AngusThermopyle

I just picked up the new Johnny Cash CD last weekend, Out Among The Stars. Haven't listened to it yet but I will on Friday when I can relax and give it a proper listen. There are a couple of songs with June Carter Cash and Waylon Jennings on it. I must admit I'm more than a little curious, thirteen new songs by Johnny. Apparently the Sony archives contain a lot more of his previously unreleased work as well as a lot of never before seen photos and video.

Oh, okay then. Honestly I was thinking that "village idiot" was more of an occupational description though.

Steam is great. When it first hit the scene I wasn't too sure about it but now its had time to mature I find it to be a great service. Now with big picture mode it even caters to couch gamers as well. Its actually been an important factor in the decision a couple of my friends have made to give up console gaming and build new gaming PC's. You just cant beat the Steam sale prices either.

I'm sorry but what exactly does this mean? "The courts judged in favour of the BCTF and teachers that the neo-liberal government for failing to negotiate in good faith, while trying to force teachers to strike in a failed attempt to get the public to side with the neo-liberals." Is that a statement made in English? Much to my dismay I was educated in the old stone age fashion, you know, the one where you actually learned how to communicate in a legible manner. As I've said before, if you're an example of the new pioneers in education then we're all doomed. You really should consider taking the time to form a coherent thought before you post. Honestly, it would make you appear to be so much more than the village idiot if you did.

Yes, it does have the potential to revolutionize communication. Also the possibilities for its use in education are vast. This technology has the potential to be a major game changer in a great many area's.

My oh my! Well Socialist it appears that you truly are a masochist. Here you are taking a sound spanking from Pct2017 every time you post something yet you continue to set yourself up for it. In fact any sane person knows that the reality of the situation is pretty much the opposite of what you claim. Teachers are not being screwed by anyone, in fact it is usually the teachers unions who are doing the screwing. In reality a large portion of resources are directed towards education, there certainly isn't a shortage of money. Perhaps the problem is that the money is being misused? Anyway, I'm not really interested, mainly because reading your baseless statements has fostered a vast sense of boredom and contempt within me. You in fact are your own worst enemy. Your continued one trick pony act has convinced me that if you are indeed representative of modern teachers then modern teachers are all fools. Of course I do know that in fact not all teachers are like you and there are good ones out there. At this point however I'm just reading this thread because I find it hilarious. Its hard to comprehend why you keep trying after getting your ass handed to you repeatedly. You should just admit that you're full of it and slink away while you still have that one remaining tattered shred of dignity left.

I agree GostHacked. This was something I was really looking forward to. Many times during the recent history of computing gaming has been the force that has driven tech innovation and development. For instance the transition from 2D to 3D graphics was largely a result of gaming. Oculus was just the tip of the iceberg so to speak. The potential uses of VR are astounding when you think about it, from science to medicine to architecture and on and on. Fortunately there are other players in this game and it is game far to big to abandon. Still early days as of now. I think we'll have to sit tight and see what develops. For those who think VR is just a passing fad I would suggest you think a little harder about the possible implications of this technology. It shouldn't take too long to come up with a list of possibilities.

The increasingly politically correct slant here is something I've been noticing for quite some time now. One of many reasons I really cant be bothered with this board anymore. That is except for the occasional post.

Actually I don't know of, or have even heard of a single person who cared about these ceremonies. Personally given the screwing over our vets are taking I'd rather see the money used for them. Or do you think its better to have some cheesy fireworks and shows than try to prevent the suicides of guys who gave for their country PIK?

Just watched All Is Lost, Robert Redford is great in this one. When it started I was thinking that it was a bit dry (no pun intended) and that it might be boring. However after a few minutes I found it was grabbing my attention and making me want to keep watching in order to see how it all played out for the principal (actually only) character in the movie. Redford gives a tremendous performance, he really is a great actor. The movie builds tension and a sense of dread without use of flashy CGI and sound, I would recommend it.

Just a quick update for Cyber. It turns out that the new consoles still haven't got it right yet. IGN published a list of titles and the rez they run at on the new consoles. Quite a few of them run at reduced rez, 1280*720 to be precise, and significantly reduced framerates around 30fps. Ouch! Not good at all. These titles include COD Ghosts, BF4 and Assasins Creed Black Flag. There are more but those are the ones that come to mind right now. Having said that, browsing the list it appears that PS4 slaps the XBOne around handily as it handles more titles at better rez and frame rates than XBOne does. It also appears that Netflix is preparing to roll out 4K streaming of its content. All I can say is that you'd better have a nice connection with unlimited bandwidth if you want to partake of this. The other side of the coin is that even more lower priced 4K monitors have now hit the market. Perhaps 4K will become the domain of PC gaming as they can handle it with appropriate hardware. Given that NVidea is now rolling out their Maxwell core boards this is becoming even more true than ever before.

