• (cs)

    Fist!

    Addendum (2009-05-29 09:13): Wait for it...

  • (cs)

    While we do appreciate the significance of the wooden table, I think it's begun to lose its edge. Perhaps it's time to move on to taking the pictures on the wooden table, placing them on a fax machine, and posting pictures of that.

  • whatever (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Fist!
    Code Dependent:
    While we do appreciate the significance of the wooden table, I think it's begun to lose its edge. Perhaps it's time to move on to taking the pictures on the wooden table, placing them on a fax machine, and posting pictures of that.

    While we do appreciate the significance of the first post, it held it's edge for like 10 minutes; a day, tops. The time to move on has passed a long time ago...

  • (cs) in reply to whatever
    whatever:
    Code Dependent:
    Fist!
    Code Dependent:
    While we do appreciate the significance of the wooden table, I think it's begun to lose its edge. Perhaps it's time to move on to taking the pictures on the wooden table, placing them on a fax machine, and posting pictures of that.
    While we do appreciate the significance of the first post, it held it's edge for like 10 minutes; a day, tops. The time to move on has passed a long time ago...
    Aw, you snipped my "Wait for it..." addendum. Well, we didn't have to wait long, did we.
  • (cs)

    I hate those scratch off cards. You uncover two or three boxes, thinking you have a shot at $500 but in the end it's just a tease and you're stuck with some worthless card and a pile of scratch-off dust in your lap. If you're really lucky though, maybe you'll get a free ticket so you can ride the same emotional roller coaster all over again.

    Oh well...at least it's recyclable.

  • (cs) in reply to Mark Bowytz
    Mark Bowytz:
    I hate those scratch off cards. You uncover two or three boxes, thinking you have a shot at $500 but in the end it's just a tease and you're stuck with some worthless card and a pile of scratch-off dust in your lap. If you're really lucky though, maybe you'll get a free ticket so you can ride the same emotional roller coaster all over again.

    Oh well...at least it's recyclable.

    I have yet to purchase my first scratchoff card. However, a cow-orker who was riding with me one day after buying some scratchoffs won $3000.

    Sadly for him, the government claimed almost all of it to pay off a student loan he had been neglecting.

  • whatever (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Aw, you snipped my "Wait for it..." addendum. Well, we didn't have to wait long, did we.

    Oh man, you mean I fell for it? This was all a ruse? Fail myself, I guess...

  • (cs) in reply to whatever
    whatever:
    Oh man, you mean I fell for it? This was all a ruse? Fail myself, I guess...
    Ah, but your response had wit and style. I was actually expecting something more KenW-like, along the line of, "Why don't you go on back over to slashdot and play with the other script kiddies, and leave the grownups alone".
  • IT Girl (unregistered)

    Okay, I want to know what part of Canada that barely edibile food came from. I haven't seen powdered food in such generic labelled packaging since I was 8 and my uncle was selling stuff like that for some direct sales kind of company. We used to fold the little boxes to put them in (which were so generic they were blank... and I'm now wishing I still had some to send). The chocolate powder mix tasted like a weird dusty chemical mixture.

    I've seen the salmon in foil, but that chicken "dish" just looks wrong on so many levels.

  • Eric (unregistered)

    You got a travel bug in there ( geocaching.org ) PLEASE return it to the game!

  • Flipper (unregistered)

    OK I can't afford a whole steak right now but if 9 of you will chip in with me I think we can send him something.

    Now, do you want to divide the mug into 10 equal parts or take a 1/10 chance of getting the whole mug?

    Captcha: plaga, but I suspect that was plagarized from another site.

  • Jamie (unregistered) in reply to Mark Bowytz
    Mark Bowytz:
    I hate those scratch off cards. You uncover two or three boxes, thinking you have a shot at $500 but in the end it's just a tease and you're stuck with some worthless card and a pile of scratch-off dust in your lap. If you're really lucky though, maybe you'll get a free ticket so you can ride the same emotional roller coaster all over again.

