Big changes in Romeoland

[romeothemonk]

First, I would like to announce that gas prices have hit an all time high in Rapid City. Being a good American I have 2 vehicles, a Merucry Grand Marquis Wagon (5 litre V8) and a half ton Chevy Silverado pickup (1990, title is not mine, but in my granmothers, I will probably buy it within a few months). I drive both regularly, but was hit with a gas bill in excess of $50 for less than a month. With that I decided that enough was enough. I went and spent $80 on a bike. I will recoup the cost in less than 2 months, and my fat butt will get some exercise.
Here is my bike, not a great thing, but it made me give up a gas guzzling beast of a vehicle.


http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/2005823235941_bike.jpg
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This week is the first time that I have ridden a bike in 11 years. The town I lived in in Minnesota required that bikers wear helmets or face a fine, so I just stopped riding bikes when I was 13.

The other big change is that I have gone from Student to Research Scientist. That means I get my own office, well kind of. I now spend ~45-50 hours a week in this little hole. It aint that bad, especially as I now get insurance to help cover little details like bike accidents etc.
Here is my little office

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/2005824049_office.jpg
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The office actually means I have more time to persue CDZ, unfortunately for everyone, that doesn't mean that the quality of my musings or ramblings will improve.

[Whomp]

Makes good economic sense Romeo. Good work. But isn't it going to be 20 degrees and snowing in Rapid City in two months? Another thing get a picture of your wife on that desk. You will reap a significantly greater return on investment!

[grahamiam]

quote:Originally posted by Whomp

Makes good economic sense Romeo. Good work. But isn't it going to be 20 degrees and snowing in Rapid City in two months?[lol] the devil is always in the details [lol] excellent point! but i gues that's why it's a mountain bike and not a road bike, that way he can get thru the snow and all. he just needs a parka, face shield, goggles, gloves, rain gear, etc, etc. Also, I notice that TPS report, uh, did you get the memo? ;)

[Rik Meleet]

quote:Originally posted by Whomp

Another thing get a picture of your wife on that desk. You will reap a significantly greater return on investment!
Yes; get her to sit on your desk in a seducive position and take a picture [nya]

Unless Whomp means a picture of her and you put that on your desk .... [sad]

Well Romeo is a strong man, a little snow won't stop him. Smart move(s) Romeo ![thumbsup]

[ProPain]

$50 bucks for gas a month [mouth] I wish I was that lucky. Gas is around 1.37 euro a liter over here atm, about $1.71 that is. A gallon is about 3,8 liters, so that's $6.50 a gallon

With our current prices I normally pay over €50 a tank and I visit the fuel station about once a week on average.

My new car is a diesel fuel one, much more economic at a mere $4,75 a gallon.

On the bright side, recoup time on a bike is way shorter this way [lol]

[digger760]

I was in Colarado, a year ago, rest assured you petrol(gas) prices in the US are cheap my friend.

$50 a month with a 5 litre engine, I assume you were only driving around the block to work. You could really sav your self some Money and buy a nissan micra (or some other small car with a 1 litre engine). What have you got to loose.....except your dignity.

I spend €80 a month on petrol, and travel about 600-700 miles/month

[Whomp]

quote:Originally posted by Rik Meleet

quote:Originally posted by Whomp

Another thing get a picture of your wife on that desk. You will reap a significantly greater return on investment!
Yes; get her to sit on your desk in a seducive position and take a picture [nya]

Unless Whomp means a picture of her and you put that on your desk .... [sad]

Well Romeo is a strong man, a little snow won't stop him. Smart move(s) Romeo ![thumbsup]Good idea Rik. Yes, yes must break in the new office.[thumbsup]

However, I thought it might be nice if he'd ask her for a picture. 1.She'll think he's sweet and he'll likely get a little sumpin' sumpin, if you know what I mean.
2.If she has to ask why he doesn't have a picture of her in the office, he's dead.

One more thing, pictures on the wall please.

I've decided all Americans need to follow Romeo's lead and ride a bike or walk. We have some exceptionally large individuals in this country. There are duel benefits, lower fuel consumption and it's harder to eat Dorito's when you're riding a bike.

[Mistfit]

Ok lemme see I own a Chevy Avalanche V8. I drive 38 miles each way to and from work = 76miles a day. I work 5 or 6 days a week so average I make the drive say 24 days a month = 1824 miles a month to and from work. Gas = $2.76 a Gal. I get 16 MPG So that works out to what.... $314.00 per month...Ouch I had never done the math before.

I will gaurantee you one thing my big ass is not humping on a bike 80 miles per day to save myself a bit of gas money. I will prolly look at a more effecient vehicle next time around though.

[romeothemonk]

quote:Originally posted by Whomp
However, I thought it might be nice if he'd ask her for a picture. 1.She'll think he's sweet and he'll likely get a little sumpin' sumpin, if you know what I mean.
2.If she has to ask why he doesn't have a picture of her in the office, he's dead.

One more thing, pictures on the wall please.

I've decided all Americans need to follow Romeo's lead and ride a bike or walk. We have some exceptionally large individuals in this country. There are duel benefits, lower fuel consumption and it's harder to eat Dorito's when you're riding a bike.

