jmc

Bermuda

ordinary

Donald

crankshaft

Wheee! Actual heels now, click, click! OK, they're only kittens but they really are heels!

madness

snowbank

You are a classic beauty, Gina.

We know "balderdash" here on this side of the big puddle. (How could we not, given our political system and news media?) It is not a commonly used word here but I am certain most Americans would understand it to mean "false or misleading statements, ranging from outright lies to subterfuge" (that's my definition). "Piffle" is also known here, at least I recognize that word. Again, it is not a commonly used word here but I have run across it in some British literature back in my school days. Here, it is fairly synonymous with "trivia". "Piffle" is not false, so it is not "balderdash" but it is so inconsequential as to be valueless. No, I'm not an English major, I'm an engineer.

I agree, getting old sucks. . . . . .but the alternative sucks even more!

Well, the spammers have definitely found this place!

Agreed, SQ. You got one butt in one seat -- you got one person. Some of this stuff is trying to carry things a bit too far.

I got some nice stretchers from "wood-n-stuff.com" on eBay. A bit pricey but they are high quality, well made and will likely last as long as I will need them.

This is going to start off a little off-topic but I'll try to make it interesting: A while back I did some experimenting with speech-synthesis chips, back when they first started to appear. (For non-techies, this was in the eighties.) Now a lot of the early speech synthesizers (and most of the modern ones too) tend to make "mistakes" pronouncing regular, everyday speech. For instance, if one were to have a run-of-the-mill speech synthesizer read this post it would likely mis-pronounce a number of words. This is because the English language has far too many conflicting and completely arbitrary rules regarding spelling and pronunciation (but that is another issue). With concentration, one could understand the output from the synthesizers but there would be a few syllables pronounced incorrectly. Modern synthesizers are significantly more accurate because of advanced software but they still get a word wrong from time to time. One thing I noticed about even the early speech chips was they could "cuss like a stevedore". They never got a "four-letter" word wrong, regardless of the context. I guess that is because swear words are generally monosyllabic and quite phonetic. Some people believe that swearing is the mark of a small mind, I think it indicates the lack of thought -- because I've heard a lot of fairly intelligent people swear. If a dumb piece of silicon (literally a chunk of a rock, as in a computer chip) can swear then it does not take a whole lot of gray matter (brains) to do it. Further, modern society has become inured to swearing, we hear it so often that it has lost its "shock value". When Rhett Butler spoke his four-letter utterance at the end of "Gone With the Wind" in the Forties, movie-goers worldwide were shocked. In modern times, his word is positively mild -- in fact it really is not a "swear word" at all to most of us anymore. When the "shock value" wears off the only recourse is to "turn up the volume" in an attempt to regain it. This has gone through several cycles and that brings us to where we are now. Now some may call me a prude, some who know me better may even (correctly) call me a hypocrite as I do use the occasional four-letter word myself. But I do believe the use of such language should be avoided whenever possible, especially in "polite company". And in the presence of children it is simply unexcusable.

I've had no problem with a Sony CD-Mavica USB and Windows 98 and a Minolta Dimage Z1 and Windows 98. You may have to find a USB driver for Win98, it may take some looking on the Internet. Start with the CD that came with your camera, look for a Win98 directory on that CD. If that fails, try the camera manufacturers' web-site. I wholeheartedly agree with the posters praising Linux. I prefer Slackware myself and use it whenever possible. I have also used Turbo-Linux, Red Hat, Fedora Core 3, SuSE, and Debian -- they are all great. But, alas my work projects involve Windows so I have to wade through that muck all too often. But Linux -- and I love it fully -- is not for the faint-of-heart. Setting it up, configuring it, and getting everything to work can take some technical expertise most novices simply do not have. But once you get it going it is more stable and capable than any O.S. I have ever used. Plus, being an occasional programmer, I appreciate the full suite of development tools that come with Linux. I have decided that any attempt to stay on the "cutting edge" of computer technology is an exercise in futility because it changes so fast. If you have a system that does what you want it to do, stay with it regardless of how antiquated people say it is. If it isn't working for you, then upgrade -- but do so on your schedule, not Bill Gates's.

I tend to read the posts a lot more than I write -- as evidenced by my post count. I started out in "lurker mode" and for the most part I still operate that way. I find that a lot of the existing posts on this board discuss most topics in great depth and detail and I often feel I really don't have all that much to add. Personally, I see little reason to post "I agree" or "Right on!" or "Hear, Hear!" repeatedly, after all this is a forum for discussion, not an election. I am not in total agreement that this board has become monotonous, if it had I would not keep stopping by and reading posts. There are a lot of active new members too -- this board may not be "jumping" but I believe it still has a great deal of life.

I was a lurker too for quite some time before I registered and I still mostly operate in lurker mode now. I find our subject matter is quite well covered to a great depth on this board and I usually don't think I have much to add. But if I have something to say I'll post it.

There is another source for men's legwear in a number of different styles:

www.comfilon.com

They work well with heels and seem to hold up better than ordinary nylons.

I have seen e-mail addresses posted on Web sites as: "someone AT somenetwork DOT whatever" -- instead of the more familiar: "someone@somenetwork.whatever" -- presumably to foil spammers. Does this work? And would it work here? Of course, it will probably be about another fifteen minutes before the spammers modify their data mining packages to recognize the obfuscated e-mail addresses.

Maybe there would be less strife and war if women were running the countries.

. . .not so sure about that. Ever seen women go after each other? It can be downright nasty!

Yeah, I agree -- getting old sucks. But the alternative sucks even more!!! Either way, we ain't got much choice. . .

I voted "I don't care either way" which seems to be a viewpoint shared by a distinct minority. I don't care because I generally skip Mr. Turbo's posts. I do not come here for political debate, if I were seeking political debate I am fairly certain that the Internet offers such forums elsewhere. Instead, I consider this forum to be a place where we can all engage in a lighthearted discussion of a subject we all hold dear.

Well, either way someone must have had a party under that one tree -- there's a good 50 pairs up there!

I have a question I'd like to present to the forum. It's not a life-changing, soul- searching, or even a world- changing question, it's just a product of simple curiosity. I am posting it here because it has a little bit to do with shoes and I've noticed a some members here have some expertise in that subject . More importantly, this forum has members with backgrounds in cultures all over the world so I figure somebody here might know about this. In my travels around the USA I have occasionally noticed a tree in which some number of shoes has been hung -- usually by the laces but if the particular shoe is so equipped, by straps or other means. Sometimes it's a lot of shoes, like in the hundreds while other times it is just a couple dozen. Some look like they have bee thrown up there and looped around a sturdy branch, others look like somebody climbed a ladder and carefully placed them there. The shoes seem to be always in pairs, and in a goodly array of styles. They usually appear to be worn, sometimes heavily -- although some have been there a while and it may be hard to tell. I have seen work boots, sneakers (or trainers for those of you on the other side of the big puddle), sandals, wing tips, klompen (Dutch wooden shoes), hiking boots, and even high heels suspended in such trees. One tree had a pair of ice skates hanging from a branch (I worried about those laces deteriorating to the point where the skates would fall from that tree. That could be dangerous for somebody standing below.) The trees themselves always seem to be old, sturdy maples and they are usually located near a highway. Okay, the question -- Is there some significance to this? I have not been able to find anybody who could tell me anything about this practice -- Is it a custom somewhere? Is it for "good luck" or to ward off evil -- or to leave a mark for posterity? I have a feeling there has to be something interesting behind all this. Thanks.

Wow -- 4100 posts -- thatsa lotta typing!