http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi...

This seems the most likely origin of his tale. Not a 1947 Piper Cub, not a farmer, but the story is close enough.
Unfortunately none of the links are working on the Snopes website to check out the sources.

The article states "Ten years later, the Xbox 360 is the best-selling video-game system of its generation in the United States, where more people plug it into their TVs than either Sony's PlayStation 3 or Nintendo's Wii (emphasis mine), and it's making Microsoft a contender in the fierce battle to serve up entertainment on demand, especially from Internet video services. "
 
  That makes for a nice story but the Wii has worldwide sales of almost 90M compared to the Xbox 360's 55-57M. If you take into account the poor reliability of the 360 relative to both the PS3 (which is neck and neck in total sales) and the Wii, it's easily third in consoles currently in use.

The submitter is just quoting TFA.

MS hasn't sold the Xbox 360 at a loss for years. That $150 number was for launch consoles.
http://www.techspot.com/news/23612-microsoft-makes-tiny-profit-on-xbox-360-hardware.html
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2006/11/16/ps3-loses-up-to-306-per-unit-xbox-360-profits-76-per-sale.htm

It took them less than a year to get costs low enough that they made a profit on each console.

I should have included the link in my original reply:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/technology/24cnd-facebook.html?ex=1350964800&en=c27e6c86844c7723&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Microsoft paid $240 million for a 1.6% share of Facebook which yields the $15 billion valuation listed in the summary.

Because when the Devil created Gingers, he only gave the ability to croon to Astley.

The rate changes are being phased in gradually, some parking spaces that cost $0.25/hour last year cost $1/hour this year and by 2013 will cost $2/hour. If you consider that its been that rate for quite some time, its not that bad, but its still an awful steep increase to do in such a short time. Other rates hits aren't yet quite so bad; the $3/hour Loop parking is now $3.50/hour but will hit $6.50/hour by 2013. The thing that irks me the most is that there isn't a parking holiday anymore. Most metered parking was free overnight and Sunday's (plus a handful of actual holidays, Christmas, Labor day, etc) but now you always have to pay.

MS isn't sending new hardware, they send you back a refurbished machine. Its a lot cheaper to send out someone else's crappy machine than it is to send brand new hardware. Some people have reported getting back their exact same broken hardware, still broken (multiple times).

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/13/news/international/opec_forecast.reut/index.htm

World oil demand has fallen and will continue to fall in 2009. The $105/barrel difference was mostly due to speculation, but the rest of it is due to low demand. Now if that would only translate to lower gas prices. Gasoline averaged $1.61 on Dec. 30, its up to almost $2 today, yet oil has dropped ~$5/barrel in that time

http://renzey.casinocitytimes.com/articles/8863.html
Not the greatest source, but it explains how this is a myth. Yes, a poor player can affect your odds on one hand, but it works both ways. Most blackjack players get miffed, not because you are affecting their hand, but because you are being an idiot.

Reservoir Dogs opened in a whopping 19 theaters making that a respectable $7781 per theater. Memento opened in 11 theaters, making $21,408 per theater. Your point is still valid since neither movie was ever wide released (Memento made it into 531 theaters, RD only 61), but to only point to opening weekend numbers is almost meaningless. As a recent example, Gran Torino only made $271,720 on opening weekend, but has gone on to gross over $100M. Just because a movie opens in limited release does not mean it won't end up making money.