Windows 7

So it’s just my luck that the week I get my computer completely functional, I get the opportunity to buy a copy of Windows 7 for $30. This was a student rate that only requires you to have a .edu email address to register through Microsoft’s “Ultimate Steal” program.

Windows 7 is what Windows Vista should have been. I hope that it lives up to its hype. But either way, I would like to have an OS that will allow me to fully utilize more than 3.25GB of RAM and DirectX 10/11.

The copy I have is only an upgrade license rather than the full license, however, as long as you have a legit copy of Windows XP or Vista it should work without issue. I just reformatted my hard drive to have a clean instillation of Windows 7, and I will know later today if it actually works or if I’ll have to reinstall Windows XP so that I can install 7 on top of it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Title sums it all up.

It's that time again...

...for a new computer! My desktop has been causing me grief for a while now and I finally decided that enough is enough and that I was going to build a new computer. The final key that helped me decided that now was the time was a donation from Aaron of the wreckage of his last computer. After playing with it for a while I realized that the CPU was good, as well as the RAM. The motherboard is dead, as well as the 400GB hard drive that I tried using. I few days of research led me to the DFI Blood Iron P45 T2RS motherboard, actually I liked the X48 better as it had full speed Crossfire and Firewire, but the extra $75 wasn't worth it to me.

My computer was almost top of the line when I built it in 2005, which makes it a dinosaur in computer years. Four video cards, a burnt out motherboard, and three CPUs later, I've finally decided that its days as my primary machine are over. I'm currently in the process of taking the hard drive and copying it onto a virtual computer, so that I can use that particular setup whenever I need something off of it, rather than just keeping the machine around anymore; it's time for it to go to that great recycling center in China.

So the new computer is clock-for-clock 63% faster than my Athlon 64 4000+ that I've been using for the last 2 years. It is also a quad core Q6600, which means that it can multitask much better than a single core, which is great if anyone has ever seen the 75 processes that I'm usually running. Throw in 4 gigs of DDR2-1066 RAM that I cannibalized from my server, my Radeon 4850 that I'm recycling from the desktop, my Audigy X-Fi Platinum sound card also from the desktop, my Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme cooler, and a random hard drive and I'm good to go. I'm still waiting for the proper mounting bracket to arrive so I can attach the cooler to the new motherboard, and then I'll be good to go, Yes I am recycling my Quantum case, I like it too much to let 30KG of steel elegance just go to waste. I might replace some of the fans with colored, glowing ones, but I haven't got that far yet.

Ranma ½ Chapter Guide

I was looking for a chart comparing the English version of Ranma 1/2 manga volumes verses the Japanese volumes. Not finding one anywhere, I started making my own. The reason for this is because the 407 chapters are spread across 38 volumes in Japan, and only 36 here in the US. This Ranma ½ chapter list is made possible by the King County library system and random scanlation sites. Thanks to some help, the table is now formatted correctly for easy viewing.

