MJ's old comp finally crapped the bed. We have gotten him a new (used) system. He and I are currently configuring everything so some of his old components work with the new system. It may take a day or two, so no one panic, all is well, and MJ is groovy. We hope to have him up and running as soon as possible. On behalf of MJ, I thank you for your understanding an patience.
Pharaoh
Good news, after a fashion. I hope you run into a minimum of problems with the new system.
I hope he is getting one that actually has some speed. He told me it takes him 20 minutes to access his Myspace page. I can access mine in under one minute. As much as he uses the internet, he desperately needs a decent computer and a broadband connection.
He's now running a 2.0 Gig AMD Athelon processor, with 256 megs of DDR ram. Decent on board graphics and sound. We may be opting to put a SoundBlaster Live audio card in as MJ does alot of musical work as well. He's running 3 hard drives, a DVD player, and a CDRW. Topped off with a 550 power supply, and you're looking at a nice little system.
Right now he's using his dial-up connection, but the computer does have a built-in eithernet card, so broadband could be in his future. It's either a matter of getting a wireless card, or me running a heck of alot of eithernet cable. We'll see what decided on.
Pharaoh
Depending on where he is, Verizon offers a dirt cheap DSL. I think I was paying like $15 for mine, before my g/f and I got cable. (Gods know what she's paying for it now.)
And yeah, I was beginning to wonder if he got eaten by a grue, or what...
The reasons for MJ's sabbatical
(says John) were all comp-systematical
"Get more speed!" says John II
John III, "Et by a grue?"
But he shall and he's not, so we're radical.
Nice Limerick there Woodium.
MJ, since you're reading this, it must be because you're back online. Congratulations on that. I hope it is being broadcast on a broadband connection. Believe me, once you go to cable, you will never look back at dial up again.
I got an email from MJ yesterday, so he must be back online.
I am still on dial-up. The people who use the cable line in this house all have terrible problems with it--it runs fast when it runs, but too often it just isn't working for them.
My dial-up might be slow, but it's reliable.
Besides, I have to pay for the account anyway, and I think that one of the protections on the e-mail account checks whether I'm calling in from the dial-up (I know it use to be so, but they keep changing things), so I've got to maintain that account.
--M. J. Young
I just called MJ, he was having computer problems, which is why he was absent the past 2 days. He said he should be back online tonight.
*flicks walnuts at MJ's malfunctioning computer*
SCOTT WROTE:
The reasons for MJ's sabbatical
(says John) were all comp-systematical
"Get more speed!" says John II
John III, "Et by a grue?"
But he shall and he's not, so we're radical.
I've been meaning to ask, what the hell is a grue?
You really don't want to know. If you see more of the grue than their forearm, they have to kill you to save face.
Back in the old days of computer games there was the classic text based adventures Zork. The grue where a creature that lived in pitch black areas and would eat you if you ventured too far into darkness without turning on your lantern.
Yes, and in the Zork game setting that evolved from that early version, two (or more) reasons for the grues to behave as they did emerged.
One, light is like acid to their flesh.
Two, their culture.
I've seen "grues" in a few other games (D&D has elemental grues, for instance), but none that inherited the real nature of the original.
I looked it up in Wikipedia right after I posted that. One is forced to wonder if grues have ever been killed. Are they bulletproof?
I don't know about bulletproof, but yes, at at least two points in the Zork series a grue has been slain that I know of. A frotz spell cast directly on a grue will do the trick, as can dropping a grue into liquid light and it not climbing out in time to save itself.
Is it pronounced like "GREW" or is it "Grew-ee"?
It's "Grew". The root word of "grue' is the same as in "gruesome".
Thanks Osevens, that's what I figured.