a win, but also a loss :(

[coius]

Well, i found out I am getting a Pentium IV Vaio Motherboard/Ram/CPU/Heatsink from a friend. The catch? Well..

My friend is Latino-American (born in the USA) but is going to go to mexico and live down there. And I have no idea if/when I will see him again :'(

He's a great friend too. So it's going to be hard not seeing him. But even then, he has been working soooo hard lately to tie stuff up. So I am hoping I will see him again soon. He talked about coming back to the USA and signing up for the military, but it scares me that I could lose my friend permanently if he goes to Iraq and the unspeakable happens. I know he has a good family that would take care of him, but he has a 2 year old son, and that REALLY scares me. On top of that, the son's mother is not that responsible (still wants to be a teenager) and doesn't want to look after the kid. So it really bothers me, but I will support him no matter what

But the bonus side, that although he is leaving next tuesday, I will see him and spend ALL day monday with him before he leaves. It will be just me and him

So, This will be great for his going-away.

 

[Mike Richardson]

Why is he going to Mexico?

It seems everyone comes from Mexico to the USA, not the other way around?

 

[coius]

he's going to go see family. And live with them :-/ He hasn't seen them in a LONG time. He is trying to figure out if he is going to stay down there, or come back and go into the military (I hope he comes back. His parents are here as well as his brothers) but I fear if he DOES come back, and goes into the military, he will have something happen to him while he is service. So it has me scared either way of losing him one way or the other

 

[Christopher]

Have him stay with you!

 

[coius]

Well, i got some good news. Instead of going into the army, he will be going into the air force as a civilian. He will become a doctor in the airforce (which they are hurting for, and he has gone through most of the schooling for it on his own) and they will very unlikely ship him overseas. He was talking about being shipped down south to texas to work at an air base as a practitioner. So, let's hope! Anyways, I hope it works out for the best!

Bad news? Well, today is shot, but I went out to a bar (old fogey's but his wife worked there) and we had a lot of fun doing stuff like shooting pool and generally just messing around (there weren't a lot of people there. It was in the downstairs part of a party hall. It's been turned into a bar/catering area). We had a lot of fun. It was something my 21st birthday should have been. Since it was close enough to my birthday, the barkeeper decided to give me a cheers and put a free drink on the house.

Luckily, i didn't get wasted and within a few hours of leaving, I was TOTALLY sober. Anyways, it feels so comforting to know he's not going overseas. That had me REALLY worried :-/

 

[Christopher]

Wow, all in all, a win win

 

[coius]

Yup! totally. The air force also apparently has more time home than any other faction of the armed forces. They seem to let you go back to where you are for longer and more frequent visits. Anyways, my friend leaves tomorrow for bootcamp I told him to "Have Fun" and told him it's a great program to lose weight

Now that's what I need... A bootcamp that forces me to lose weight. IIRC, i saw someplace you can hire an ex-drill sargent to make you go through an out-of-military bootcamp. Either that, or do what Warren Buffet thought of for like youth and what he says there needs to be for kids.

General Idea:

Every person in the camp should be forced to get up on time. They should be dressed professionally and they should be at work on time.

Everyday they should meet performance marks so that when they go back to the barracks, they have a meal waiting for them. No work = no food. Everyone is forced to pay for what they get. Toothpaste, extra clothes/etc... Usually done via performance points. This in itsself is more rewards knowing that what you did affects you in life. You will feel more gratified when you take care of yourself on your own.

^^ I think that would work for todays youth

They don't know the value of putting in an honest hard-day's work

Anyways. thanks guys for sitting through my rant about the army. It's hard to see someone go in and wonder. I may have few friends, but they matter a lot of to me. And when stuff like this happens, I just worry about it. I have seen too much happen with families around me (My mom's friend lost her son in Iraq and another friend's husband died in afghanistan). So it's hard.

 

[Christopher]

Today's youth? I certainly am not one of them. I've been going strong to church almost every week at 5AM for setup sound duties and takedown for about 2 years.

I refuse to not be like today's youth where they cannot live without an iPod or TV for 2 days.

 

[coius]

Today's youth? I certainly am not one of them. I've been going strong to church almost every week at 5AM for setup sound duties and takedown for about 2 years.
I refuse to not be like today's youth where they cannot live without an iPod or TV for 2 days.