The picture Idea is kind of good, but I am still a newlywed, I get all the sumpin, sumpin I can handle. Not complaining though. [crazyeye]
The Office is in a "secure" lab, thus the wife cannot come on in, in fact less than 15 people a year will be able to make it to my office.
The added benefit of helping to reduce my waste will really help, but I kind of miss listening to the radio on the way to work. Oh well, more radio at work then.

Rapid City weather is really weird, it will be 50 and sunny one day and a real Nor'Easter style blizzard the next day. I normally wear shorts year round, and the past 6 years have walked a mile to school in shorts every day. I do not think biking 2 miles will be that bad.

The TPS report is a guilty habit of mine, as I love quoting from Office Space. Plus it helps identify the real engineers really quickly.

I still own the vehicles, but they are on a much more limited duty, such as going to church and helping buddies move. It seems wierd that I have helped move more than 12 times in 6 years. Perhaps I need to change my profession.

$50 a month is a big deal when you are trying to put your wife through college and pay off an inherited car loan (Weddings are cheap, I swear). Although being broke at night can be kind of fun. What can we afford to do tonight? I know something. [coool]

Anyway enough rambling.

[romeothemonk]

quote:Originally posted by Whomp
I've decided all Americans need to follow Romeo's lead and ride a bike or walk. We have some exceptionally large individuals in this country. There are duel benefits, lower fuel consumption and it's harder to eat Dorito's when you're riding a bike.

Apparently I am too large and have eaten too many Dorito's in my day. Riding my bike to lunch the other day, I was surprised to have the back axle split in 2. This made riding my bike rather problomatic, and involved me walking a good deal further than I had planned to, dragging a bike that no longer rolled nicely.
With that info, I took the bike back to the place where I purchased it, and received credit towards a better bike. It can be seen here.


http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/20059200424_bike2.JPG
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I was rather upset with my first bike [rant][saiyan] and hope that this one lasts a little longer than 2.5 weeks. Otherwise I might buy an airline ticket to whereever they make these things and administer some loving. [slap]
Because we all know that the weight of the consumer is never an issue when dealing with performance vehicles. [yeah]
Now that I am getting used to bike riding, I am going to have to go get some dorito's and see if I can eat them while riding my bike. Reach for the goal [weight]

[akots]

Well, $80 was a fair price. Here you can buy some junk that falls apart after 2 weeks for around $45. That split back axle must have been plastic or wooden. [confused]

[romeothemonk]

It was a shiny metal rear axle, that is what surprised me. Not being a metalurgist, or even caring at that point, I had them take it back. I assume it was some anodized aluminum, but I really didn't care. With the rise in gas prices, I am able to pay off the new bike in 9 weeks, so it is still a heck of a bargain.

[Swingue]

Hmmm, maybe a chinese bike, they just tested chinese vehicles over here, most dangerous car in 20 years of testing. Chance of instant death at a direct hit is serious while with other cars you can hit a wall at 80km/ hour and walk away.

Good luck with the cycling, if you want to test, come to NL, this country is one big bicycle road.

[Pastorius]

You bunch of engine-crazy americans.Re

Remember the last oil crisis? Why havent you got rid of those fuel wasters and started buying cheap-on-fuel japanese cars? Honda or Toyota over GM and Ford

[Matrix]

Although $50,- is nothing, it's still good to take the bike. Much better for the environment. ;)

[romeothemonk]

quote:Originally posted by Paalikles

You bunch of engine-crazy americans.Re

Remember the last oil crisis? Why havent you got rid of those fuel wasters and started buying cheap-on-fuel japanese cars? Honda or Toyota over GM and Ford

1) Because with the stuff that we haul around, a pickup truck makes very good sense. I helped 11 people move with the pickup I had access to, thus saving lots of money for everyone.
2) We Americans are good at Physics. Before you laugh, we know that there are going to be countless 18 wheelers on the Road, along with government officials driving Suburbans and Excursions. A 7,000 lb American Steel Monster gives a survivability of nearly 100%, while the imports survivability is directly linked to pure luck.
3) The foreign cars are built for 5'1" asian guys that weigh around 140 lbs tops. Americans are the largest people on the planet, we want cars that fit us. Detroit provides that.
4) Japan has yet to make a car that looks good and operates well in the American Northern Midwest. Cars that do this well (Mercedes, I know that this is a Euro car) are very pricey, and don't get much better mileage.
5) The ladies dig a pickup man. [ggw2]
6) Americans are stubborn. Stubborn to the point that we think we singlehandedly whipped the Axis in WW2. (The English did a lot of the heavy lifting)
7) Americans really suck at personal finance. Why do you think that credit cards with 20% interest rates are so popular?
8) For me personally, my dream car is a 1973 Cadillac El Dorado Convertible with the Caddy 500 in it, while the wife wants a 69 Dodge Charger. Not exactly efficient either one, but they can really go fast.