Chapter	Title	Japanese Volume	American Volume
01	Here's Ranma	1	1
02	Ranma's Secret	1	1
03	I Hate Man!	1	1
04	Never, Never, Never	1	1
05	To The Tree-Borne Kettle-Girl	1	1
06	Body and Soul	1	1
07	You'll Understand Soon Enough	1	1
08	Because There's a Girl He Likes	1	1
09	You're Cute When You Smile	2	2
10	The Hunter	2	2
11	Bread Feud	2	2
12	Showdown	2	2
13	A Bad Cut	2	2
14	Who Says You're Cute	2	2
15	The Transformation of Ryoga	2	2
16	He's Got a Beef	2	2
17	Kodachi, The Black Rose	2	2
18	The Love of the Black Rose	3	2
19	Take Care of My Sister	3	2
20	I'll See You Lose	3	2
21	Hot Competition	3	2
22	I Give Up	3	2
23	Darling Charlotte	3	2
24	A Kiss in the Rink	3	2
25	Lips at a Loss	3	2
26	Lips at War	3	3
27	I'll Never Let Go	4	3
28	Burning the Bridges	4	3
29	Ryoga Explodes!	4	3
30	The Waters of Love	4	3
31	Kiss of Death	4	3
32	You I Love	4	3
33	Akane Gets Shampooed	4	3
34	Shampoo Cleans Up	4	3
35	Formula #911	4	3
36	Bie Liao (Goodbye)	4	3
37	Looking for a Weak Spot	5	4
38	Weak Spot-Found	5	4
39	Cat Hell	5	4
40	Cat-Fu	5	4
41	You'd Have Kissed Anybody?	5	4
42	Shampoo Rides Again	5	4
43	Attack of the Wild Mousse	5	4
44	The Martial Arts Magic Show	5	4
45	Cat Tongue Got You?	5	4
46	The Phoenix Pill	5	4
47	All's Fair at the Fair	5	4
48	War of the Melons	6	4
49	Naval Engagement	6	4
50	Kitten of the Sea	6	5
51	Care to Join Me?	6	5
52	Training Meals	6	5
53	The Breaking Point	6	5
54	The Immortal Man	6	5
55	Fast Break	6	5
56	The Way of Tea	6	5
57	Meet Miss Satsuki	6	5
58	Proposal Accepted	6	5
59	It's Fast or It's Free	7	5
60	Eyes on the Prize	7	5
61	Noodles, Anyone?	7	5
62	I Won't Eat It!	7	5
63	The Evil Wakes	7	6
64	He's Something Else	7	6
65	Bathhouse Battle	7	6
66	Moonlight Serenade	7	6
67	The Wrath of Happosai	7	6
68	The Scent of a Woman	7	6
69	Fathers Know Best	7	6
70	Instant Spring	8	6
71	No Need For Ranma	8	6
72	The Destroyer Strikes	8	6
73	Just One More Kiss	8	6
74	Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?	8	7
75	Romeo? Romeo? Romeo?	8	7
76	Not Your Typical Juliet	8	7
77	A Kiss to the Victor	8	7
78	Quest for the Hidden Spring	8	7
79	The Touble with Girls' Locker Rooms	8	7
80	From the Spring, Springs a Message	8	7
81	The Way the Cookie Crumbles	9	7
82	Negative Feelings	9	7
83	Take Me Out to the Bathtub	9	7
84	…I Ate the Whole Thing	9	7
85	"Okonomiyaki" Means "I Love You"	9	8
86	Saucy Reply	9	8
87	Ukyo's Secret	9	8
88	Ryoga vs. Ukyo	9	8
89	Lover Letters in the Sauce	9	8
90	Ryoga's What?!	9	8
91	At Long Last…the Date!	9	8
92	Happosai Days Are Here Again	10	8
93	One Moment to Love	10	8
94	I Won't Fall in Love!	10	8
95	The Abduction of…Akane?	10	8
96	Duck, Ranma, Duck!	10	8
97	Akane Becomes a Duck	10	9
98	Fowl Play	10	9
99	The Happiest Mousse	10	9
100	Tsubasa Kurenai Busts Loose!	10	9
101	Lunchtime Lunacy	10	9
102	The Perfect Match	10	9
103	Ryoga, Come Home	11	9
104	Oh, Brother!	11	9
105	Get Lost, Yoiko!	11	9
106	The Ultimate Technique	11	9
107	Get the Secret Scroll!	11	9
108	The Fire-Burst of Terror!	11	9
109	Embraceable You	11	10
110	Hold Me Close	11	10
111	Akane's Power-Up!	11	10
112	Super Badminton	11	10
113	Serious Side Effects	11	10
114	The Return of the Principal	12	10
115	Journey Into the Principal's Office	12	10
116	The Principal of the Thing	12	10
117	One Hairy Day	12	10
118	Shear Folly	12	10
119	Gonna Make You Tardy!	12	10
120	The Soap of Happiness	12	11
121	Cupids, Draw Back Your Bow	12	11
122	Don't Follow Me	12	11
123	Who Do You Love?	12	11
124	Give Me a Little Hug	12	11
125	The Legendary Moxibustion of Evil	13	11
126	The World's Weakest Man	13	11
127	Weak for Life?!	13	11
128	The Valley of Moxibustion	13	11
129	Training in the Spiral of Hell	13	11
130	The Inflammable Man	13	11
131	The Roar of Heavan	13	12
132	The Great Rematch	13	12
133	St. Happosai	13	12
134	Burn, Happy, Burn	13	12
135	The Paper Chase	13	12
136	Ranma Reborn	14	12
137	Who Will Bell the Cat?	14	12
138	Kitty Takes a Bride	14	12
139	Swim Like a Hammer	14	12
140	Courage Under Water	14	12
141	Step Outside	14	12
142	The Mark of the Gods	14	13
143	Face Off!	14	13
144	The Mark of the Pig	14	13
145	Akane Guesses the Secret	14	13
146	Santa's Little Disciples	14	13
147	When You Wish upon a Sword	15	13
148	May I Cut In?	15	13
149	The Final Wish	15	13
150	The King Is Wild	15	13
151	Never Bet Your Live	15	13
152	Put on a Poker Face	15	13
153	The Virtues of Training	15	13
154	Target: Pigtail	15	14
155	Let Your Hair Down	15	14
156	The Whisker's Secret	15	14
157	Hair Raising	15	14
158	Let's Go to the Hot	16	14
159	Screamin' at the Hot Springs!	16	14
160	Three-Leg Scramble	16	14
161	Hot Bath!	16	14
162	Ranma Give Up?!	16	14
163	The Final Choice	16	14
164	A Goal Too Far	16	14
165	Kung Fu Stew	16	15
166	Bad Manors	16	15
167	La Miserable	16	15
168	Le Karate De Foie Gras	16	15
169	Bathroom Training	17	15
170	Who Masters What?	17	15
171	Dinner Wars: The Final Course!	17	15
172	Do Not Dessert Me	17	15
173	Hand-Me-Down Ranma (US) / I Don't Want Ranma! (J)	17	15
174	The Terrible Truth! (US) / The Truth Is Confessed! (J)	17	15
175	Nabiki's Feelings	17	15
176	I'm the Victim Here! (US) / I'm Sorry Ranma (J)	17	15
177	I'm Sorry, Akane	17	15
178	Maze of Love (US) / The Maze of Love and Revenge (J)	17	15
179	The Curse of the Scroll (US) / It's Scary When You Turn Cursed Pages (J)	17	16
180	Spring Demon (US) / The Demon That Came From Jusenkyo (J)	18	16
181	The Demon's Tale (US) / The Demon's True Identity (J)	18	16
182	Find Akane (US) / Where is Akane? (J)	18	16
183	S.W.A.T. (Save Widdle Akane Team) (US) / Rescue Team for Akane (J)	18	16
184	The Watery Grave (US) / Rock Above Water (J)	18	16
185	The Geyser Traps (US) / Beyond the Valley of the Eruptions Traps (J)	18	16
186	Boiling Retailiation (US) / Strike Back with Hot Water (J)	18	16
187	The Snap of Elastic (US) / Sure Fire! Pantyhose Meteor Kick (J)	18	16
188	What's in a Name? (US) / Your Name is... (J)	18	16
189	Back to the Freak-ture (US) / The Time Traveling Old Freak (Part 1) (J)	18	16
190	And Back and Back and Back (US) / The Time Traveling Old Freak (Part 2) (J)	18	16
191	Melonhead (US) / The Beachside Amnesiac (J)	19	17
192	The Honor of Party Beach (US) / The Beachside Pur-Suitor (J)	19	17
193	Catcher in the Rind (US) / The Beachside Island (J)	19	17
194	The Sauce of Ten Years (US) / That's What Friends are for! (J)	19	17
195	For the Love of the Sauce (US) / For Love of the Sauce (J)	19	17
196	The Truth About the Truth (US) / The Terrible Truth (J)	19	17
197	The Honeymoon Period (US) / Here Comes Mr. and Mrs. Ranma Saotome (J)	19	17
198	Please Hate Me (US) / Ten Things I Hate About Ukyo (J)	19	17
199	Nightmare on Hot Springs Street (US) / Curse of the Hot Spring Town (J)	19	17
