Sip

Yah it seems that way but in the end, I would say it is probably the best "gift" as the new bride/groom go through some serious cash usually to organize an Armenian wedding. Typically the rule of thumb seems to be to at least do about $50 / person attending. That covers the per person cost of attending the party and then some (usually). At a typical Armenian wedding in LA these days, you would find a big box with a slot in it where people drop in their cash filled envelopes as they walk in It is usually guarded by the bride's mom

Cash seems to be the trend these days. I suspect any Armenian will definitely feel very welcome and appreciated when given cash!

A few days ago I saw one of the strangest, most disturbing, yet at the same time entertaining sights I have ever seen in my life. Walking around in Heidelberg (Germany), I came upon an older Turkish man wearing old and dirty looking clothes, with hair that hadn't been trimmed or groomed in months, and carring a very heavy duffle bag hanging from his elbow like a woman would carry a purse. His upper body was tilted to the side away from the bag, limping along at an average pace due to the weight of the bag pushing against his hip. While he was walking, he happened to get a call he put his other hand near his head and started talking on his cel phone in Turkish. While I was walking behind him, I could hear at times that he was being rather adamant about something in his conversations but otherwise it sounded like a normal phone call. This was nothing really out of the ordinary except until I realized one thing after passing him: He didn't have a cel phone.

I hate funerals. They are even more depressing than death. If I could, I would even avoid going to my own funeral.

I was telling my brother I wonder where in the sting ray he was trying to stick his thumb that pissed it off so bad

This trully sucks but I guess no one can complain that nature didn't warn him enough.

Love that! Do you mind if I use that line sometimes myself?

http://shopuncleharrys.dukestores.duke.edu/images/spice2%20002.jpg

I merged the two threads on this.

In & Out without the meat is like going to a buffet to only have a pickle.

The goal to "prove" the ethical problem with closed-source software presented in the slides suffers from three major flaws in the assumptions it makes: 1. It assumes software is a static entity and that once it is written, it is a "product". Actually, in my opinion, most modern software continuously evolve and change in time to first correct that which should have been correct to begin with, and second, to "upgrade" and patch it with new features and additions to address arising consumer demands. 2. It assumes the cost to write good software ($x) is low compared to the profits $z. I would argue that even though replication costs are essentially "0", most large businesses have to sell a lot of copies to recover their initial investments into writing the software (and the upkeep - see #1). 3. It neglects to account for piracy. The "0" cost of replicating the product also has the inherent result that the software will inevitably be replicated by unauthorized entities. The company either has to spend a lot of money to counter such efforts or to absorb that cost into it's $z (or $y or $x). The rest of the discussions are interesting but I think they do not address these problems with the thesis. Of course these are all generalizations (as the title also states) so one could come up with specific cases where each of these assumptions falls apart. But in general, the slides did not convince me that closed-source business models have any inherent "ethical" problems just because the replication costs of each additional product is "0".

Since we are all imposing views and such, I'd say ditch both the caviar and the wine. Your best bet is some good chili and some fine iced tea. Just make sure you will be spending some time outdoors after the chili. I would not recommend this if there is a long car trip involved afterwards

Glad you guys liked the pics. Of course as usual, pictures don't do the scenery any justice. This is really a truly spectacular place and you don't have to travel to the ends of the Earth to get there. Haha ... the motor seemed to have some trouble with the altitude. I could never get to boat to go faster than 6mph with 2 people but here in WI, I can get it to go nearly 20MPH. I even tried 91 octane gas and that didn't seem to help. So it took a long time just to get to some of the nearby canyons to explore a bit. Next time I go there, I'll probably rent a fast boat or heck maybe get one myself? But yah I can definitely see what you mean with altitude problem ... especially a place like big bear. This place was around 3500 feet so not even close to big bear (7000). I wouldn't really call it "relaxing" as there is sooooo much to do. But it was definitely a LOT of fun. We spent a total of 3 nights there ... so first it's at home pack pack pack pack get the car ready for long journey etc. I'd say about 2-3 very hectic days. Then drive for 2 days to get there. Then on the 3rd day get to the lake, and start setting up in the heat. Unpack unpack unpack and there goes pretty much the first day. Second day go exploring and having fun. Third day more exploring but then get back to camp and start packing up a bit (like put away the boat). Pack pack pack and early morning on the 4th day start driving ... towards LA this time ... total of about 800 miles that day. After a trip like this, it takes about a day or two to "relax".

