Christian Graus wrote:

It's far easier to make the grade as a Christian than not.

From my experience Christianity make people "bad" people "good" with about the same success rate as dieting makes fat people thin, except there's no forgiveness available for that extra slice of pizza. Steve T

Christianity is just one model for leading a "good" life. By no means the best. Steve T

Christian Graus wrote:

the Bible actually says that such people will in fact be judged according to the sort of life they lead, not knowing about the Gospel.

I guess that with modern global travel and communication no one has much of an excuse nowadays but if your assertion is true then the early Christian missionaries were really just condemning thousands of otherwise perfectly happy and reasonable people to go hell in denial rather than to go to heaven in ignorance. Steve T

Brings back memories of my own thoughts on the subject while in South Africa. In 1985 I decided I didn't see myself walking around up to my ankles in chicken-sh*t for the rest of my life (I was the farms maintenance elecrician for Farm Fare - main responsibility was keeping Farmer Brown chickens cool enough to survive their allotted 45 days til slaughter :( ) I decided to do a BSc CS, with UNISA, but opted to get a Diploma in Datametrics first. Long story short I finished that in three years but lost motivation for the degree when the Dip. Data. got me a good job as an Analyst at one of Rand Mines opecast mines in Witbank. Only setback was a pay-scale restricted by company policy but that was easily overcome by a job move (to Durbs) when I hit the pay ceiling (and I think you'll agree that Durbs is much better than Witbank :) ) I was still doing the degree half-hartedly but it was a distant hope at the rate I could complete modules in those days (particularly as that was around the time I developed a passion for paragliding ;) ) I missed a couple of years and nearly gave up altogether but in 1996, eleven years after starting that Dip. Data. and wondering if it would ever bring any real advantage, I was on the final stretch--one last set of year-end exams to nail the BSc--when out of the blue I got a great opportunity to go work on a very interesting military simulation project in California. I too was happy in South Africa at the time and had not really considered emmigrating, but weas very interested in the job offer, so I rented out my apartment and came here "for three years" just to try it out. I liked California so much (notwithstanding Roger's opinion of the PRC) that I stayed here and got my green card. Without my degree I wouldn't have even had any chance of a temporary visa to work in the US. BTW, since it looks like I'm here to stay ... would you like to buy a nice 2-bedroom 2-bathroom apartment in Umhlanga just across the road from the main beach? Steve T

Roger Wright wrote:

If those morons in the PRC can get used to paying a half million for a home,...

Half a million? ... Those were the days. Steve T

Trollslayer wrote:

In the mean time I will point out a statistic I admittedly haven't checked myself that there are more gun shops than branches of Macdonalds in the US. Maybe someone could tell me if this is so?

I don't like the ridiculous free access to guns that we have in the USA but I'm to torn in my reaction to that statistic, if true. Big Macs are far more dangerous than guns. ;) Steve T

Some of those exercises sound incredibly bad for the back. (especially the "leg-ups") Steve T

Could be, but whoever it is it seems like he has an agenda. Steve T

Jeffry J. Brickley wrote:

Actually, if he breeds the cattle for manure production and succeeds, he can patent the breed of cattle and the fertilizer. And if the process made physical changes to the cows ass, then yes, he can patent that too.

True, but I was assuming a regular cow with an unmodified ass producing standard, government issue manure. ;) Steve T

"Sarah Brady" was a White House press secretary and gun activist for whom the "Brady Law" was named. This is obviously an NRA troll who is peeved that he can't easily buy an AK47 anymore to shoot squirrels and coke-cans in the back yard so he is fishing for our sympathy by trying to make us realize how we would suffer if the same unfair restrictions applied to our dangerous dev tools. Steve T

Funny, but bad analogy. It's more like if you discover a way to make a better fertilizer from manure you can patent your fertilizer or the process for making it, ... but you can't patent the manure, or the cow's ass it came from. Steve T

Paul Watson wrote:

What to drink?

Guinness ... D'oh! Steve T

I have nothing against jokes that insult a class of person (sex, race, religion, occupation, etc) if they contain some underlying humor that rides on, or carries the insult. This is just a simple list of insults directed at women and too long and drawn out to be funny. Steve T

Jeffry J. Brickley wrote:

Everyone tells me I should read it

Well let me be the solitary voice telling you not to waste your time on it. I supppose the story is moderately entertaining overall but the plot devices are contrived and pretty pathetic. (Spoiler) I very early realized I was in for a disapointment when the protagonists took about 4 chapters to realize that part of a "coded" message from the dead victim was an obvious anagram (considering the location of the crime scene at which it was found) that I solved in a minute or so before turning the page on which it appeared. Now I admit I'm a bit of a crossword enthusiast but the protagonists were supposed to be a world famous author/symbologist and a Paris Police cryptologist! D'oh! Steve T

Nicholas Wigant wrote:

it is sad that so many sites are obviously sucessful with the whole, "meet hot chicks in your area" thing.

Especially as those "hot chicks" aren't really even in your area. After seeing the three "hotties" from just up the road in the SF Bay Area, just out of interest (technical interest, not personal ;) ), I refreshed the page after connecting through a German proxy. Magically one of the three Bay Area "hot chicks" had now got a new name and moved to Lichtenstein! :) Steve T

If you try to BindToObject() after verifying the success of BindToStorage() wouldn't that succeed of fail depending on the presence of the device? (I could be wrong but I don't think it will disrupt the device if it is in use) [edit] I can confirm after testing, this does not distrupt a running device. I can't confirm that BindToObject will fail if the device is not plugged in; I don't have a device that enumerates if not plugged in.[/edit] e.g. ...

__hr = pM->BindToStorage(0, 0, IID_IPropertyBag, (void **)&pBag);
__if(SUCCEEDED(hr))
__{
____IBaseFilter *pDevice;
____hr = pM->BindToObject(0, 0, IID_IBaseFilter, (void**)&pDevice);
____if(SUCCEEDED(hr))
____{
______pDevice->Release();
______...
______...

Steve T -- modified at 13:53 Thursday 20th October, 2005

Quartz... wrote:

Jeremy Brett "THE BEST"

Absolutely. Next to Brett, every other 'Holmes' is just a Meerschaum in a Deerstalker. ;) Steve T

I'm sure it's illegal to rent out videos. Just sell them for, say, $6 each, ... ...with an undertaking to buy them back for $3 a week later ;) Steve T

If it's a ready-made device you want that you can buy in a store then the thieves already know how to get past it. Steve T

Chris LaQuerre wrote:

Maybe its just me but the way that the guy is posing on the bench seems odd.

He's probably under the mistaken impression that he looks more attractive than a cow carcass. Steve T