[Lt. Killer M]

quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk

1) Because with the stuff that we haul around, a pickup truck makes very good sense. I helped 11 people move with the pickup I had access to, thus saving lots of money for everyone.
Oh, and a much more fuel efficient station wagon with a trailer (cheap to rent) wouldn't have done?
quote:2) We Americans are good at Physics. Before you laugh, we know that there are going to be countless 18 wheelers on the Road, along with government officials driving Suburbans and Excursions. A 7,000 lb American Steel Monster gives a survivability of nearly 100%, while the imports survivability is directly linked to pure luck.Not really true - Landrovers and similar stuff don#t usually fare much better in big collisions, and also only true if there IS a significant number of trucks on the road. But if only those who need them bought SUVs and trucks then there'd be quite few there...
quote:3) The foreign cars are built for 5'1" asian guys that weigh around 140 lbs tops. Americans are the largest people on the planet, we want cars that fit us. Detroit provides that.erhm, nope. I am way over 6' and fit nicely into them.

OK, I am NOT 9 month grocery-pregnant, I have to admit that..... [lol]
quote:4) Japan has yet to make a car that looks good and operates well in the American Northern Midwest. Cars that do this well (Mercedes, I know that this is a Euro car) are very pricey, and don't get much better mileage.Funny, I know quite a lot of people who have smaller and cheaper cars and are quite satisfied, in the northern Midwest....
quote:5) The ladies dig a pickup man. [ggw2]the ladies are rednecks, then. Or fat (and won't fit into a sporty car).
quote:6) Americans are stubborn. Stubborn to the point that we think we singlehandedly whipped the Axis in WW2. (The English did a lot of the heavy lifting)true [lol]
quote:7) Americans really suck at personal finance. Why do you think that credit cards with 20% interest rates are so popular? Well, that's true everywhere - you gus just always bear the full brunt of the attack. When things sweep on into other countries, we are already warned.
quote:8) For me personally, my dream car is a 1973 Cadillac El Dorado Convertible with the Caddy 500 in it, while the wife wants a 69 Dodge Charger. Not exactly efficient either one, but they can really go fast.and what RECENT car would you like???

good thing, btw, that you ride a bike - I wish *I* could go to work by bike!
[/quote]

[Pastorius]

Well, not sure how Norwegian weather compares to mid-west weather, but I ll try to disagree with you on something though:

For instance, Renault (do they even sell those over there?) has scored 5/5 in EuroNCAP

And I bet if you buy a Toyota Avensis (if they have em over there), it would be spacious and able to move some stuff around (add possibility to attach something to the back of it of course ;) )

I was guessing it had to do with indoctrination that Made in the US is superior to anything :rolleyes:

Anyway, it was meant as a kick to the shin. And a discussion starter. So I guess it worked.

Other than that, I must add that with my 1.82 meters, I am not really small myself either.
I weigh only 78-80kilograms though (which means I have gained some kilos) - nowhere near your heavy self.

[Matrix]

Killer, do you have positive things to say about Americans as well? [mischief]

[Pastorius]

only when drunk :mischief:

[grahamiam]

quote:Originally posted by Matrix

Killer, do you have positive things to say about Americans as well? [mischief]
he wrote nice things to me about my kid's during our pbem. So, yes, he does say "positive" things about Americans ;)

[Ville]

quote:Originally posted by Paalikles

For instance, Renault (do they even sell those over there?) has scored 5/5 in EuroNCAP Saabs are also really safe and they sell those in there ;)
quote:
Other than that, I must add that with my 1.82 meters, I am not really small myself either.
Oh yes you are [mischief]


50$/month?
It's 25€ for me [:P]

[romeothemonk]

I grew up in a factory town of Hutchinson MN. There are 2 factories there, each of which employs 2,000+ people. In winter time the temperature gets a wee bit nippily, (weeks where it doesn't get above 0 F) and as soon as it would get below -10 F, all the japanese cars wouldn't start. When it was below -5 F, all the non-Northland edition American vehichles wouldn't start. I never saw it get so cold that the Northland package American made cars wouldn't start. (And it got to -40 a few times a year).
With pickup trucks, once you drive a good one you are hooked. The sightlines, hauling power, and the offroad capability just rule.
I am 1.8 meters tall, and 95-100 kilo's, but only the stupid would dare call me fat. One thing that Americans do routinely is drive around the country. On business, I drive the equivalent of Paris to Budapest, and do that once a month. For sports/vacation, we drive distances similar to Paris to Kiev and back, and on trips of that magnitude, roomier is better. I admit I kind of set myself up with some of this stuff, but I don't mind the razzing, it is one of the cool things about CDZ.
Renault and Saab are Euro cars, not Asian, and are more expensive by about 15% than American cars in South Dakota. In fact, I have not seen a renault on the road in Rapid City.
Killer asked what modern car I would like so here goes.
I would prefer a late 90's model full size Chevy Silverado Half-ton pickup truck. Gas, not diesel, normal 3 seat bench cab, v8 engine, trailer hitch, custom cattle guard, off road package. However, this truck only makes sense as long as I continue to live away from civilization.
I encourage others to list their ideal means of transportation that is reasonably within their price range. (DOn't need a bunch of Enzo's showing up here. :D)

[Ville]

Some French cars don't start here in the winters... Saab 96 is made for Nordic winters and they start even when there's minus something inside the car. (tested... my dad forgot to put on the heater once...brr...) Downside is that it's damn small...