    Oh well...at least it's recyclable.

    Here's a guy who scratched his ticket and WON and then the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission said "Oh no you did-unt, that's a misprint [beee-atch]".
    WTF?

    Another WTF: Why doesn't the OLG commission say that for ALL the winning tickets?

  • Dirk Myers (unregistered)

    Just a note on the MRE stuff from Canada...

    Avoid making any of the dairy shakes with water that is hotter than lukewarm. I made this mistake one time in April 2003; the water bottle had been sitting out in the sun and was probably 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The speed at which the powdered milk spoiled in my stomach was phenomenal and as such I don't drink them anymore.

    The Cocoa beverage package is a good find and if mixed with the creamer from your condiment pack and a small amount of water makes a tasty 'pudding' topping to put on those crackers.

  • Cheesehead Dave (unregistered) in reply to Eric
    Eric:
    You got a travel bug in there ( geocaching.org ) PLEASE return it to the game!

    At least the TB number was edited out.

  • Eric (unregistered) in reply to Eric

    Yep...

    http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=d90ebda9-bab1-42ce-ad22-4b2b8e63370e

    Dora was last seen in Oct '08 in Ontario.

    Note from Alex: Neat! I'll have to geocache it somewhere...

  • Chris Wenham (unregistered)

    I like the juxtaposition of "FCUK Him", "Versus", "FCUK Her". I never thought of it that way :-)

  • Leo (unregistered)

    Alex got a lot of fcuking perfumes this time.

  • Dennis (unregistered)

    I don't see a scratch-off lottery ticket. I do see what might be a regular lottery slip.

    That scratch-off card with one-time passwords looks similar to the system described here.

    In the context of the ship on the cover of that book, I don't think it's a weather vane. I think it's [just] a compass rose. There's no vane and if there were when the wind hit it the E might be pointing N (or anywhere).

    Captcha: But let's not quibus about it.

  • (cs)

    There are two things you NEVER eat from an MRE: Fish and casserole.

    Anything else doesn't taste so bad if your hungry.

  • (cs)

    Alex, opinions on the MREs? Better or worse than the chow mein (with 3 gourmet peas)? (apologies if this is covered in the video, I'm at work and streaming media is discouraged)

    EDIT: I really need to send something in sometime. I keep reminding myself to, and keep forgetting/not finding anything amusing enough to send in... I will one of these days.

    Addendum (2009-05-29 13:09): oh hey, just noticed the random bits of hardware - PS, the board you didn't describe with the Intel logo on it is a laptop WiFi card in mini-DIMM format. I can't quite see the model number, else I'd give you specs... should be google-able.

  • Tina (unregistered) in reply to Eric
    Eric:
    Yep...

    http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=d90ebda9-bab1-42ce-ad22-4b2b8e63370e

    Dora was last seen in Oct '08 in Ontario.

    Sad :o( TB's aren't supposed to be mailed! Is Dora gonna be dropped off somewhere?

  • (cs) in reply to Code Dependent

    Ahh, good olde MREs. Some of them weren't half bad! The spanish chicken and rice, the hot dogs! Awsome.

  • (cs)

    Nice,

    1.) Control it 2.) See it 3.) ??? 4.) Profit!

  • Andrew Klossner (unregistered)

    The travel bug is owned by an individual player who watches the online log entries as it travels from geocache to geocache. Often that player is a child. This is why it's important to get the travel bug back into the game by dropping it into a geocache and logging its presence or by mailing it to an active player.

  • Unix Dev Head (unregistered)

    Dude! Those MREs can be awesome! A few of them suck really bad, but the crackers in those tings used to be great! And if you ever find a Maple Nut Cake package -- heaven!

    (Note, the MREs are LOADED with calories! In a battlefields scenario, you are "supposed" to get 1 per day. they have like 8000 calories in them!)