200	Paper Dolls of Love (US) / Paper People Love (J)	19	17
201	The Pill of Obedience (US) / Master-Student Secret Pill (J)	19	17
202	The Lion's Roar (US) / The Shishihokodan (J)	20	18
203	Prelude to Defeat (US) / Prelude to Failure (J)	20	18
204	Unlucky Blow (US) / Bad Things Happen (J)	20	18
205	Emotional Impact (US) / Defeating Depression (J)	20	18
206	Lion Versus Tiger! (US) / Fight! Lion vs Tiger (J)	20	18
207	The Weight of Victory (US) / A Gravitating Victory (J)	20	18
208	New Year's Curse (US) / The Curse on New Year's Eve (J)	20	18
209	Ring Proposal (US) / Do Not Ask for Whom the Bell Tolls (J)	20	18
210	The Plum and the Prune (US) / The Old Man and the Plum Blossoms (J)	20	18
211	Sibling Warfare (US) / Sibling Rivalry (J)	20	18
212	The Scandal Breaks! (US) / Waves of Rumors (J)	20	18
213	When Daddy Was Strong (US) / Daddy, You're the Strongest Man in the World (J)	21	19
214	Time to Leave the Nest (US) / When the Chick Leaves the Nest (J)	21	19
215	The Cradle From Hell (US) / Hell's Cradle (J)	21	19
216	Mark of the Cherry Blossom (US) / The Cherry-Blossom Marked Man! (J)	21	19
217	Akane's Feelings	21	19
218	Storm of Petals (US) / A Storm of Flowers (J)	21	19
219	L! O! V! E! (US) / Cheerleader's First Love (J)	21	19
220	Cheerleading for Love (US) / Cheerleading by Love (J)	21	19
221	Win One for the Lover (US) / Victory of Love?! (J)	21	19
222	Equals in Love (US) / Evenly Matched Love (J)	21	19
223	Love vs. Love (US) / Seriously Intense Love (J)	21	19
224	Love Always Wins (US) / True Love Prevails... in the End (J)	22	20
225	Ranma Meets His Mother!? (US) / Genma's Mysterious Secret (J)	22	20
226	A Man's Vow (US) / The Promise of a Man (J)	22	20
227	Risky Reunion (US) / Walking the Katana's Edge (J)	22	20
228	Even If It's Just a Glance (US) / Sunday in the Park with Ranma (J)	22	20
229	Mother and Son…Together (US) / A Dream Deferred (J)	22	20
230	Sudden Hate!! (US) / A Turn of Emotion (J)	22	20
231	Say You Love Me!! (US) / Say "I Love You!" (J)	22	20
232	Love's Counterstrike (US) / Love Reverberation (J)	22	20
233	Who Loves Who? (US) / True Confession (J)	22	20
234	The Phantom Lingerie (US) / The Incredible Tale of the Unstealable Panties (J)	22	20
235	Pantyhose Taro Returns! (US) / The Attack of Pantyhose Taro (J)	23	21
236	The Black Secret (US) / The Secret Black Weapon (J)	23	21
237	Hot Water Fortress (US) / Out the Frying Pan and Into Hot Water (J)	23	21
238	Tentacular Spectacular! (US) / Fight! Defeat the Tentacles (J)	23	21
239	Stomperella (US) / Steps by the Seashore (J)	23	21
240	The Fairy Tale Ending (US) / Cinderella's Favor (J)	23	21
241	The Violence of Cooking (US) / Creative Cooking (J)	23	21
242	The Carp of Misery (US) / New Relationship (J)	23	21
243	Carpy Deum (US) / A Terrible Relationship (J)	23	21
244	Quit Carping (US) / An Uncontrollable Relationship (J)	23	21
245	One Punch (US) / The Warsuit (J)	23	21
246	The Guest at the Cat Café (US) / Guests at the Cat Café (J)	24	22
247	The Animal Kingdom (US) / The Wild Animal Dynasty (J)	24	22
248	The Lost Treasure (US) / Ranma's Lost Manhood (J)	24	22
249	Battle of the Hot Springs Women! (US) / Ranma vs Herb - A Woman's Fight in the Open-Air Bath (J)	24	22
250	Race to Treasure Mountain (US) / The Pursuit to Horaison (J)	24	22
251	Death on Treasure Mountain (US) / Death on Horaison (J)	24	22
252	The Tragedy of the Pail (US) / The Tragedy of the Ladle (J)	24	22
253	The Waterfall of Secret Treasure Revealed! (US) / Behold! The Open-Water Waterfall (J)	24	22
254	An Ever-Elusive Treasure (US) / Distant Manhood (J)	24	22
255	The Confession of Rage! (US) / Herb's Angry Confession (J)	24	22
256	Rise Up, Ranma! (US) / Stand Up, Ranma! (J)	24	22
257	A Man Again! (US) / Ranma! Return to Manhood! (J)	25	23
258	Welcome Home, Ranma!	25	23
259	The Ultimate Teacher! (US) / The New Teacher is Certain Death (J)	25	23
260	The Eight Mysterious Treasures (US) / The Mysterious Happo Five-Yen Satsu (J)	25	23
261	The World's Most Powerful Woman (US) / The Most Dangerous Woman in History (J)	25	23
262	Go for the Pressure Points! (US) / Push Those Pressure Points! Now! (J)	25	23
263	The Formation from Hell!	25	23
264	The Eight Treasures Change Return (US) / Happo No-Yen Coin Return (J)	25	23
265	The Ultimate Health Regimen (US) / Ultimate Health Technique (J)	25	23
266	Akane's Journey	25	23
267	Recovered Memories (US) / Reawakened Memories (J)	25	23
268	The Secret of the Forest (US) / Secret of the Strange Forest (J)	26	24
269	The Water of Life (US) / Water of Life (J)	26	24
270	In the Shade of the Forest (US) / In the Tree-Shade of the Forest (J)	26	24
271	See Ya, Akane (US) / Bye-Bye, Akane (J)	26	24
272	The King of Beasts Emerges! (US) / The King of Rare Beasts Appears! (J)	26	24
273	The Fury of the Orochi! (US) / The Serpent is Angry (J)	26	24
274	The Eighth Head	26	24
275	Take Care of Her (US) / Take Care of Akane (J)	26	24
276	Blow Your Horn! (US) / Blow the Horn-Whistle! (J)	26	24
277	Let's Go Home (US) / Let's Go Home Together! (J)	26	24
278	These Words I Send to You (US) / Gift Words (J)	26	24
279	Danger: Home Visit Ahead! (US) / Fatal Home Visit! (J)	27	25
280	Target: Soun! (US) / I've Got a Yen for Soun (J)	27	25
281	Danger: Flight Path of Love! (US) / Deadly Lover's Escape (J)	27	25
282	The Unbeatable Lens (US) / Invincible Glasses (J)	27	25
283	Tearful Apology! (US) / A Tearful Apology (J)	27	25
284	The Lowliest Jerk (US) / The Unmanliest (J)	27	25
285	Demon Dog of the Sea (US) / Killer Swimwear (J)	27	25
286	Compliment Me! (US) / Flatter Me! (J)	27	25
287	Curséd Cave of Broken Loves (US) / The Cursed Tunnel of Lost Love (J)	27	25
288	Exit of Misery (US) / The Break-up Exit (J)	27	25
289	Give Back the Tests! (US) / Give My Test Back! (J)	27	25
290	Mother, I am Ranma	28	26
291	Thousand-Mountain vs. Thousand-Sea (US) / Umisen-ken and Yamasen-ken (J)	28	26
292	Ranma vs. Ranma!	28	26
293	Intensive Training! (US) / Special Study!! Umisen-ken (J)	28	26
294	A Letter From Mother (US) / A Letter from Mother (J)	28	26
295	Quick as Lighting―The Thousand Seas! (US) / Lightning Fast Umisen-ken (J)	28	26
296	House of the Sea, House of the Mountain (US) / House of Ocean, House of Mountain (J)	28	26
297	Thousand-Mountain Tragedy (US) / The Tragedy of Yamasen-ken (J)	28	26
298	The Invisible Strike (US) / Invisible Secret Fist!! (J)	28	26
299	The Truth of the Secret Scrolls (US) / The Truth of the Secret Message (J)	28	26
300	Ranma's Tears	28	26
301	The Terror of the Phoenix Sword! (US) / The Phoenix Sword (J)	29	27
302	The Immortal Phoenix Sword (US) / Attack of the Phoenix (J)	29	27
