Something Random

[ddrueding]

I only have 2 pieces of advice.

1. She evaluated you and made the decision to come based on her past interactions with you. Assuming those were more or less how you actually are, don't change too much.

2. While that looks like a lovely hotel, and kind/thoughtful gestures are always appreciated, be careful setting the bar too high. Sooner or later someone will expect you to maintain those standards for a looooong time.



-Anecdote to #2: I started dating this girl and brought a dozen red roses to our first date. The response was favorable, so I brought a dozen more to the second date. That is when I noticed she had hung the first dozen for drying. We dated for over a year with me doing the same until I was running late and didn't stop to buy some. At some point in there, buying roses was no longer earning me points, and not buying roses lost me points. I had never since brought flowers to a date.

 

[Pradeep]

I think roses on the first date are fine. But when you do it every time, it's no longer special. As you say, expected. I'm sure Merc's shiela is made of finer stuff.

 

[Mercutio]

She's not very interested in flowers. I might get some anyway, just in the name of tradition, but probably not roses.

I did send her some for her birthday last year.
I knew where she was working, and Google maps was able to tell me there was a florist's shop just a couple of blocks away.

The funny thing is, at the time I did not know her actual name, only her handle online. But she's over six feet tall and at the time she had long neon pink hair. So I described her to the florist. I ended up not even having to tell the guy where to find her; he already knew who she was and where to find her.

Anyway, I have a basket of stuff for her: bubble bath, comic books, some loose tea and an infuser, pixie stix etc. All of which I know she'll appreciate more than flowers.

So, the other funny thing was, I saw my ex and her partner over the weekend. She came to inspect the girl-worthiness of my apartment (and also to look at my neck, which at this point is healed, thankfully).

We met at a local restaurant that's on about the level of a Friday's or a Chili's and filled with a lot of young families.

So they walk up to me and they're holding a box and grinning.

I open the box. It's filled with condoms of varying sorts, lotions, oils and other, uh, novelty items.

We're sitting in this restaurant, and they're telling me what KY 2-in-1 warming lubricant is good for and pretty openly talking about the fact that they use these things on each other. I cringe every time they pull something new out of the box and start talking about it like somebody doing an infomercial.

Needless to say, we ended up surrounded by empty tables.

 

[MaxBurn]

Awesome man good luck!

I wouldn't call the Hampton a nice hotel but that and the Crown Plaza are my main staples when traveling as a decent place to affordable stay on company dime or when I am spending my own money so IMO good choice.

 

[Mercutio]

It's by far the best of the choices I have.

 

[Handruin]

Good luck with it all. Don't try too hard by going way over the top with everything. If she really likes you, it'll work out, if not, it doesn't matter how much of anything you do or try will make a difference.

I'm one to not buy cut flowers because they don't usually last. I like buying someone special the entire potted plant or flowers. Just something else to consider. That way it gives them something that will last longer and they can remember you by because they'll have to water it.

You know, if this works out, we may not see you on here as much...and that would be for a good reason.

 

[Stereodude]

I realize it none of my business, that I don't know the nature of your relationship with Frodo, and you don't know if I know what I'm talking about, but... I think you're planning to come on a bit too strong. I'm not saying you should pull a full out Deacon on her, but I'd recommend keeping your expectations in check and keeping things casual.

 

[Chewy509]

Awesome man good luck!

Seconded... Hope the meeting goes well.

 

[Mercutio]

I think you're planning to come on a bit too strong.

I'm giving her the comic books and pixie stix (powered sugar in a straw), not the cornucopia of massage oils and condoms. That's my ex's idea of a joke.

Truthfully I have no idea what's going to happen, but from asking the very small number of women in my life the overall consensus is that you don't drive 2000 miles round-trip to see someone without having a pretty good reason.

I am nervous as all hell about this, one way or the other.

 

[ddrueding]

The nervousness of dating is much like the thrill of skydiving. Sucks when you are there, but looking back it seems like such a good time you want to do it again.

Just remember that she choose to make the trip based on what she knows about you. If you have represented yourself well to this point, you will be absolutely fine.

 

[paugie]

Just remember that she choose to make the trip based on what she knows about you. If you have represented yourself well to this point, you will be absolutely fine.

