The Monkey

Now I need to figure out the audio. Floor standers are not going to cut it. I may need to go the soundbar route. Or maybe get an A/V receiver and do (small) 3.1 until I can get a man cave.

Happy Birthday, Ari!

Right on, Bryan.

For some reason, I still like Sony products.

I liked the Samsungs I saw.

I was really impressed by the 55ST30, even though I ended up with the 50". I'd think you'd be happy with the 55. Side-by-side, the 50GT30 looked just a bit better than the 50ST30, but when I bought, the ST30 was $300+ cheaper. All that said, the GT series is a physically nicer set. It's much thinner and looks better, although it has kind of a silver bezel that could be annoying. The GT is THX certified, whereas the ST is not. And I think the GT has one more HDMI port, in addition to some other bells and whistles. It's a nice TV; however it just wasn't worth the price premium to me. As that gap closes, it becomes a tossup. Suggestion: head over to High Def Junkies, they have a ton of good info: http://www.highdefjunkies.com/showthread.php?9401-Official-Panasonic-GT30-Thread-Including-a-Review-and-Report

Happy birthday, Shelly! Have a great one--you deserve it!

Happy birthday!

I always considered Chaka a little fucker.

I just wanted to post Chaka.

Is the plan to let some other source or gov't leak the photo?

I think the iPhone retina display is pretty awesome.

This is my next project, I think.

Love Strasbourg. Did you grab some Riesling?

I'm chanting the same thing.

want.

How much is it these days?

Lol. I knew we'd been down this road before. Thanks for the offer to lend the tools. There's a bottle of something in it for you.

I think I may have posted about this once before, but I could use some advice re my home Ethernet wiring. My apartment came "wired.". We have a ton of drops, but im not sure whether they're all lit. The reason I'm not sure is that the patch panel is also a mess. From back when I did some network stuff I remember this connectivity shit being a two man job. I don't have that luxury. Basically, I want to at least figure out what's lit and what's not. What tools do I need? Is it worth getting a tester? Also, how hard/easy is it to terminate my own Ethernet cables? Patch cables are such a ripoff. Overall, I need a bit of advice about how to assess what exactly it is I have here in terms of a wired network.

I think I've related this before, but on 9/11, I was driving out to Hofstra Law School (I was in my second year). I commuted to Long Island from Manhattan. Listening to Howard Stern, as I always did, when I looked in the rearview mirror. I just happened to be on a rise on a section of the LIE such that I could see the Towers. One of them was smoking. Then Stern said a small plane had crashed into one of the Towers. Thinking not much of it, I continued driving, and the events continued to unfold. I watched the buildings fall in a classroom on a TV. Then because I couldn't get back to Manhattan because it was sealed off, I spent the night alone in East Hampton. I still wish I had turned around as soon as I first saw the smoke. Not that I could have helped or anything, but just to be there. To be close, and of course, to be with my family. We didn't lose any immediate family members that day, and I can't believe our good fortune. The mood in the city for the weeks and months afterward were unlike anything I have ever seen or likely ever will see again. As bad as everything was, the city truly came together. The only thing that comes close is when there is a blizzard here. All of a sudden, the NYC edge softens and people are just kind of friends, throwing snowballs, hitting the bars. It was like that for a long time (though more in a life during wartime sort of way) and I will never forget it.

I like the bug jar idea, actually.

Yes and no, I think, Al. All involved knew that Bin Laden vowed never to be taken alive. Eric Holder said as much when discussing a possible trial iirc. So yes, we were prepared to arrest him knowing full well he was getting a tap to the head.

A trial would only further fuel the flames by those that hate the US that our "justice" system is a sham and a mockery. This needed to be settled in theater, not made into theater.

That would have been awesome.