[grahamiam]

I've seen Japanese cars start in Kingston ON as well as in Thunder Bay. I believe that as long as you plug in the crankcase heater when you park overnight, it should start fine. No reason that any car can't be equipped with this, other than a mfr not offering it. However, I never lived in those places so I'm not 100% sure which cars offer it, I just observed co-workers using it on a wide variaty of autos.

[barbu1977]

Owning a 11 year old toyota, I never had problem in the winter, and that is on a car without a block heater. In my opinion, cars is a community issue and many people will get what the others buy. Also I perfectly understand buying homeland, I there where a Canadian car company, this is what I would choose before any other beter, more efficient car.

[akots]

Well, there are "car" people, "sports car" people, "truck" people, "SUV" people, "station wagon" people, and bikers. If you are a "truck" person, Japanese trucks are somewhat smaller and way more expensive. They are also not that powerful and buying Ford, Chevy, or Dodge instead is a reasonable choice here despite they eat up lots of gas. I'm an intermediate "car"-"sports car" person and would never like to drive a truck or SUV. And I've owned an old Toyota Celica. It was very expensive to fix when it was broken. And it broke on me a multiple times. So, now I drive little Ford Focus and am very happy with that. A full tank ($25) is enough for me for about a month just going to and from work. Focus is a very spacious car and I have moved or helped move 4 people already with it. Can't fit a sofa or a matress in it though but dinner table or a small couch is OK.

[Whomp]

OK here it goes. I don't drive anymore. I walk six blocks to work, take cabs, ride the elevated train, take commuter trains and have access to both Midway and O'Hare airports with any of those means of transport.

Romeo and I have very different American lives. City mouse vs. country mouse. Romeo needs a truck. Where he lives it's almost required to haul shit around. It comes in mighty handy when someone is moving or building a deck, haul some gravel, moving some dirt etc. and you can throw all of it in the back of a pickup. We don't do that in cities so a pickup truck ain't so handy, you can't find parking so you just don't see them.

I don't need a car which is one of the great benefits of living where I do. With that said I have helped my girlfriend with buying hers. She likes German cars and with her new job she bought the "teachers edition" X3. Germans make great cars. Pretty simple.

However, I was initially dead set against her buying a SUV but her job requires her to haul heavy boxes of materials to inner city schools for their after school programs. A car would not have the capacity to handle it. That's the story. I think my neighbors who drive humvees and Range Rovers are idiots. They don't need them and they sit in the garage most of the time.

[Pastorius]

Ok, so forget the brand of cars and their origin. I assumed all other manufacturers than american corporations made fuel efficient cars, and japanese cars are considered fuel efficient. Some french cars are considered safer than other cars.
There you have it.

And all because oil, and then necessarily petrol is scarce.

[romeothemonk]

Oil is not particulary scare Paal. There are some mammoth deposits, larger than the persian gulf, up in Northern Siberia, the Yukon, and Northern Alaska. Due to peoples unwillingness to go get it, it remains untapped.
America has the capacity to bring up much more oil than we currently are. The limiting factor here is refinery space. Refineries are by necessity dirty, and some of the older ones pollute like crazy. Because of this, the U.S. government has made opening new refineries difficult, with the process usually taking north of 7 years. Back in the day when I was a student, I found out that the U.S. refinery Capability had increased at a rate much lower than the rate of oil fuels consumption.
A larger percentage of the U.S. refinery capability has found itself in the path of 2 cat 5 hurricanes, thus really hosing us here.
For consumption, my wife drives a 2000 Cavalier, and it gets north of 30 mpg. The newer "midget" cars as I like to call them (2 person coupes) get around 35-40 mpg.
I guess when it is cold out, I really don't like plugging cars in, because that costs ~$4 a day in electricity, I would rather buy the cheaper American cars that are winterized already and made for the snow and icy conditions.
Plus God only knows how much I love full sized pickup trucks. Guess I must be a redneck. [:p] MORE ON THIS LATE BREAKING STORY TO COME TOMORROW [:p]

[Whomp]

Higher oil prices are more a product of global demand than U.S. demand. Oil consumption in the U.S. was 17.3 million barrels/day in 1973 and 20.7 million barrels/day in 2004. Worldwide consumption over the same period has increased from 57 million barrels/day in 1973 to 82.6 million barrels/day in 2004. One example is South Korea which has gone from 281,000 barrels/day to 2.14 million barrels/day. China and India have a even more significant slope. As far as I'm concerned what is more problematic is these countries are heavily investing in the Sudan. A whole different can of worms.

What's amazing, unlike '73-'74, is this increase in oil prices has not created stagflation. Food prices are down for the fifth month in a row in the U.S.

Here's the good news. A German scientist is here to save the day. Biodiesel for 23 euro cents (.30 U.S.) /liter. 1/5 the cost of gasoline.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/09/14/germany.catfuel.reut/

[Pastorius]

well - relative scarcity is reflected both in terms of refinery capacity (fucked for you guys) and the quantity extracted and available either as raw oil for consumption or to be refined for consumption.