    Have fun, guys!

  • Ian (unregistered)

    If you want to get technical, the Canadian Forces don't issue MRE's the issue IMP's (Individual Meal Pack). The main difference being the lack of the built in chemical cooking apparatus.

  • (cs) in reply to kastein
    kastein:
    Alex, opinions on the MREs? Better or worse than the chow mein (with 3 gourmet peas)? (apologies if this is covered in the video, I'm at work and streaming media is discouraged)
    Looking at that video, I'd say "awesomely bad" is exactly the phrase to use. (Yes, he tries the fish...)
  • Jabrwock (unregistered) in reply to IT Girl
    IT Girl:
    I've seen the salmon in foil, but that chicken "dish" just looks wrong on so many levels.
    IMPs LOOK terrible, but that's because it's a meal in a bag. Take any meal you make, throw it in a ziplock, give it a shake, and tell me it looks appetizing. The chicken in gravy tastes pretty good if you can find a packet of mushroom soup mix to toss in. Although it'll taste a bit salty.

    IMPs are really quite good. Some are a bit bland, but they usually come with condiments to add (although unlike MREs, no Tabasco...). Although I remember the "diseased lung" that was their original attempt at ham omelet (back in the early 90's). Made quite a few people sick. Fortunately, they've since worked out the kinks, and the new version is MUCH better.

  • Anonymoose (unregistered)

    hope you didn't eat too many of those MRE's they are so high in MSG & the caloric counts are ridiculous

  • Anonymoose (unregistered) in reply to Ian

    Yes but the also get the little sterno cooking can to cook them

  • (cs)

    Some of those trinkets are pretty awesome. I'd use a Roland pad and pen.

  • ----- (unregistered)

    Seriously, holding on to a travel bug is uncool. Find a cache at geocaching.com and get it back out there

  • Michael West (unregistered)

    Anybody see the Pulp Fiction references in this on page 230?

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1438944241/ref=cm_cmu_up_thanks_hdr

    Comparing IT people to The Wolf is pretty witty.

  • Dirk Myers (unregistered) in reply to Unix Dev Head

    I've eaten them on a battlefield...we were always provided the opportunity to get three per day. Generally what I ended up doing was field stripping two full meals(ie, getting rid of extraneous packaging, condiment package and what ever stuff I didn't want) and then 'rat f*cked' two or three more for their cakes, peanut butter, and crackers, etc. That stuff got shoved in my pockets or my body armor for easy access to snack on the move.

    I'm not a hundred percent sure on the calorie counts, but I always thought it was more in the neighborhood of 3000 calories per meal, depending on the meal. Whenever we were outside the wire for long periods (ie, a couple of weeks) I always lost weight, even when eating 2-3 MREs a day.

  • Jay (unregistered)

    Personally, I divide my mail into two categories:

    1. Letters with a check in them.
    2. Junk mail.

    Everything that is not in category 1, is by default in category 2.

  • Fast Eddie (unregistered) in reply to -----
    -----:
    Seriously, holding on to a travel bug is uncool. Find a cache at geocaching.com and get it back out there
    Seriously, keep the bug. Not only is it 'yours' by virtue of the USPS (a government agency!!) but you also get the joy of causing intense discomfort to this strange (some would say 'sick') little community of deliberate litterers who pollute the earth with these little toys.

    I'm just sayin'

  • (cs) in reply to Jabrwock
    Jabrwock:
    IMPs are really quite good. Some are a bit bland, but they usually come with condiments to add (although unlike MREs, no Tabasco...). Although I remember the "diseased lung" that was their original attempt at ham omelet (back in the early 90's). Made quite a few people sick. Fortunately, they've since worked out the kinks, and the new version is MUCH better.

    When I was in Boy Scouts, one of our Scoutmasters acquired approximately an entire pallet of MREs, to be used for camping/hiking trips. As has been said, some were not that bad for camp food, but I distinctly remember the "breakfast" MRE (ham and eggs or something similar) being particularly nasty. I stuck to oatmeal after that.