303	The Seeds of Tragedy (US) / The Seeds of Doom (J)	29	27
304	Motherhood Flower, Please (US) / Two Peas in a Pod (J)	29	27
305	Shampoo―Captive! (US) / Flower Power! (J)	29	27
306	The Forest of Poisonous Plants (US) / The Garden of Poisonous Beauty (J)	29	27
307	The Ultimate Medicine (US) / Attack of the Killer Secret Herb (J)	29	27
308	Evil and the Bean (US) / I Oni Have Eyes for You (J)	29	27
309	The King of Poverty's Challenge (US) / The Clash of the Kings of Cash (J)	29	27
310	The King of Debt vs. the Queen of Debt	29	27
311	For the Love of Ten Yen (US) / The 10-Yen Battle from Hell! (J)	29	27
312	Spring Comes to Ryoga (US) / Ryoga's Spring (J)	30	28
313	LOVE the Pig! (US) / I Love Pigs! (J)	30	28
314	The Perfect Couple (US) / The Ideal Couple (J)	30	28
315	Experimental Herb • Towering Hair (US) / Angry Hair Heaven (J)	30	28
316	Infinate Battle "Ki" (US) / The Endless Fighting Spirit (J)	30	28
317	Let's Study!	30	28
318	The Tragic Legend of the Black Cherry Tree (US) / The Curse of the Man-Cherry Tree (J)	30	28
319	Ranma Catches a Cold (US) / Ranma and His Hot Cold (J)	30	28
320	A Hot Reunion?! (US) / Hot Reunion?! (J)	30	28
321	Ranma Till Morning (US) / All Through the Night (J)	30	28
322	The Cursed Spatula	30	28
323	Happosai's New Disciple (US) / Happosai's New Pupil (J)	31	29
324	Secret Treasure • Brocade Butterfly (US) / Butterfly Brocade (J)	31	29
325	Special Move • Wild Butterfly Dance! (US) / Dance of the Butterflies (J)	31	29
326	Lucky Day…My Family's Away! (US) / What a Lucky Day! My Family is Away! (J)	31	29
327	Alone With Them Both (US) / Both Akane and Akari (J)	31	29
328	The Umbrella of Love (US) / It's Raining Love (J)	31	29
329	Get Ready for Swim Class! (US) / Clash in the Swimming Class (J)	31	29
330	Cold Summer Noodles (US) / It's Summer! Jumbo Order of Chilled Ramen Anyone? (J)	31	29
331	The Doll of Vengeance (US) / The Vengeful Spirit Doll (J)	31	29
332	The Doll's Trap (US) / The Doll's Trap (J)	31	29
333	Aloha School (US) / Ranma Goes Hawaiian! (J)	31	29
334	The Glowing Girl	32	30
335	The Other Rogue! (US) / Rounge Shape-Changes! (J)	32	30
336	Source of Power: Owner's Manual (US) / How to Use the "Source of Power" (J)	32	30
337	A Beautiful Friendship (US) / Two Platonic Flames (J)	32	30
338	Beware! The Blows of Strength (US) / Secret Fist! Empty-Handed Filial Piety Random Strike! (J)	32	30
339	The White Lily (US) / Asuka of the White Lily (J)	32	30
340	Battle of the Boyfriends! (US) / Black vs. White! A Boyfriend Duel?! (J)	32	30
341	The Chosen One	32	30
342	Ranma's Plot (US) / Ranma's Master Plan (J)	32	30
343	The First Time Said What I Felt (US) / My Feelings for Akane (J)	32	30
344	The Great Divide (US) / The Distance Between the Two (J)	32	30
345	Love Medicine (US) / The Healing Power of Lust (J)	33	31
346	Kasumi Gets Mad (US) / Kasumi is Angry (J)	33	31
347	The Mushroom of Time (US) / The Mushroom of Ages (J)	33	31
348	To the Mushroom Forest! (US) / Return to the Mushroom Forest (J)	33	31
349	16cm Short (US) / Quest for 16 Cm (J)	33	31
350	The Two Shampoos (US) / Two Shampoos (J)	33	31
351	Payback's a Saint (US) / I'll Repay You Back Tonight (J)	33	31
352	Drawn and Quartered Horse (US) / Trouble with "Ema's" (J)	33	31
353	Saotome Family (Onsen) Vacation (US) / The Saotome Family Hot Springs Trip (J)	33	31
354	Stop that Octopus! (US) / An Octopus is Following Me (J)	33	31
355	Masked Death Match! (US) / Fierce Battle! Mask Death March (J)	33	31
356	Shotgun Beans!! (US) / Bean Throwing Night (J)	34	32
357	The Little Heart (US) / Little Heart (J)	34	32
358	Whack the Principal (US) / The Delinquent Teacher (J)	34	32
359	Bow Down! (US) / Ranma, Take a Bow! (J)	34	32
360	Busted! (US) / Bust Battle (J)	34	32
361	The Punishment of Perv-Boy! (US) / Punishment! The Perverted Juvenile (J)	34	32
362	Mama, Papa and Tata (US) / Father and Mother (J)	34	32
363	Looking His Best (US) / First Clear Meeting (J)	34	32
364	See Me for What I Am (US) / Please See the Real Me (J)	34	32
365	Incense of Spring Sleep (US) / The Smell of Nightmares (J)	34	32
366	The Three-Year Smile of Death (US) / The Smiling Three Year Death (J)	34	32
367	The Two Ranmas	35	33
368	An Isosceles Love Triangle (US) / Triangle Relationship (J)	35	33
369	Get That Compact! (US) / Get Rid of that Mirror! (J)	35	33
370	The Ultimate Couple (US) / The Final Goodbye (J)	35	33
371	Playing House (US) / Nabiki's Revenge (J)	35	33
372	The Sisters of Terror! (US) / Oh no! Sexy Kunoichi Sisters (J)	35	33
373	The Saddest Kunoichi (US) / The Wrath of Kunoichi (J)	35	33
374	Runaway Ninja! (US) / Konatsu, the Runaway (J)	35	33
375	Ranma vs. Konatsu	35	33
376	Konatsu's Happiness	35	33
377	Bamboo Leaves of Love (US) / The Leaves that Bind (J)	35	33
378	The Conspiracy of Jellyfish Beach	36	34
379	Coming Soon (US) / Ryoga and Akari's Date (J)	36	34
380	A Visit to the Family Grave (US) / Saotome's Visit the Grave (J)	36	34
381	The Saotome Family Reunion (US) / Mr. and Mrs. Saotome Reunite (J)	36	34
382	A Mother's Doubts (US) / A Mother's Suspicion (J)	36	34
383	Ranma's Seppuku (US) / Ranma and Seppuku (J)	36	34
384	Reunion and Farewell (US) / Meeting and Parting (J)	36	34
385	Goodbye Ranma?! (US) / Ranma Leaves the Tendo Home (J)	36	34
386	A Package from Mother (US) / A Gift from Mom (J)	36	34
387	Bet on the Ring!! (US) / Wear the Ring!! (J)	36	34
388	The Sales Force (US) / Trying to Prosper (Forcefully) (J)	36	34
389	The Messenger from Jusenkyo (US) / A Messenger from Jusenkyo (J)	37	35
390	Battle for the Map! (US) / Battle for the Map of Jusenkyo (J)	37	35
391	Egg Shampoo (US) / The Hatchling (J)	37	35
392	China Bound!! (US) / Ranma Returns to China (J)	37	35
393	The Prince of Ho'o Peak (US) / The Prince of Mount Phoenix (J)	37	35
394	The Labyrinth Beneath (US) / Journey into the Center of Mount Phoenix (J)	37	35
395	Dogfight above the Peak (US) / Aerial Battle at Mount Phoenix (J)	37	35
396	Akane in the Spring (US) / Akane... in Jusenkyo? (J)	37	35
397	Bad News at Jusenkyo (US) / Jusenkyo's Disaster (J)	37	35
398	Akane Breaks Out! (US) / Akane Escapes! (J)	37	35
399	The Phoenix and the Dragon (US) / Phoenix and Dragon (J)	38	36
400	The Saffron Egg (US) / Saffron Transforms! (J)	38	36
401	The Spout of the Dragon (US) / The Dragon Tap (J)	38	36
402	A Last, Sweet Memory (US) / The Final Memory (J)	38	36
403	Saffron Reborn (US) / Saffron is Reborn (J)	38	36
404	Ranma Battles Saffron!! (US) / Fight! Ranma vs. Saffron (J)	38	36
405	The Power of the Gekkaja (US) / The Gekkaja's Power (J)	38	36
406	Akane's Smile	38	36
407	The Final Chapter (US) / Finale: Ranma and Akane (J)	38	36