I have found this market structure fascinating, since the price mechanism reflects expected relative scarcity with (IMO) extreme sensitivity. Guess I am just an economics nerd...

oh and btw:

ROMEO HAS RED NECK. MORE AT ELEVEN ;)

[romeothemonk]

I am about 2 weeks in arrears in updating this? Guess I am still too punctual to work on civ 5. [whistle]

Anyway, I became an even bigger redneck by buying a trailer house on Friday and moving in all weekend.
However, this is not your typical trailer. 1216 sq ft. Jacuzzi Tub (Very nice after playing soccer and having near debilitating shin splints). Enough cabinets to keep the wife happy with all her kitchen stuff.
There were a few problems. There was only 2 phone jacks in the whole place, one in the kitchen and one in the master bedroom. That was remedied by a buddy that runs IT. However, I then hooked my comp up and the Modem was fried. So I had to go buy a new one, but finally got rid of the old P.O.S. and now have a much better home I-net connection.
So, anyone coming to Rapid City can participate in a housewarming party.

We have registered for the following gifts to become full-fledged trailer trash:
2 large confederate flags
4 lawn chairs
1 ridiculously long shotgun
12 wife beater T-shirts
3 cases of Milwaukee's Best Beer
1 Banjo missing 2 strings
1 car with no wheels, engine optional

Due to moving and the costs associated with buying a place, civ 4 is delayed until ~ Christmas time for me.[sad][sad][sulk]

[Mistfit]

FYI: In my line of work we take offense to the term "trailer" [aargh]

Acceptable terms:
House
Home
Manufactured House or Home


Semi Acceptable Term:
Singlewide


Now you know :D

[barbu1977]

quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk

1216 sq ft. Jacuzzi Tub

Wow that's a huge Jacuzzi:D

[beer1] Congrats [beer1]

[Whomp]

I gotta move to the country. Romeo's jacuzzi is as big as my condo. I guess the upside is my place isn't a tornado magnet. Romeo for some reason I can't see you and your wife with dual mullets and putting the couch on the front lawn in the summer.

[Whomp]

Man what were we thinking? New house, new bicycle? We should've recommended Romeo (and Mistfit since it's headed his way) invest in a snow plow! It seems Rapid City was relatively unschathed but what do you think?

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/11/29/news/top/news01.txt
Here's a page for some snowplows for the 1/2 ton pickup.

http://www.truckaddons.com/Catalog/subpages/snowsport.htm

Here's a good article for research purposes...

http://www.thefosterfamily.org/snowplow/

[Shabbaman]

A snowplow is a really, really good investment.

Call Mr Plow
That's my name
That name again
Is Mr Plow!

[band]

[romeothemonk]

Well, some of you may know that I like Football. A lot.

My college has this really cool tradition of letting Alumni come back and play against the varsity in the spring game. No kickoff/punt/int returns, no bringing more than 5 players on a blitz. Otherwise it is an honest to God Football game. I love it!!

This year I played Offensive Guard and some Defensive tackle. We had to play Ironman style as we only had 28 guys, and some were worthless. We also laid a whooping on the varsity 34-13. The only time our first team offense was stopped was on 2 INTs and a kneeldown to end the half. We had 2 true offensive linemen, then myself and 2 guys that had played linebacker. We gave up 1 sack (QB slip), and had 337 passing yards and dang near 100 rushing yards.

I am #92. Here are some nice pictures of the event, and my biggest fan.


http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/20065515547_stud1.jpg
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Not bitter at all as I completely swallowed up a double team on the play, but look at the guards hand on my jersey. unfortunately, no yellow hankies came out.
http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/20065515840_stud2.jpg
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Here I am standing up the nose tackle. The Center "passed" him to me, so he could go flatten a linebacker. This nose tackle has 40 lbs on me, but due to my understanding of physics, is going nowhere.
http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/20065515956_stud3.jpg
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Me and my biggest fan



http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/200655151246_stud4.jpg
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[Pastorius]

That's not football. That is dressing up in protective gear and running around fighting for an egg-shaped ball.

In fact, rugby is more football than that.

This elephant is playing football:

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Paalikles/200655161134_elephant-football.jpg
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The stuff you mention above really should be called american egg-ball

[flamedevil]

[barbu1977]

quote:Originally posted by Paalikles


The stuff you mention above really should be called american egg-ball

[flamedevil]


We should have a counter somewhere in the forum for each time this discussion happens.

[Tubby Rower]

if makes all of you weirdo Europeans happy, I'm starting to call soccer football. But I don't like it.

[Banzai]

Nice pictures Jake!
And once again your wife looks gorgeous! Does she have a twin sister? ;)

btw.. why are you the only one wearing a blue helmet?

[romeothemonk]

My wife doesn't have a twin sister, however she does have a 21 year old sister looking for a husband. :)

On the equipment issue, I had a blue helmet due to the size of my head. The alumni team gets the "old" equipment, thus the mismatched pants etc. When I got there, they had no more gold helmets in my size, so they had to get a 5 year old helmet for me. The old helmet color used to be blue. The socks were also bring your own, so I used my Diadora Soccer socks. I have to use XXL soccer socks so they fit over my calves.