http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/majesticsunrise.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/longdrive2_small.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/tyingtheboat1_small.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/chilitime_small.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/andcloser_small.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/moqui_small.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/img_0315_small.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/leaving2_small.jpg

http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/Pano_1_lo.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/Pano_2_lo.jpg (Click for bigger versions) Here are a couple of panoramas to get things started. The top one is the view from our camp site. The bottom one is one of the near by canyons we explored while there. And below are just some of the highlights: http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/thecolorofnight.jpg http://s93725736.onlinehome.us/sip/sip/gal/powell/sunormoon.jpg

I'm dead serious about the Islam thing. I think I read it in a book somewhere. I'll try to dig it up.

I think in Islam, farting must stricly be performed in the direction pointing AWAY from Mecca. Though group farting is encouraged and practiced several times a day. Though I could be wrong.

Haha ... the "superduty" engine stand is just a $20 dolly from Home Depot. I cut the handes off and bolted a 2x4 on it. Then I added some steel pipes for support. I also had a hitch mounted bike caerrier that I did a similar thing to. So now I can carry the motor on the hitch of the blazer. The boat was about $1300 with shipping for the day trip package including a canopy on top for shade, the seat, pump, hard floors, repair kit, pump, bow storage back (gets tied to inside front of boat) and carrying case for the boat. You can see the exact specs here. They have bigger ones too but I wanted something small but still capable. The motor with the electric start was $1860 with shipping. That too comes with pretty much everything including the 3 gallon gas tank and hose. I just had to fill it with oil and gas and it fired right up It needs a 10 hour breakin period which was kind of a pain (you can't floor it and have to go easy on it according to the instructions in the book) ... but that's the case with any new outboard motor I guess. Let me know if you need more details. The other things I have had to buy for the boat were registration tags that are flexible and glue to the side (have to register in WI), cushion for the seat (it gets bumpy!), the required LED night lights for night operation, life vests (required), fire extinguisher (required), and a sealed car battery with a marine battery box with a 300 amp forklift connector and switch so I can disconnect it easily. I'd say I probably have around $3500 total into it.

That's great! Ayo ... it's my new toy http://www.seapahn.us/misc/boat_1.jpg It's a 9.2' inflatable that can take up to 10HP motor. It is VERY nice. With one person, it can go really fast ... almost too fast (20MPH according to GPS). It's very light and very maneuverable ... kind of like riding a motorcycle on water. It's a lot of fun especially when you jump huge waves With two people, its pretty hard to get it to hydroplane. But when it does plane, wow then it gets going great. Usually up to 18mph. But if it doesn't plane, then usually 5-6MPH is max. This is all with my 9.8HP 4 stroke Tohatsu. Tohatsu makes the motors for Nissan and also some of the smaller Mercury. It's a great little Japanese engine that should live a very very long time from the reviews I have read without much problems. It's about 100lbs so just about the max size for me to lift and move around by myself comfortably. I got the one with electric start that also charges the battery ... so just a small button and it's on! No more having to pull that stupid rope Those wheels in the above pic are what I use to take it in and out of the water. They are removable so I usually take them off when in the water. I also got a small trailer so I don't have to inflate/deflate it all the time. The trailer is small enough that I can lean it against the wall in the garage in the winter when I put the baot away. http://www.seapahn.us/misc/boat_3.jpg By the way, http://www.seapahn.us/misc/boat_speed_6.jpg ... the only part of the boat that is black is the bottom It's pretty much flying in that pic

Ok that's just wrong. The most wrong post anyone has ever made on this forum. Wrong wrong wrong

For the price of one of those, you can almost get TWO of the ones Azat posted about! I don't know ... one could do a lot with 2 laptops instead of one

Why is it that all the jew bashing is mainly coming from Araba-hyes?

Voch no 4x4ing since May ... BAYTS ... lots of "offroading" of this kind: http://www.seapahn.us/misc/boat_speed_6.jpg http://www.seapahn.us/misc/boat_speed_7.jpg ... and I'm heading to Utah probably next week for a few days of camping + boating. I'll take the blazer so not much 4x4ing.

By the way, it is customary around here that new members post their pictures and say 3 embarassing secrets about themselves.