire US and maybe even the world ... even getting to a point of having mini-StarBuckses opening up inside larger Starbuckses. I was trying to make the point that those who spend time at these places, some pretending to be "working" (sometimes with laptops), "reading a book", or "browsing the newspaper" are often just there to see and be seen. It is usually not the love/need for coffee, but the need to be around others, especially in very impersonal large city settings (e.g. Los Angeles). With the same token, I was trying to explain to this friend that seeing a single girl at such a place is almost a sure sign of ultimate desparation and basically a request to be hit on. Maybe I was exagerating a bit but I strongly believe that the tremendous success of coffee-shops, especially in non-touristic big-urban-city settings is a sure sign of the loneliness people in general feel and their cry to make some sort of contact with another human being ... well, other than in the completely rediculous and down-right pathetic meat market of "bars", "clubs", and "electronics and computer stores" (last one was a joke!). Yes I do understand that sometimes friends that get together, or people on dates just go to a place like this to sit down and have a chat, much like any other food/consumable-related place. But I am talking more the people that have coffeeshops as part of their somewhat daily routine, not necessarily as part of an evening fun-time or pleasure activity. So what do you say? You really think people just go sit at a coffeeshop to drink a cup of coffee?

He he he ... maybe I was wrong ... maybe it's not the best blond joke ... I think it's more like "How do you keep Azat, Domino, Stormy, and Vava busy for 15 minutes"