Best Street Performer

This was taken in Victoria, BC. He was actually pretty good too.

Mt Rainier Pic

Taken last August on our trek to Mt. Rainier.

Bug-eyed Butterfly

Here's a butterfly from the Butterfly House at the Pacific Science Center.

Week in Review

Wow, the week is over. Once again, it went by too fast. What have I done in the last 7 days? Lets see…

I saw Glenn Beck with Bonnie, Tasha, and Brenda last Saturday. It was fun seeing all of the people there, and slightly disappointing that there weren’t more protesters outside. We almost didn’t get in since they ran out of tickets before we got to the window to buy them. After waiting around, and after many people had left, someone came out and told them to take our money and let us in. So we did get in after all. I also bought a Gadsden flag while standing in line for tickets. Thanks Bonnie for taking us.

Sunday was Amy and Shaun’s wedding. That was fun. The band really could have used more practice and the reception was really long. The food was good, the speeches were entertaining, and the slideshow was fun to watch as well.

Didn’t do much during the rest of the week except look for a real job, earn a few bucks, and run errands for grandparents. I really should have spent more time watching TV, reading, and relaxing but there isn’t enough time in the week for that.

Space Needle

Taken this summer when we all went down to the Science Center.

McDonald's Sandwiches

McDonald’s, my favorite source of fast-food based breakfasts, currently has their Sausage McMuffin on sale for $1. This would be very good for me, except for one problem, I really enjoy the Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich much more than its eggless cousin. The Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich is still priced at $2.49 (or $2.59 at some locations around here), that’s $1.49 simply for an egg fried into the shape of a patty. That’s roughly half the price of a dozen free-range, organic, large, AA grade eggs from Amazon Fresh.

Being my usual, frugal self I asked how much it cost for the egg patty by itself. Those are 65¢. So I ordered a few of the $1 Sausage McMuffins and an equal number of egg patties. I saved 84¢, plus tax, per sandwich just by adding the egg myself.

McDonald’s would be making 84¢ additional profit by paying an employee to put that egg on my sandwich. Assuming a very slow employee takes 15 seconds to get an egg from the warming box and place it on a sandwich, and that employee has no other job requirements during the breakfast rush, that egg placer would be generating $201.60 in value per hour, minus the cost of the eggs and the local minimum wage as their pay.