If some people doubt that football is a sport, I suggest you check out this book. This is for people that don't understand physics or football really. I can play a full soccer game, and not eat for like 8 hours afterward. I must consume 3-5000 calories after playing a game of football. This will explain the work and effort expended during football. The biggest gripe I have is that he calls Line Play "The Pit" instead of "The Trenches" and he doesn't call the linemen Hoggies.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157954911X/104-4721035-1396763?v=glance&n=283155

[grs]

quote:Originally posted by barbu1977

quote:Originally posted by Paalikles


The stuff you mention above really should be called american egg-ball

[flamedevil]


We should have a counter somewhere in the forum for each time this discussion happens.
But no one starts it as good as Paalikles ;)

[Whomp]

Nice work Romeo!

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

if makes all of you weirdo Europeans happy, I'm starting to call soccer football. But I don't like it.
Bah! I'm calling it soccer because
A. we stink at it so who cares
B. It's the Brits fault we call it soccer so blame them.
quote:
Soccer is an abbreviation for Association Football. The Football Association was formed in London in October 1863 when representatives of eleven clubs and schools met in an attempt to standardize the rules of the game. One of the rules prohibited the carrying of the ball, a rule that would lead to the Rugby-oriented clubs leaving the Association several months later. The name Association Football was coined to distinguish it from Rugby.

By 1889, the abbreviation socca' was in use, and the spelling soccer had made its appearance by 1895.
That's from Wordorigins.org. You can check dictionary.com or look for more sources.

Basically, there was a split. Both were considered 'football' but a distinction needed to be made. One became soccer and the other rugger (rugby).
and C. We quote the game better and what better name for a football player than Joe Don Looney?

This is for Romeo...
"It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."
--Archie Griffen, two-time Heisman winner

The alumni victory speech...
But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, his greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.--Vince Whomp Lombardi

"In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the line hard!"
--Whompodore Big Stick Roosevelt

Watching football is like watching pornography. There's plenty of action, and I can't take my eyes off it, but when it's over, I wonder why the hell I spent an afternoon doing it."
--Luke Salisbury

"A good back makes his own holes. Anybody can run where the holes are."--Joe Don Looney

[Socrates]

It's called "football" (the Euro one) because it is a game where we play the ball with our feet. Can't do it more simple. Also, there is a world cup in one month, and the USA are in (they will always be, considering how the qualifications are run) ; you have till then to change your vocabulary or else...

[grahamiam]

quote:Originally posted by kryszcztov

It's called "football" (the Euro one) because it is a game where we play the ball with our feet. Can't do it more simple. Also, there is a world cup in one month, and the USA are in (they will always be, considering how the qualifications are run) ; you have till then to change your vocabulary or else...

so why isn't it called feetball, since you use more than one foot?[confused]

[Socrates]

quote:Originally posted by grahamiam

quote:Originally posted by kryszcztov

It's called "football" (the Euro one) because it is a game where we play the ball with our feet. Can't do it more simple. Also, there is a world cup in one month, and the USA are in (they will always be, considering how the qualifications are run) ; you have till then to change your vocabulary or else...

so why isn't it called feetball, since you use more than one foot?[confused]

"Have you ever scored a goal with your two feet at the same time ?" is what I say. :(

[grahamiam]

quote:Originally posted by kryszcztov
"Have you ever scored a goal with your two feet at the same time ?" is what I say. :(
Well, no, but I have scored with both the left and right foot(seperately), with my head, as well as one with my right knee. Maybe it should be bodyball? or no-hand-ball? [confused]

[Whomp]

OK then I'll call it association football. In our football we use our foot too. In fact we have a nice name for it "special teams". That's when we punt and kick. Though, there's nothing funnier than seeing an "association style kicker" with the name like Garo Yepremian trying to make a tackle.[estwing]

[romeothemonk]

quote:Originally posted by kryszcztov

"Have you ever scored a goal with your two feet at the same time ?" is what I say. :(


Actually I have. Playing in indoor soccer, I carried the ball through 4 defenders and used both feet to drag/throw the ball in the net. The cool thing about this was, when I say I carried it through the defenders, I mean that I knocked them all to the ground with no fouls called.

Unfortunately we lost like 15-3, but it was a heck of a game. Many bruises were distributed to the other team. The goalie knocked me off course and I rotated my body using both feet to scoop the ball over his prone body into the net.

[Socrates]

[lol]

I mean, it is called "football", ie. "foot" (in oral French, we just say "foot") by opposition to "hand". Because hands are verboten in this game. Not in <s>American advertisement show</s> American football.

[Pastorius]

Well. Over here in Europe, we get too much US imperialism anyway, so why cant we protest when you weirdo US people call football soccer.

Why could they not call "american football" "american rugby" instead - since "american football" is more similar to rugby than to real football

I know we did discuss this once, but I still find it odd.

Well, every now and then everyone seems to think of me as a spammer (or spambot even - but Mel is not THAT good a programmer ;) ). I dont think I am particularly more spammy than the rest of you lot though...

Didnt want to threadjack either man. Very cool pics - and most importantly - if your wife digs it, then ban the weirdo Europeans complaining about your choice of words :)

[Rik Meleet]

quote:Originally posted by Whomp


and C. We quote the game better and what better name for a football player than Joe Don Looney?