That's a lot of money to move a few minutes away, however as mentioned many times, if he is entitled to this move then what's the issue? Having said that I should also mention that some of us do pick up the tab when moving upon retirement. When I retired I moved from Borden to Alliston, about 10-15 minutes away from the base. As such I didn't claim a move or any expenses. My friend moved from Borden to Cookstown, about another 15 minutes away, he didn't claim any expenses either. When I retired the rules stated that the move would be covered if it was to the same place that you joined, perhaps this has been changed to cover any place you wish to live upon retirement. I don't know as I don't follow any changes to the eligibility qualifications since I retired.

I'd never seen that add before and in all honesty now that I have I just wish I could get those 3:58 sec back. its just about the most stupid thing I've ever seen. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if that pile of stinky carbon residue generated opposition rather than support for the initiative.

Quite a few years ago I remember an article that addressed this very topic. If I remember correctly it put forth the theory that this situation could indeed be the cause of a major war. Of course this situation wasn't helped by the cultural practise of disposing of baby girls due to the one child law and families wanting baby boys as opposed to girls.

Air Canada is my least favourite way to fly. Pretty much the whole experience is sub par compared to other carriers I've used. For travel within Canada I like West Jet personally. Once when flying out of Charles DeGaul airport I flew Air France. That was a great flight that was head and shoulders above Air Canada, great service, great meal and free drinks. In comparison the next Air Canada flight I took felt like riding on the back of a Turnip truck.

When it comes to great science fiction movies there aren't a huge amount to choose from. Some have already been mentioned but some appear to have been forgotten as well. Its hard to believe that stinkers like Event Horizon and Wall-E have been mentioned but great movies like Close Encounters and Blade Runner haven't. If you want to go back further then one that has to be included would be The Forbidden Planet. Yes its older but it was also a ground breaking movie not to mention the fact that it also introduced Robby the Robot to the world. Another one worthy of mention would be Logans Run. For the time it was considered a special effects tour de force. The story was alright as well being loosely based on Arthur C. Clarke's The City and The Stars, a really great book. Perhaps an interesting topic for a thread would be peoples opinions on what science fiction books would make good movies. For myself, off the top of my head, I'd have to say just about anything by Larry Niven.

We just watched Machine Gun Preacher, picked it up cheap on Blue Ray. Great movie about a truly remarkable person. Sure its not a new release but if you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend it.

I guess they could start by following Rwanda's example and reducing the surplus population drastically. Sorry, but those of us who were around during their purge will probably have a hard time forgetting that one while holding them up as a shining beacon of progress to the world.

Don't forget his honking big ranch in Alberta either, or his ownership of Lionel Trains. Much as I may like his music (his older stuff) I must wonder about his motivations in this. It appears that he is a part of the rich guy climate club, rubbing elbows with David Suzuki and friends.

Oculus Rift looks very promising so far. The reviews I've read all agree that this is one VR idea that seems to actually work. Of course you'll also look like super ultimate nerd dude using it though. A massive alien looking device strapped to your head, if I got one I'm sure the wife would be convinced that I've finally lost the rest of my mind. The developers are working on making a version for the new consoles but there are problems they have to overcome in order to make it work. For instance Battlefield IV runs at 1280 x 720 on the Xbox One as does CoD Ghosts and Assassins Creed IV. The PS4 does manage 1080 on these titles, albeit at the expense of dialing down graphical effects in order to do so. The problem lies in the fact that the OR outputs 1080 and higher to two screens simultaneously, this is where the developers will have to make some compromises in order to make it work at an acceptable level on the consoles. Some in the industry are saying that it just may not be possible to do it at all with this generation of consoles. This is just a part of the reason I'm so disappointed in the new consoles. For years now gaming has been held back by the consoles as developers code for the lowest common denominator which happens to be where the most profit can be made. As such those who have hardware that can run much more have had to settle for crappy low rez, low effects console ports. There are a few exceptions to the rule, one would be Assassins Creed which almost looks like a different game on PC, hopefully more will follow as well. The good news is that, apart from rabid fanboys, many people are starting to admit that the consoles are lacking in many area's and that PC simply outclasses them on all fronts. With this realization comes an upsurge in quality. I do know that several developers are working on better/added content for their PC releases, we'll have to wait and see what this equates to in real life though. With luck and added profit this may be the way in which PC gaming is unchained from the console ball and chain its been lugging around for years now. OR is just one new tech coming up. This year will see some really great changes coming down the pipe. Things like video cards with their own CPU embedded in the card, new cores and processes, new RAM technology, increasing storage capacity and lower prices, etc. etc. The list is extensive and I could go on and on but I'm sure you get the overall picture.