Me, with experience working in very high-volume, fast-food production could probably do that egg placement in 3-4 seconds, generating 4-5x the value per hour. If they were to offer me $100 per hour I could probably bring myself to inserting myself in the machine known as the McDonald’s kitchen. Sadly, I do not believe there are any fast-food restaurants in this area that receive the volume of business required to keep me completely busy during the breakfast hours.

This is not an endorsement of McDonald’s as either a healthy meal option, nor as a good value for your money. Their breakfast food merely tastes good to me, and therefore I am writing about my experience.

What does this country need?

If you said LESS agents patrolling the US/Mexican border, you are an idiot. You'd also be in agreement with the Obama administration, which has decided to cut almost 400 agents from patrols next year. Most of these agents are being redeployed to the US/Canadian border. Although I do live within 100 miles of the US/Canadian border I haven't seen a huge problem in this area with illegal Canadians swarming into this area and sapping all of our public services. Read the whole article here.

The Fair

Yesterday was time for the annual trek to the Puyallup Fair. We got in using our free student tickets, as usual; despite the fact that these tickets are for ages 6-18. As soon as we were inside the fair we were approached by someone offering a free vacation plus giftcards to places I like to go, for simply sitting through a 90 minute time-share presentation. So a few minutes ago we were thought to be under 18, and now we're assumed to be over 21? Good times. Anyway, I don't make enough money to qualify for the presentation, since they only want to make the offer to someone who can potentially afford a timeshare. Oh well, it was still an interesting experience. Time to go do something productive.

Classic Train

Taken last summer on our trek around Mt Rainier.

Eagle

Eagle at Point Defiance Zoo.

Hot Air Balloon

I'm going to post something at least once every other day, it may only be a random picture I've taken, but it will be something. Stay tuned.

Who Profits When You Buy Gas?

How much money does the oil company make per gallon of gas sold? Let’s find out.

For this calculation I am using ExxonMobil, since I have their 2008 annual report sitting on my desktop at the moment. In 2008, ExxonMobil had total revenues of $477.36 billion. Of that, they paid $36.53 billion in taxes (≈7.65%) and had net profits of $45.22 billion (≈9.47% margin). Using these figures, we’ll calculate the profit on the average gallon of gas sold in Washington State assuming the sale cost is $2.999 per gallon.

Assuming we buy one gallon of gas for $2.999 at an ExxonMobil gas station:

18.4¢ is paid to the Federal government in fuel taxes
37.5¢ is paid to the State of Washington in fuel taxes
I do not believe we pay sales tax on top of the fuel tax (I could be wrong), and I am assuming no additional, local taxes are added to the bill.

After these taxes are subtracted from the original $2.999 sale, ExxonMobil keeps $2.44 per gallon. They then pay an average of $0.187 in state and federal taxes on that revenue, the 7.65% calculated above. ExxonMobil will spend $2.253 per gallon in operating expenses; drilling or buying crude oil, refining the oil into gasoline, transporting to the gas station, operating the gas station, etc. That leaves the 9.47% margin calculated above, or $0.231 per gallon.

When the governments make more than three times as much per gallon of gas as the oil company does, I think we have a problem. The government isn’t doing the work, yet they are receiving the most financial benefit. I see a problem that must be corrected. And the inmates that are currently running the asylum think the "evil" oil companies aren't paying their fair share? What is "their fair share"?

9-9-9

Today is 09-09-09. If you would have seen the clock this morning at 09:09:09, there would have been a lot of 9's. Carry on.

Dear Congress: Not Yours to Give!

I recalled a biography I read in 5th or 6th grade about Davy Crockett. Here's a chunk of it. The full book is entitled The Life of Colonel David Crockett published in 1884 by Edward Sylvester Ellis. Every member of our Congress should read this passage and follow Crockett's lead. Our country would be much better off if such a thing were to happen.


One day in the House of Representatives a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The Speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose:

"Mr. Speaker--I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has not the power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him.

"Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week's pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."

He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and, instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt, it would, but for that speech, it received but few votes, and, of course, was lost.

Later, when asked by a friend why he had opposed the appropriation, Crockett gave this explanation:

"Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and drove over as fast as we could. In spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made houseless, and, besides, some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold, and when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them. The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done.

"The next summer, when it began to be time to think about election, I concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but, as the election was some time off, I did not know what might turn up. When riding one day in a part of my district in which I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that we should meet as he came to the fence. As he came up, I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but, as I thought, rather coldly.

"I began: 'Well, friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called
candidates, and---‘


"Yes I know you; you are Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before, and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out electioneering now, but you had better not waste your time or mine, I shall not vote for you again."

"This was a sockdolager...I begged him to tell me what was the matter.

" ’Well, Colonel, it is hardly worth-while to waste time or words upon it. I do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for expressing it in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the Constitution is very different from mine; and I will say to you what, but for my rudeness, I should not have said, that I believe you to be honest.
…But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I cannot overlook, because the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred, and rigidly observed in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the more dangerous the more honest he is.'

" 'I admit the truth of all you say, but there must be some mistake about it, for I do not remember that I gave any vote last winter upon any constitutional question.’

“ ‘No, Colonel, there’s no mistake. Though I live in the backwoods and seldom go from home, I take the papers from Washington and read very carefully all the proceedings of Congress. My papers say that last winter you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by a fire in Georgetown. Is that true?’

" ‘Well, my friend; I may as well own up. You have got me there. But certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with a full and overflowing Treasury, and I am sure, if you had been there, you would have done just as I did.'

" ‘It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of; it is the principle. In the first place, the government ought to have in the Treasury no more than enough for its legitimate purposes. But that has nothing with the question. The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man, particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff, which reaches every man in the country, no matter how poor he may be, and the poorer he is the more he pays in proportion to his means. What is worse, it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers, for there is not a man in the United States who can ever guess how much he pays to the government. So you see, that while you are contributing to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off than he. If you had the right to give anything, the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you, and you had as much right to give $20,000,000 as $20,000. If you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all; and, as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. 'No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose. If twice as many houses had been burned in this county as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other member of Congress would have thought of appropriating a dollar for our relief. There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress. If they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing each one week's pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are plenty of wealthy men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life.' "The congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if reports be true, some of them spend not very creditably; and the people about Washington, no doubt, applauded you for relieving them from the necessity of giving by giving what was not yours to give. The people have delegated to Congress, by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and a violation of the Constitution.'

" 'So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in what I consider a vital point. It is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it, and no security for the people. I have no doubt you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better, except as far as you are personally concerned, and you see that I cannot vote for you.'