    There was a great Doonesbury comic around that time as well, about how the soldiers returning from Iraq were going to show their "appreciation" to the designers of the MREs. Had that strip taped to my Scout Handbook for a while.

  • (cs) in reply to Jabrwock
    Jabrwock:
    IMPs are really quite good. Some are a bit bland, but they usually come with condiments to add (although unlike MREs, no Tabasco...). Although I remember the "diseased lung" that was their original attempt at ham omelet (back in the early 90's). Made quite a few people sick. Fortunately, they've since worked out the kinks, and the new version is MUCH better.
    Ugh. I've eaten (well, tried to eat) the lung in a bag IMP. I agree that most are quite decent, and a few are even very good. The cherries were pretty good, if you could get past how they looked. The peaches were excellent.
  • Bert (unregistered)

    hmmmm, am i the only one to think that a book with such a horrible geometric mistake (well, technically, two) on the cover can only be crap? ...oh, and then he tries self-advertising. must be a great read.

  • Jim (unregistered)

    Thanks Alex, not hungry any more ^^

  • Army Joe (unregistered) in reply to Eric

    Beware... Those MRE's are about 1200 - 1300 calories a meal. They're intended to replace the calories lost while in the field or in the desert. I'll take your vegtable crackers and jalapeño cheese, though!

  • (cs)

    The real WTF is that you can't tell a weathervane from a compass rose.

  • Nk (unregistered)

    Silly Puerto-Ricans. goto has been deprecated for decades now.

  • Mikey (unregistered)

    WE NEED FOR LOOP LIBERATION FRONT STICKERS!

    Also, I would wear a t-shirt for the FLLF.

  • (cs)

    Dude, if you have the right packets you have GOT to make MRE Peanut Butter cups. Open up the crackers and take them out. Set them aside as you will need them later. The cracker package is going to be your mixing bowl. Dump the hot chocolate mix in there. Add just a little bit of water and stir it till you've got a nice paste. Then add the peanut butter and mix it up. Finally, crumble about 1/2 of one cracker into and stir it up. Gives it just the right amount of crunchiness. Enjoy!!!

  • herr_tichy (unregistered)

    Bonus points for calling a perfume by it's purpose... ;)

  • (cs) in reply to IT Girl

    Compliments of the Canadian army. And it's Borden not Burden. If you live on an army base you can go to the supply office and get expired (5 year old) MRE for free.

    It's food designed to last for years, be light to carry and have just enough calories to last an active person until the next meal.

    I we used to be fed those on Army Cadet outings at CFB Borden. I spent another 10 days eating those when I went on a 10 day camping trip with my grade 9 class. for the most part they really aren't as bad as they look.

  • (cs) in reply to Gerhard

    I should also mention that I had a bunch of expired MRE stashed in my room when I moved out of my parents house. I came back 6 years later and took them with me and shared them with one of my friends. Blasted things were still edible.

  • Who is responsible (unregistered)

    FYI - In the Canadian Army, the MRE is is called IMP - Individual Meal Pack.

  • Who is responsible (unregistered) in reply to Who is responsible
    Who is responsible:
    FYI - In the Canadian Army, the MRE is is called IMP - Individual Meal Pack.

    I just read back over the comments... a lot of old canadian soldiers in here :)

    I remember we used to mix the coffee, sugar, creamer and hot chocolate into one large canteen cup, and drink that for morning wake-up... better than a red bull!

    They taste just like canned stew or what-have-you that you can buy at your local corner store. The only issue I ever has, was if they are at the end of their life the chocolate bar would sometimes be a bit stale.

    Someone else mentioned field stripping them... I remember doing that as well. We always saved the bits of candy in easily accessible pockets for long nights of fire-watch or patrol.

    Not such a bad life all together :)

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