That's most unfortunate, it must be a really job scarce area you live in. As an update to what I was saying about scammers I checked on the wife's son. The new thing he and his friends are trying is scamming multiple gift cards from the food card give away. You know, the one in Toronto to help people replace spoilt/lost food from the ice storm. They're trying to get as many as they can and resell them at half value. He was complaining that there weren't enough because he could only get two. As I said earlier there are people who will always lie and cheat to get what they want, including social assistance.

Really Jacee. You couldn't get this guy a job making milkshakes? Where was this? Around here there are quite a few jobs going. Where the wife and I work they even offer a $100.00 bonus to anyone who refers a new hire to the company. They aren't alone in offering incentives for new employees either, quite a few places around here have similar programs in effect. You must live in a very impoverished part of the province. As for education most of our new people are high school dropouts, maybe your friend should move to this neck of the woods.

The wife likes Scotch more than myself. Occasionally I'll have a couple of glasses but she likes to have some before she goes to bed. Not being connoisseurs I usually just pick up a bottle of Glenlivet or Glenfiddich and that does the trick. She also enjoys the occasional bottle of Remy Martin or Courvoisier, Cognac, not Scotch but still quite enjoyable in my opinion.

So what do you think should be done about the cheats then Topaz? Sure there are those who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own and these people should be given help. Honestly I don't think any reasonable person would deny that. On the other hand the cheats do exist as well, quite a few of them in fact. That's why I say a better job should be done of vetting them, these are people who take and contribute nothing. In doing so they deplete the available resources that could be better used to help those who genuinely need the help. For instance my wife's son. He is capable of working yet chooses not to. What he does do however is constantly complain that he's not given enough to live in a style he chooses. Recently he was complaining about wanting to get a place of his own, admirable I suppose. He wanted a place located in an area called the beaches. Now I don't know Toronto very well but I get the impression that this place is considered to be one of the nicer places to live in the city.So do you think he should be given more money in order to live in a nice place while he continues to do nothing? Keep in mind that he isn't just an isolated case. His mom has me check his Facebook page from time to time so she'll have an idea of how he's doing. As I said he has many friends and a common theme amongst them appears to be trying to figure out how to get more for doing nothing. In fact recently they were discussing which Doctor to see in order to get a disability allowance. He thought that if claimed to have Diarrhea due to IBS he could receive a disability allowance. His friends shared their suggestions as to which doctor he should see in order to make this happen. Another topic they discussed was who to see in order to obtain a medical marijuana permit. Not that he needs it, its just something he wants, I guess it would make it easier for him to obtain weed to sell. So do you think these people should be given more? You'll probably think I'm being unduly harsh but I believe they should be cut off and forced to find a job. Any job, even minimum wage, beats the hell out of receiving benefits for a living. As I mentioned before we did get him a job, not the greatest one out there but still decent. In fact if he'd stuck with it he would have been earning around $20.00 an hour by now. Not a fortune but in my opinion still a decent liveable wage. He didn't like going to work everyday though so he quit. Once again, do you believe people who make choices such as this should be more generously rewarded for doing so?

Wow, old thread revisited. This is a question that really has no easy answer. Yes, I believe those who are disabled should receive more than they currently do. When it comes to an across the board raise of all assistance my answer is no. Why do I say this? Quite simple really. There are some, quite a few in fact who simply refuse to work. An example would be one of my wife's sons. He is 27 and has worked less than two months in his entire life. There is nothing wrong with him, he's fully capable of working but refuses to do so. Instead he whines that he should be given more and quite frankly doesn't give a damn how much working people have to pay in taxes in order for him to receive more. We got him a job where we work. He lasted 3 weeks and 1 day then quit without any notice. Before his ex kicked him out (he was living with her in her mothers house) he would take the baby bonus check and spend it on himself. He claimed he deserved this as he was the one who made the baby, therefore the check belonged to him. He takes his monthly benefit check and buys as much weed as he can with it. He then sells the weed for profit and repeats the whole cycle. He lives in the homes of people he knows and when they get tired of him moves on to the next sucker. He always has the latest phone with a data plan even though he doesn't work. His Facebook page lists over three hundred friends and the majority of these people do not work either, leading similar life styles to his. So do you believe he and his friends should get more? I sure as hell don't. What we should do is vet recipients of social assistance far more carefully than we do. Many no longer see it as a last resort type of thing and more of a lifestyle choice. This in turn taints the publics view of these programs and tends to vilify those who do genuinely need the assistance. There is no reasonable explanation as to why a healthy able bodied person can not find a job after several months never mind many years. As I said, no easy answer to this one. Personally I say assess all the leaches and if they do not genuinely require assistance then cut them off. Some people will always choose the path of least resistance unless one actually denies it to them. As for anyone who says we are not taxed enough, go get...well I'm sure you get the picture.