"I tell you I felt streaked. I saw if I should have opposition, and this man should go to talking, he would set others to talking, and in that district I was a gone fawn-skin. I could not answer him, and the fact is, I was so fully convinced that he was right, I did not want to. But I must satisfy him, and I said to him:

" ‘Well, my friend, you hit the nail upon the head when you said I had not sense enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided by it, and thought I had studied it fully. I have heard many speeches in Congress about the powers of Congress, but what you have said here at your plow has got more hard, sound sense in it than all the fine speeches I ever heard. If I had ever taken the view of it that you have, I would have put my head into the fire before I would have given that vote; and if you will forgive me and vote for me again, if I ever vote for another unconstitutional law I wish I may be shot.'

"He laughingly replied; 'Yes, Colonel, you have sworn to that once before, but I will trust you again upon one condition. You say that you are convinced that your vote was wrong. Your acknowledgment of it will do more good than beating you for it. If, as you go around the district, you will tell people about this vote, and that you are satisfied it was wrong, I will not only vote for you, but will do what I can to keep down opposition, and, perhaps, I may exert some little influence in that way.'

" ‘If I don't’, said I, 'I wish I may be shot; and to convince you that I am in earnest in what I say I will come back this way in a week or ten days, and if you will get up a gathering of the people, I will make a speech to them. Get up a barbecue, and I will pay for it.'

" ‘No, Colonel, we are not rich people in this section, but we have plenty of provisions to contribute for a barbecue, and some to spare for those who have none. The push of crops will be over in a few days, and we can then afford a day for a barbecue. This is Thursday; I will see to getting it up on Saturday week. Come to my house on Friday, and we will go together, and I promise you a very respectable crowd to see and hear you.’

" 'Well, I will be here. But one thing more before I say good-bye. I must know your name.’

" 'My name is Bunce.'

" 'Not Horatio Bunce?'

" 'Yes.’

" 'Well, Mr. Bunce, I never saw you before, though you say you have seen me, but I know you very well. I am glad I have met you, and very proud that I may hope to have you for my friend.'

"It was one of the luckiest hits of my life that I met him. He mingled but little with the public, but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence and incorruptible integrity, and for a heart brimful and running over with kindness and benevolence, which showed themselves not only in words but in acts. He was the oracle of the whole country around him, and his fame had extended far beyond the circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had never met him, before, I had heard much of him, and but for this meeting it is very likely I should have had opposition, and had been beaten. One thing is very certain, no man could now stand up in that district under such a vote.

"At the appointed time I was at his house, having told our conversation to every crowd I had met, and to every man I stayed all night with, and I found that it gave the people an interest and a confidence in me stronger than I had ever seen manifested before.

"Though I was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and, under ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, I kept him up until midnight, talking about the principles and affairs of government, and got more real, true knowledge of them than I had got all my life before.

"I have known and seen much of him since, for I respect him - no, that is not the word - I reverence and love him more than any living man, and I go to see him two or three times every year; and I will tell you, sir, if every one who professes to be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as he does, the religion of Christ would take the world by storm.

"But to return to my story. The next morning we went to the barbecue, and, to my surprise, found about a thousand men there. I met a good many whom I had not known before, and they and my friend introduced me around until I had got pretty well acquainted - at least, they all knew me.

"In due time notice was given that I would speak to them. They gathered up around a stand that had been erected. I opened my speech by saying:

" ‘Fellow-citizens - I present myself before you today feeling like a new man. My eyes have lately been opened to truths which ignorance or prejudice, or both, had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel that I can today offer you the ability to render you more valuable service than I have ever been able to render before. I am here today more for the purpose of acknowledging my error than to seek your votes. That I should make this acknowledgment is due to myself as well as to you. Whether you will vote for me is a matter for your consideration only.’"

"I went on to tell them about the fire and my vote for the appropriation and then told them why I was satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying:

" ‘And now, fellow-citizens, it remains only for me to tell you that the most of the speech you have listened to with so much interest was simply a repetition of the arguments by which your neighbor, Mr. Bunce, convinced me of my error.

" ‘It is the best speech I ever made in my life, but he is entitled to the
credit for it. And now I hope he is satisfied with his convert and that he will get up here and tell you so.'

"He came upon the stand and said:

" ‘Fellow-citizens - It affords me great pleasure to comply with the request of Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him a thoroughly honest man, and I am satisfied that he will faithfully perform all that he has promised you today.'

"He went down, and there went up from that crowd such a shout for Davy Crockett as his name never called forth before.'

"I am not much given to tears, but I was taken with a choking then and felt some big drops rolling down my cheeks. And I tell you now that the remembrance of those few words spoken by such a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is worth more to me than all the honors I have received and all the reputation I have ever made, or ever shall make, as a member of Congress.'

"Now, sir," concluded Crockett, "you know why I made that speech yesterday.

"There is one thing now to which I will call your attention. You remember that I proposed to give a week's pay. There are in that House many very wealthy men - men who think nothing of spending a week's pay, or a dozen of them, for a dinner or a wine party when they have something to accomplish by it. Some of those same men made beautiful speeches upon the great debt of gratitude which the country owed the deceased--a debt which could not be paid by money--and the insignificance and worthlessness of money, particularly so insignificant a sum as $10,000, when weighed against the honor of the nation. Yet not one of them responded to my proposition. Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it."

Happy Countdown Day!

Today is countdown day in most of the world (except the US). This is because the date is 09/08/07. If the time on the blogspot server is correct, this is being posted at 09/08/07 06:05 04.321s AM
09 - Year
08 - Month
07 - Day
06 - Hour
05 - Minute
04.321 - Second

Hooray for Dumb Surveys!

Doing one of the countless surveys I regularly receive I noticed that the survey program was much more dumb than usual. The first set of questions asked me which fast food restaurants I had visited in the last 4 weeks and how many times I frequented said restaurants. I filled in that I had gone to both Taco Bell and Arby’s once in the past month. Then the survey goes on to ask which of the McDonald’s coffees I had ordered in the last month. There wasn’t an option to say that since I don’t drink coffee I probably wasn’t going to be ordering coffee.

Since I had just told the program that McDonald’s wasn’t one of the two fast food places I’d visited in the previous 4 week, the program should realize that I’m probably not going to be ordering something from a place I haven’t been. Some better programming on their part will allow them to save substantial time in collecting and processing survey data, and save the time of those taking these surveys.