I couldn't agree with this more.
Whatever happens, Merc, I hope you enjoy this visit. I mean, try to enjoy it. If you don't do what you are comfortable with, you won't be happy over the long run.

 

[mubs]

Merc, you're a scholar and a gentleman. I wish you every happiness.

 

[Mercutio]

Thank you, all.

 

[jlangley]

I'm giving her the comic books and pixie stix (powered sugar in a straw), not the cornucopia of massage oils and condoms. That's my ex's idea of a joke.

Truthfully I have no idea what's going to happen, but from asking the very small number of women in my life the overall consensus is that you don't drive 2000 miles round-trip to see someone without having a pretty good reason.

I am nervous as all hell about this, one way or the other.

You'll be fine.

 

[ddrueding]

While I'm sure our most prolific poster is occupied, I just felt like posting something random.

The HD5870 is faster in NFS:Shift than the GTX295. Anyone interested in a secondhand GTX295? It has about 4 months of un-overclocked gaming on it.

I just noticed my machine keeps getting simpler, faster, and more expensive.

 

[Pradeep]

Seems like a glowing endorsement of the 295 there

Given I'm only at 1920*1200 I'm thinking of the 5850. By keeping all the raster backends it provides just as much AA/AF power as the 5870.

I take it this will be running on the 30" at 2560*1600?

 

[Pradeep]

How's the fan noise compared to the 295?

 

[ddrueding]

The fan noise is comparable. I'm only gaming on a 42" 1920x1080 Sharp AQUOS, but I like high framerates. Once I turned it above 4x AA, the framerate went to crap.

 

[Mercutio]

My friend wants to come back again in April if possible, though both coming and going she wound up racing snow in Wyoming (on the first of October), so it may or may not actually happen.

Her drive here took 22 hours, mostly due to bad weather out west.

The best thing for me is that I didn't have any anxiety issues during her visit, which I was very concerned about.

Mostly, though, it went really well.

 

[ddrueding]

I'm glad you had a pleasant time. April is pretty far out, though there isn't much good driving weather between then and now for that part of the country.

 

[timwhit]

My friend wants to come back again in April if possible, though both coming and going she wound up racing snow in Wyoming (on the first of October), so it may or may not actually happen.

Her drive here took 22 hours, mostly due to bad weather out west.

The best thing for me is that I didn't have any anxiety issues during her visit, which I was very concerned about.

Mostly, though, it went really well.

Great news. How was the Cubs game? I was there on Sunday to watch them lose in the last game of the season.

 

[Handruin]

Glad to hear everything went well and you didn't have anxiety issues!

 

[Mercutio]

Great news. How was the Cubs game? I was there on Sunday to watch them lose in the last game of the season.

Neither of us had any idea who any of the players were, but we decided that Bobbie Scales must be a Mafia hitman or something when he isn't playing baseball, so we just rooted for him. The game was awful for actual Cubs fans, and it was really, really cold.

Which actually worked out, 'cause the "huddle together for warmth" thing works really well as an icebreaker.

Wrigley Field does not serve Chicago-style hot dogs, or even all-beef hot dogs, so we ended up getting a proper hot dog from a street vendor outside the Field Museum the next day.

I was also shocked by how easy it was to go from South Shore to the Red line and to get where I needed to go. There were never any lines or crowds, even just coming out of the game.

 

[Striker]

My friend wants to come back again in April if possible, though both coming and going she wound up racing snow in Wyoming (on the first of October), so it may or may not actually happen.

Her drive here took 22 hours, mostly due to bad weather out west.

The best thing for me is that I didn't have any anxiety issues during her visit, which I was very concerned about.

Mostly, though, it went really well.

I'm very pleased to read this and hope that things continue to go well for you.

 

[mubs]

Glad for you, Merc. Since she's visited, perhaps you should consider going to see her next, despite your abhorrence for travel.

 

[CougTek]

I was curious about Mercutio's amount of posts, so I vidited his profile, while not logged in, and what I saw (and that any guest can see) in the visitor message (the one viewed by default) made me :rofl:

VERY subtle, Greg.

 

[Handruin]

That is kind of funny.