This is for Romeo...
"It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."
--Archie Griffen, two-time Heisman winner

The alumni victory speech...
But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, his greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.--Vince Whomp Lombardi

"In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the line hard!"
--Whompodore Big Stick Roosevelt

Watching football is like watching pornography. There's plenty of action, and I can't take my eyes off it, but when it's over, I wonder why the hell I spent an afternoon doing it."
--Luke Salisbury

"A good back makes his own holes. Anybody can run where the holes are."--Joe Don Looney

"Bridge is like sex - if you don't have a good partner; you'd better have a good hand." -- Groucho Marx

[Darkness]

[lol]

[romeothemonk]

Excellent. Keep the pithy quotes coming!!

[romeothemonk]

I will be gone for ~ 2days on a job interview.
Please hold all my calls or whatever the heck it is that is supposed to happen.

[BCLG100]

should we send all of our saves in our 2vs2 to SZ?

and good luck in the interview :)

[romeothemonk]

Romeo got the Job!!

Woot!!

I am now moving to Yankton, SD. It is truely in the middle of nowhere, but that makes it better for a guy like me.

Needless to say, there will be some delays in the PBEM scene, and a new email address.

[barbu1977]

Congratulations

That calls for a celebration!!!

I'll take a beer for you tonight.

[romeothemonk]

[beer1]
I will probably have a beer myself!!

But Barbu, I could really go for a trivia contest about now though.

For some of the best beers I have found try here.

http://www.leinie.com/welcome.html

[Shabbaman]

Jankton? Seriously? Anyway, congratulations!

[Darkness]

Congrats! :)

[Whomp]

Beer(y) nice Romeo. Congrats! [drunks1][guiness]

What's the new gig? We need more.

[grahamiam]

congrats!

[barbu1977]

quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk

[beer1]
But Barbu, I could really go for a trivia contest about now though.


Done

[ProPain]

Congrats Romeo!

[BCLG100]

congrats romeo!

[Rik Meleet]

Congratulations, Romeo.
Yankton ? WOW !!

[Pastorius]

Grats!! [jump]

[Swingue]

heee, congratz!

[Tubby Rower]

congratulations.....when's the big move?

There are a lot of echos in this forum [lol]

[romeothemonk]

Hmm, more details. Well here we go!!
The job is with MtronPTI. More information about them can be found here www.mtronpti.com
I will be a process engineer, as the business is small order, quick changeover style business.
I start September the 5th, so pretty dang quick. The wife and I are going on a house hunting trip on Sunday through Tuesday.
The cool thing is you can use shotguns to hunt houses in SD, and the houses don't move that much, making a much easier target after you have had a couple of beers.

It looks like I will be without email access for about 2-3 weeks, so some patience might be necessary.

[akots]

Seems like a nice company.

[romeothemonk]

Well I bought a house!!!

It is a big one. A really big one. And it has a bar in the basement. So if you don't like the service at Mistfit's bar, come on over. ( I don't think my service will be any better though, just different).

I move in ~3 days. So don't send me any saved games after Wednesday the 30th, as my email will be shut off, and those saves irretrievably lost. Well, I will post some pictures as soon as I get the new joint all set up.

Also, I will have HIGH SPEED CONNECTION!!!! Pitboss games and power sessions in PBEM will be a possibility. YAY!!

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk

And it has a bar in the basement.

Sounds like a great house to me! :)

[barbu1977]

quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk

So if you don't like the service at Mistfit's bar, come on over.


And it's like what, a 10 hour drive in the middle of nowhere?

That's doable in the same day.

[Tubby Rower]

hmm.. Mistfit just has dial-up. I guess he lives further out in the boonies than you do.

[romeothemonk]

quote:Originally posted by barbu1977

quote:Originally posted by romeothemonk

So if you don't like the service at Mistfit's bar, come on over.


And it's like what, a 10 hour drive in the middle of nowhere?

That's doable in the same day.


Actually, its closer to a 14 hour drive, and with all the cops out, you better not have had too much beer at one place.

[Mistfit]

I do not live in the Middle of nowhere... but you can see it from my house

[Tubby Rower]

ok the outskirts of Nowhere [rolleyes]

[Whomp]

Awesome! Congrats Romeo!

[sz_matyas]

Nice, since my schedule this semester allows for four day weekends if needed, I might have to make the 9 hr trip, being 5 hrs towards nowhere already. The bar better be stocked though, because if not I could drink by myself here.

[Banzai]

Congrats Jake!! :)

[romeothemonk]

Actually, I would recommend the Bar in Michigan first. Mine will be more of a true Honky Tonk, speciallizing in playing Hank and Lefty and giving miscreants the Bum's Rush.

[romeothemonk]

OK, More updates!!

Getting internet in Rural Yankton is going to be a challenge. The only high speed access is via satellite, and the cable companies say that they don't even get cable TV out there. I want to throw the BS flag as the house has cable jacks built in.

Rather than drop a lot of money for a service I may not need, I will wait until I have been in Yankton a few days to get my bearings.

Thus I will be offline for probably 1 week or better starting on Thursday!!

[Rik Meleet]

I just received a SPAM email with wedding pictures of Jake and Melissa Colvin. Do you know anything about that?

[romeothemonk]

um, no. That is really odd. What email address did they come from? What photos?

Now I am confusered.

Thanks

[Rik Meleet]

I can forward it to you if you want. What emailaddress shall I forward it to ?