Random Quote

Engineering 101: If it shouldn't move, you need duct tape. If it should move, you need WD-40

Don't remember where I heard that.

It Is Finished

After 20 quarters of school, 7 years, and roughly $23,000 paid out of pocket after scholarships and grants, I am now the owner of a BA degree in Business Administration for the University of Washington.

This is now the first June since I was three that I have no idea what I'm going to be doing in the fall.

Government Motors

I sold all of my stock in Government Motors today. I had bought a few hundred shares very cheaply a few weeks ago on the gamble that somehow the government wouldn’t %@#* things up. I obviously had too much faith in those people. On a bright note, TiVo stock did well today on news that they won their lawsuit against EchoStar. So it was not a completely dark day where my portfolio is concerned. Tomorrow may be darker as we learn more about Obama's outright theft of a multi-billion dollar, once great company. Now we get to watch Ford and Toyota fight it out to become that largest car manufacturer in the US.

Expensive is the New Cheap!

Al Gore claims that increasing the cost of energy will reduce the costs to American citizens. How does this work out. It’s very simple by his “logic”, if that’s what you call it.

Gore defended the science that warns of a potential climate crisis later this century and insisted the blueprint outlined by House Democrats would address the problem without soaring prices for Americans.
"I think the cost of energy will come down when we make this transition to renewable energy," said Gore, who predicted economic costs would be much greater if global warming is not reined in by a shift from the use of fossil fuels. Democrats argued that the development of renewable and energy efficient technologies will produce jobs and mitigate cost increases.

Basically Gore believes that if they make it too expensive for the average person to live at their current standard of living because of increased energy prices, we can then save money by switching to cheaper, alternative energy sources. Why don’t we just switch to those cheaper, alternative sources of energy today? Because they’re too expensive and unreliable today. So his goal is to get Congress to implement restrictions that will increase the costs of most forms of energy generation so high that we will clamor for the ones that are too expensive today.

What will this mean for most Americans if implemented? We’d likely see gas prices so expensive that some people may quit their jobs in order to find a slightly lower paying job closer to home in order to save money on transportation. Others might decide that it would be more effective to try to move closer to their current job location and hope they still have a job to justify the move. Some might have to make the choice between heating their homes or cooking a meal. Those of us who aren’t paid tens of millions of dollars to fly around the world and preach about how evil it is to consume more than the bare minimum of energy will be priced right out of our current standard of living.

Electricity costs would skyrocket in most of the country. If we are forced to get most of our electricity from sources such as wind and solar, we’re going to be screwed on a calm, cloudy day, and pretty much every night. If we are forced to use subsidized corn to make ethanol, food prices will increase, fuel prices will increase, fuel economy will decrease, and our cars will wear out faster.

Here's the article I found.

Foxtrot Comic

I saw this and laughed. Click for larger image.

I Hate HP & Best Buy

I had to send my laptop into Best Buy to get fixed, since it has issues. I sent it in on the 19th of March, and picked it up today. I had issues with the screen resizing itself, the keyboard occasionally not registering the keys I typed, and the whole computer just crashing randomly. I know that an entire generation of HP laptops contains bad chips made by nVidia. HP has acknowledged that some of its laptops are severely messed up and has extended the warranties on a few dozen models because of those issues.

My machine counts as one of the ones that are messed up, but not enough of them are messed enough for HP to extend the warranty on them. I contacted HP and they told me to take it to Best Buy, since they do warranty repairs for HP. Three weeks later (the day after I was supposed to get my laptop back) I get a call from the HP service center in California saying that they need my authorization to do a hard drive replacement. They said that they didn’t find any of the problems that I have been experiencing for the last few months, but they said that my hard drive failed and that they needed my authorization to replace it at a cost of $236 for parts and labor. I asked them why it wouldn’t be covered under the warranty, so the guy asked the HP representative there about it. The HP guy said that since I bought the laptop on eBay, they wouldn’t honor the 12 month warranty and thus I would have to pay for any and all repairs. (I’ve dealt with HP before about a hard drive issue, and they replaced it for me for free a few months ago, because that was under warranty, they didn’t care that I bought it from eBay, all they cared was that it was less than a year old, and was therefore covered under warranty.) I said I was not willing to pay that much for a hard drive replacement, so they shipped it back to me without actually doing anything to it, other than it coming back to me with dirt and dust in it that wasn’t there when I gave it to them.

The hard drive I have in my laptop sells for $50 and you need to remove a single screw to take it out of the computer. I really need to find a job where I can get paid $186 to remove a screw and put it back a minute later. If anyone can find me such a job, I would really appreciate it. I ran my own detailed diagnostic on the drive when I got it back and found nothing wrong with it.

HP sent me a survey about my recent experience with them, and I said I was very dissatisfied and explained why. They said they may contact me for follow-up information, and I hope they do.

The people at HP and Best Buy need to actually communicate with each other. Everyone I talked to said they’d make sure the problem was taken care of, except for the guy at the service center. Everyone I talked to at HP and Best Buy said my machine was under warranty, except the guy actually in charge of doing the work. If the HP people, and the Best Buy people I interacted with a month ago had told me that my machine would not be fixed for free, I wouldn’t have been parted from my laptop for almost a month with the hopes of getting it back in full working order. The lady at Best Buy was going to charge me $34 for the labor of looking at my computer, but since I pointed out that her sheet says my computer is still under parts and labor warranty, she didn’t charge me.

I now have no idea if my computer is under warranty or not. One guy at Best Buy said that an HP person told him it wasn’t under warranty, yet everyone else I’ve dealt with at both HP ad Best Buy believed it was under warranty. Everyone needs to be on the same page. Either my machine is under warranty and I want it fixed, or it’s not under warranty and I’ll open it up and try to work something out myself, without the fear of voiding the warranty. And yes,

I wish my experience with Best Buy and HP was more like my experience with Logitech. My wireless headphones broke, and there was a known defect in the plastic used that caused them to break. Not only did Logitech let me know that there was defective plastic used in my headphones, they sent me a pair of the newer, better headphones as a replacement because they would not replace a defective part with a part that would probably fail in the same way. Although I wish that I didn't have to deal with broken headphones, I appreciate that they took the time to ensure that I was satisfied with their product. Here's my post about that situation. And yes, after 15 months, I am very happy with my replacement headphones and they still work great!