My history of chasing the clock is much like yours, although my first effort was taking a Pentium 90Mhz CPU up to...wait for it...100Mhz! Some time later, jacked an AMD K6 from 350 to 450.

Since then, I've tweaked every box I've built some amount, but nothing newsworthy by any stretch.

Currently, have a Core Duo CPU at 2.5Ghz that I've gotten to 3.2Ghz on air. Have a relatively new MSI 560Ti GPU that I created a profile for when I run the Tribes Vengeance beta that jacks the card up a good bit and requires the dual fans to be at 75% to keep a 60C ceiling. My full size ATX case has 7 fans, so it's cool...and loud as hell. I don't care; the CPU never exceeds 40C under load and the GPU is as I mention above.

My reasons for overclocking are entirely practical; I don't want to build another box right now but have SC2, COD MW3, and the aforementioned Tribes title that run more smoothly with the increased clocks than the defaults. So I'm not trying to prove anything...I'm just frugal.

I loved the Pern stories as well as Crystal Singer. Actually, I didn't dislike anything of hers I read.

I suppose Todd will continue writing but I will miss Anne's distinct style a great deal.

The two episodes cited were pretty good, although I don't know they were Hugo quality.

Fringe, though uneven, put up some pretty good stuff this year that was better than DW.

Got to see of these very recently. The execs at my company are always wanting the latest and greatest and we are a Cisco shop with a slew of 79XX IP phones.

We finally went with the Cisco/Tandberg TelePresence EX desktop units. 24 inch monitor that replaces the desktop monitor, integrated video conferencing, and a cool little "mini-me" control pad/handset peripheral.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps7060/ps11303/ps11308/ps11327/images/data_sheet_c78-627494-1.jpg

Hardly portable, and no computing power, but every one of the big office folks has an iPad2 with WebEx, Facetime, etc. on it, so they're happy.

We got Citrix to work very well for application needs that don't run native on iOS, have centralized management of the iDevices in house, so the Cisco tablet made no sense whatsoever.

Still, I imagine some shops will slurp some Cisco Kool-Aid and snap these puppies up. RTFA, Cisco IS hedging their bets with iOS and Android apps for collaboration.

Watching the video, and the homemade RPG reminded me of a SAM my cousins and I built as kids.

1) An Estes model rocket...a WAC Corporal...with a B8-4 motor.
2) A shipping tube with a launch rod glued to the bottom cap.
3) Copper strips glued/screwed to bottom cap with wires running outside to a Burgess B battery and momentary switch from Radio Shack.

You slid the rocket down the tube on the launch rod with the nichrome igniter wires touching the copper strips. Aim, press the switch, and whoosh....a balsa and cardboard Stinger.

We didn't have the C4 and blasting caps for the warhead portion (thankfully), but we could aim and fire a $4 rocket.

The nosecone was to be built from C4 with a blasting cap on the nose and underneath. If you missed a direct impact, the ejection charge from the motor would slam a washer into the underneath blasting cap and still detonate the missile. At least that was our thinking.

Again, we never had anything that actually exploded, but something like this would probably work against low-flying helicopters. A C or D motor would give more range, etc.

Yes, we had way too much time on our hands. One of our test flights did cause 3 casualties...to a neighbor's chickens. A fin came off on launch and the rocket arced into the neighbor's chicken yard at feeding time. The rocket didn't hit the massed birds but 3 apparently died from fright. We paid for the dead birds from allowances and odd jobs.

Years later, in the Air Force, I was assigned to the USAF Rocket Propulsion Lab at Edwards AFB. I managed not to kill or blow up anything there.

Yes, I have an iPhone but I don't feel I'm a fan of Apple nor a critic of Motorola, Android, and all things NOT made by Apple.

What I do insist on is technology that works, out of the box, without RTFM.

I've been in IT 34 years, and in fact retired TODAY (takes a bow) and that has become my litmus test for tech. I was a senior IT manager, primarily networks, for a 20+ billion dollar company and the last thing I had time to dink with was my freakin' phone. That's the primary reason I chose an iPhone.