[romeothemonk]

[charge] dot[assw] at [banned] tod [backstab]

[Rik Meleet]

Mail send - you can edit out your email now.

[romeothemonk]

okay,
2 Major changes in Romeoland.
1) I got a sound card for my computer. YAY!!! I can once again play sounds and stuff after nearly 1.5 years of no sound. This might help some problems I have been having with my Civving.
2) My brother bought me Warlords for my birthday!! More YaY!!

[romeothemonk]

Ok I gots a problem here.

Anyone know how to fix this problem?



http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/200610212472_problems.jpg
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[Shabbaman]

Looks like something went wrong when you installed a mod.

[romeothemonk]

I have been kind of busy recently with a new project.

As many of you know, I recently moved. I now have a large house about 5 miles into the country.
(The bar now has beer and some harder stuff BTW)

As some of you may know, country houses can have mouse problems. I killed 13 in one month with traps, and my wife was quite upset.

So as I hate cats, except in my chinese food, we have got some other mousing pets.



http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/20061115134836_cuddling ferrets.jpg
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We got two young ferrets. They have already caught a mouse, but these guys take some time to train and play with. My PBEM's are moving kind of slowly as I get ~ 5-10 mins per day on the comp except on Sat. I suppose I could surf at work, but amazingly, I actually have work to do there.



http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/20061115135022_Socks in living room.jpg
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[Shabbaman]

MurderDeathKill! Ferrets give me the creeps. They look cute though.

[romeothemonk]

Well,
Much has changed since I last updated my semi-running blog like post chain.
I basically wanted to let everyone know that I am completely pumped for a movie like I haven't been since before Star Wars 1.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/hd/
I am actually taking a day off of work and driving 80 miles to see this on opening day.
I am a huge fan of the Spartan combat style and a much bigger fan of Frank Miller.
Since I couldn't see Sin City due to the Wife's Rules against[ggw2][ggw] on other women, I did get her to agree to let me watch 300.
I am also going to start incorporating the Spartan Circuit Training that buffed them up in 4 months for the shooting of the picture after I finish hitting my current goals for weightlifting.
If anyone cares Goals:
3 sets of 8 reps with 100 dumbells on Bench (Completed 2-27) (100's are as big as my gym goes.)
25 reps at 225 on Bench (Not attempted due to a lack of a competant spotter)
1 set of 20 reps of squats at 315 (3 plates a side). I am currently at 1X20 at 305, so 2 more weeks.
Ability to do 10 normal shoulder width pullups no cheating palms forward. (I am at 3, but I almost always do those last, and I don't have to hit this one to proceed)

[Socrates]

I wish I could train like Greeks did...

I also want to see "300" in the theaters. I liked the spirit of "Sin City" (despite not-that-much nude females ;) ), and I'm a great fan of the Greek culture, this is obvious.

[romeothemonk]

I forgot to mention another big thing that is going on in my life right now.
I decided that since my job wants to pay for continuing education, I should take advantage of it.
I took the GMAT, and I want to brag just a little bit, as I have yet to win a Civ game here, maybe I have to brag about winning in other things. Whomp may have some competition soon or something.

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/20073305710_cdz gmat.JPG
164.13KB

[romeothemonk]

Alrighty then. A quick post from Work. My powersupply dropped an egg this weekend. Prospective repair date unknown, but it will be soonish.

[romeothemonk]

Alright.
Here is one of the reasons I haven't been so busy here recently.


http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/2007828214230_100_1334.jpg
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http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/romeothemonk/2007828214322_100_1351.jpg
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In the good news, He is healthy and so is his Mom. In the better news, he is more well equipped than Tubby. (So Help Me, I can't resist a good dig every now and again)
Since both my PBEM's seem to have kind of just blown up and went away, I will declare myself the victor in both and not be challenged for a bit.

[mauer]

Congrats Romeo! First one? If so, I'll giggle behind your back.

[barbu1977]

Many congrats.

Is there a name yet!

For the ignition game I refuse to declare you the winner since we should be back up when BC provides us with the fixed save.

[akots]

[goodjob]

One son is not enough. [lol] To become a proper Roman citizen, you would need another one. [beer1]

[grahamiam]

congrats! [band]

[Darkness]

Congrats! :)

[Beorn]

He is barely bigger than your forearm ;)

Grats!

[romeothemonk]

quote:Originally posted by Beorn

He is barely bigger than your forearm ;)

Grats!


He is actually significantly bigger than my forearm. My flexed bicep has a larger diameter than my baby. However, that won't last very long.

Yes this is my first child, and I am quite overjoyed. My sleep level has decreased, as has my bank account, but it is definitely worth it.

[Rik Meleet]

Congrats Romeo :)

[Shabbaman]

Good news romeo, congratulations!

[Banzai]

If you had not posted in the 'Yeah Chicago' topic in Whomp's forum I would have missed this great news completely!

Belated congratulations!!!!
May he become as strong as his dad! :)

[BCLG100]

congrats romeo! :)

[Whomp]

How'd I miss this? Verra Nice Mr. Romeo!

[Pastorius]

so, is that Tinythemonk, or Juniorthemonk?


btw: http://www.imgag.com/product/full/ap/3032060/cg6cp.gif