Amen to that. I don't like watching TV for extended periods of time. If it is, it's something educational like about Stuff with Science in the program, or national parks, or even history!! I own a LOT of documentaries in my DVD Collection and very few movies. Also, i spend spare time looking up interesting stuff that is relevant to me in science and technology, and not hanging around on youtube or anything. I also keep in touch with family and friends so I am aware of events. I stay away from politics. If anything can turn your brain to mush, that's the thing

 

[Unknown_K]

General Idea:
Every person in the camp should be forced to get up on time. They should be dressed professionally and they should be at work on time.

Everyday they should meet performance marks so that when they go back to the barracks, they have a meal waiting for them. No work = no food. Everyone is forced to pay for what they get. Toothpaste, extra clothes/etc... Usually done via performance points. This in itsself is more rewards knowing that what you did affects you in life. You will feel more gratified when you take care of yourself on your own./quote]

Sounds like hell to me. How is living under those rules taking care of yourself? The NAZIs did the same thing to concentration camp people, so much work or no food, get up when I say so, a uniform to wear, etc.

People should work for what THEY need, and not for what a select few rich slaveowners want them to do.

I agree that kids should be taught by their parents so they understand that everything they get requires some kind of effort or work to pay for it, but each individual should make up their own mind on what is worth working for and what they need and don't need. Not everybody wants to be a Billionaire with thousands of people under thier control, some are just happy being slackers and playing a guitar to eak out a living. 100% uniformity is not good.

 

[coius]

I didn't mean it as a concentration camp, i meant it as something that gets you used to work and teaches you how to hold a job. Most kids don't hold a job because they lack the ambition and the feel of how rewarding it can be to work. It's more of a camp that teaches you how the real world works. Once you succeed, you are off. What you learn there, you use. It's no different than a regular camp, except you are asked to perform the same functions as any successful person performs day in and day out. On top of that, you can learn special trade skills in the camp (part of the training) and it's not just janitors and maids thing.

The idea Warren Buffet has was that it teaches you how to be responsible. Usually by means of force, but it opens your eyes to how the real world works and what successful people have to do everyday to live. My dad was a total slacker until he got drafted for Vietnam. Sadly, he says that was the turning point in his life where everything got easier from then on. Staying in 100+ temp with humidity or 90% and going down to 20 Deg outside at night, day in an day out, hardens you really quick.

To be honest, the camp sounds like a great idea for people that have been on the streets. It takes you from being a no-nothing to being a potential society contributor. It would make sense to get people trained. Sadly, no such thing exists. it's not supposed to be punishment, as much as it is a learning tool. How to work and be successful.

Also, i know there are performers and stuff like that, but I am gearing this towards kids that want to do nothing but play video games and watch TV all day. Or hang out at places on the corners to harass someone. These are the people that need the camp, not people like you and me that probably know a fair bit about how to get by in the world. Still, it teaches you how to be a part of society.

Once you have proven yourself sucessful day in and day out at the camp, they sign you up at a job, and off you go! Work up the corporate ladder!

 

[coius]

Ok, this is what I will be getting :

Sony Vaio Pentium 4 Mothboard.

(hopefully) Radeon 9600 Pro AGP 8x 256MB

1.5GB PC-3200 RAM (400Mhz)

Restore Discs for the board/machine

400GB SATA HDD (for the system)

DVD-+RW DL Drive. Also SATA

Floppy drive (1.44/2.88MB)

Processor/Heatsink/Whatever else that went with it

Everything but the case and powersupply don't worry, i got plenty of those

Oh, and these are free

 

[SiliconValleyPirate]

You know I spend practically every waking hour on the internet/at a computer, but provided I have enough books I can live miles from any computers in a tent for weeks

Sometimes you just have to unplug. I also enjoy going hiking with my dad in the countryside around here, and hopefully when I fix up my bike I can go back to cycling again too.

Great news about your buddy tho coius, I've had a few painful goodbyes over the years, they don't get any easier, if anything they are the opposite.

 

[coius]

well, I lost out big (well kinda) because I got the parts. The board and the superdrive are dead. The machine came from a smoking household, and the powersupply stunk up my room as soon as I turned it on. Not a very good deal

Well, kinda but the RAM is only 1GB, it's PC-2100 DDR. The 400 SATA is just a 160GB ATA/133. I have no idea what the video card is, but I don't think it's a radeon. I don't even think it's an nVidia... Also, the Pentium 4 is only 1.7Ghz and the heatsink fins are bent like hell. So I just got junk :-/

Well, Anyways, my friend took off yesterday, i wish him well. He just got into the air force as a doctor. I wish him well and guys please pray for him. This really scares me.