I don't think Android is going to fail...just too much inertia...but they may not do as well as they envisioned until they get some coherency in their OS and application development. Their blessing is indeed their curse.

I am a fairly skilled poker player (have a positive bankroll) and play on PStars and Full Tilt, and have for years.

At least at this moment, MY accounts are still live and my money is still there. Didn't try to withdraw any, so that may be the litmus test.

But, I can still buy into a cash game or tourney, so I not sure what the DOJ has done that is having any actual effect on the sites doing business as usual.

My commute is 40 miles each way.

I leave in the dark and come home in the dark.

I can do 99% of my job from a keyboard.

I'd telecommute for TWENTY PERCENT less.

Several things.

I'm over 50 years old.

I've corresponded with Roger Ebert several times over the years.

I like and respect him.

I completely disagree with him on 3D in the cinema.

For me, Toy Story 3 was an excellent example of what is possible. Meet The Robinsons was underrated but also had several excellent scenes where the use of 3D made them work better than 2D could have. For the most part, live 3D has a learning curve that hasn't been mastered yet, but I believe that will change.

I don't own a 3D television...yet, but I think I certainly will in another couple of generations of the technology.

I do wear glasses, but don't have headaches or issues with 3D glasses. Maybe I'm lucky or perhaps my cavemen ancestors were blessed with 3D wiring in their brains.

I quite agree.

And yes, while I (or random miscreant) can see the Fritos or Budweiser truck at the 7-11, they're rarely hijacked or robbed. The Wells Fargo truck is heavily armored and has men with guns.

The relative value is quite different for that which is munchies, that which causes munchies or that which buys munchies.

If the 7-11, Fritos truck, or Wells Fargo truck are assailed, police response and serious media coverage are virtually guaranteed. I don't know that would be the case with the pot grower.

I have had several Mazdas and my son is driving a 2004 Mazda3 currently.

Just last week, I took a look at the current Mazda2, which is indeed rated 35mpg for highway driving. I really don't care if a 2013-14 model gets 70mpg as 35mpg is better than the 25mpg I get with my current car.

I have an 80 mile round trip commute to work, so the "extra" 10mpg is something to consider.

Mostly, I just like the way it looks and drives and it's $3-5000 cheaper than the Ford Fiesta. They're not siblings like the Ford Fusion/Mazda 6 cars; the Mazda2 and Fiesta only share a few parts.

Interesting reading on this subject; enjoying the comments.

I actually did some design work on a 3D television solution that does not require glasses similar to Phillips.

As such, I can agree and disagree on a lot of the posts about TECHNOLOGY, but I won't.

I wholeheartedly agree with "it's the content, stupid!"

Excluding the 800 pound blue gorilla called "Avatar", I would offer two other current films as examples: Piranha 3D and Toy Story 3.

We're a Dell shop at work and by default, all "road warriors" have Computrace installed on their machines.

While it doesn't happen often, we do suffer a loss due to theft now and then.

My experience has been that the local PD is very helpful and sends a copy of the police report to Computrace, exchanges contact data, and at least professes interest in recovering the laptop.

Worst case; we get a check in 6 months if the unit is not found.

I know this is a little late for you now, but if your insurance replaces the unit, you might want to add the $$ for CT.

...may be hazardous to your health.

Apparently, EVERY damn thing that is fun,entertaining, or otherwise distracts us from reality is DANGEROUS.

And you know what? I'm pushing 60 and simply don't give a shit if it kills me anymore.

So, I think I'll pour a drink of good bourbon, load the bong, and watch 3D movies until my eyes explode or the Surgeon General kicks in my door...whichever comes first.

I read about the original research and hadn't heard anything for a while and wondered if HP was still working on this.

Personally, I feel this is OUTSTANDING news. RTFA, they think they'll get 20GB on a square centimeter. And have a viable competitor to flash memory in 3 years.

Instead of "coming on Blu-Ray Tuesday!", it'll be "coming on MR-Chip Tuesday!"

Of course, when they get the 4D version working, that'll change to "coming last week on MR-Chip!"

( And yes, I just copyrighted "MR-Chip"...)