 

[udaman]

I was doing a search on airless bike tyres bcuz jtr has them, and I thought about getting some since I don't do much on street riding, and hate getting flats when I do. Would be a PITA to repair flats if I ever get over knee injuries I have now, and use the bike to ride up the Mt. Baldy canyon rd to the trailhead.

Don't know what to make if this guy's massively long paragraph (post#33), if it's for real, then I feel empathy, if not, lmfao!

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=265915&page=2

Never use Airless Tires, the ones with thousands of tiny microscopic air cells, You Will Die if you do, the ****ing tire rolls right off, I got a nice fresh flesh wound from these pieces of ****, I was considering suing the company that made these tires, but thats too much of a headache, so Ill just write this bad review on how suicidal it would be to use Airless Tires

I see that well known bike tyre manufacturer Hutchinson has announced a *tread only/replaceable*, airless tyre system...only it won't be on the market until late '10, and maybe only in mtn bike form.

http://www.hutchinson-pneus.com/en/a_la_une.php?id=221

 

[jtr1962]

Trust me, if you get the proper size tires for your rim, then airless tires are perfectly safe. A lot of people don't bother to measure their rim properly, order the wrong size tires, and then blame the tires falling off on the manufacturer. There's so much FUD spread around the Internet about airless tires that it isn't even funny any more. I did a nice review on CPF after I put a few hundred miles on them:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2723572&postcount=40

After putting nearly 1000 miles on them at speeds as high as 32 mph (yes, I've been cautious but one of these days when conditions are right I'll push the bike past 50), I'd say the rolling resistance difference is close to nil. I'm averaging in the high 14s/low 15s on typical city rides with traffic, lights, and potholes. This is about where I was on the same bike with air tires. Other than the slightly harsher ride, there's no disadvantage here but lots of pluses. Also, if you'll be looking for MTB tires, those are readily available in the new high rebound elastomer which solves both the rolling resistance and harsh ride issues completely (mine weren't). What amazes me isn't that airless tires are this good, but rather that it took so long for them to get to this point. Given that flats are the primary reason people give up cycling, I would think decent airless tires should have been developed years ago.

Oh, and given that guy's accident history, I would take anything he says with a huge grain of salt. He doesn't see bumps, doesn't maintain his brakes, generally seems to ride carelessly. Airless tires or not, he sounds like his own worst enemy.

 

[Mercutio]

Yet more proof that Australians are the greatest of all peoples on this planet, one way or the other.

Maybe not safe for good taste, but I love them for it.

 

[Handruin]

Just an FYI, the content may not be suitable for some while at work.

 

[Mercutio]

Just an FYI, the content may not be suitable for some while at work.

That's why I put in the bit about "good taste."

 

[Handruin]

I saw that you wrote that, but when I first read it, I thought you meant that Australians were maybe not safe. It was just my reading comprehension that failed me.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm just enjoying the fact that any news organization in the English-speaking world would publish something like that in just that way.

 

[ddrueding]

If I ever open a tavern, I'll have to call it the "Humpty Doo Tavern".

 

[Handruin]

The Milk Cartoon just got safer.

 

[Pradeep]

I'm just enjoying the fact that any news organization in the English-speaking world would publish something like that in just that way.

I'm thinking the crash was all to do with the 0.147 he blew on the breatho.

Well it could have been worse:

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/10/02/89421_ntnews.html

"An arrested couple have been sprung shagging in the back of a police paddy wagon while being driven to a Territory cop station."

Not safe for work.

Also, you have to understand that this is the Northern Territory we are tallking about. Drinking and shagging are the two main past times.

 

[CougTek]

I should stock a few low-end PCI-E graphic cards. If I had one this evening, I could have installed Win7 on a fairly high-end system and run the FAH client on eigh cores for the week-end. Too bad...

Now I have to wait until tomorrow to borrow one and install it in the system.

P.S. LGA1156 looks so fragile.

 

[Handruin]

P.S. LGA1156 looks so fragile.

How does it look fragile?

 

[P5-133XL]

Well, I wouldn't be buying into 1156 till this issue gets resolved. It will take a while, but the manufacturers will get their act together over the next few months.