Back Room Almanac
From BluWiki
Email received by BoardOps June 21, 2004:
I have avoided your board for the past several months, but had the misfortune of looking at it today out of sheer boredom. What's amazing is how bland the site has become after you methodically have removed every poster who disagreed with your politically correct, liberal agenda. It seems like the number of posters has dwindled to a handful of a stay at home housewives and retirees. There is little worthwhile ND football discussion on Rock's House anymore and most of the posters seem to care less about the program's success. There is also a lack of any constructive criticism of the college's administrators or any worthwhile political discussion on the Back Room. Most of what's left there are the media-enamored lemmings wishing to discuss the latest Hollywood gossip or their favorite scene from Caddyshack.
I also noticed that the Michael Moore type Bush-haters with their wacky, defamatory conspiracy theories continue posting without censure or comment.
The guys running this Board can be compared to the sort of smug characters (like the New York Times editorial board but with little or no clout) who believe they are smarter and more sophisticated than the posters on the board and whose wisdom comes from the mainly incompetent left-leaning professors forced upon us in South Bend.
Welcome to the Back Room Almanac wiki. Here's the oldskool version.
Back Room Blogs
Have a blog or know of a blog of back room interest? Add it here.
- NDN Board Ops
- The Rock Report
- Notes from the Geetar
- The Blue-Gray Sky
- The House Rock Built
- NDChooChoo
- EDSBS
- Summa Contra Mundum
- Her Loyal Sons
- Subway Domer
- Pass Right
- Popin' Ain't Easy
Random Handle Generator
Registering for NDN, and don't have a good handle in mind? Try one of these.
Kim Kardashian's Butt,Rich Mahagony, Dented Mango, Garbage Compactor Robot Jesus, GhostRnrOn2nd, Odd Squishing Sound, High Butthole, Jesse Spano, Tiller Doppelganger, Spasms Of Competence, Indigenous Nudity, Hamster Bit, Beloved Booberry, Double Squiggly, Swollen Forearms, Talent Tool, Witfilled Charmer, Cheeseburger Dreams, JeterBuiltMyHotRod, NJGuidoFiredFirst, Festering Uterus, Gelatinous Gagfest, BackDoor Trojan, AC Slater, Moose Screwer, Registered DumbDumb, WideStanceDumper, RedSchoendienstClassmate, TJ McStaggerpants, Nice Hot Vindaloo, MyBuddysWide, Airbus Crash Survivor, Olive Tinted Monsters, GaryGnu, Hobbit Love, Lisa Turtle, Male Geoduck, Geoduck Soup, Zectron? SuperBall?, Problematic Crack Squirrel, Zach Morris, Intellectual Property, BurnsWhenIPee, StrangerInTheAlps, ndhjumper, PillowPants, Listerfiend, Dr. Strangepork, Link Hogthrob, Velvet Brady Jesus, Princess Sofia, MrFainty, Multiple Orgasms, Look At Me, creepystalkerirish, Toetapper, Barrow Boy Spiv, VaingloriousIdolatry, InternetCrazies, Lazy-Eyed Urban Poet, Phantom Pooper, Bit of a Rembrandt, I Like Turtles, Satisfied Dorkbone, Spaz Pride Parade, LovestruckDoofus, Eeewwww, Chronic Biscuit Abuser, Repulsive Pedant, Mpemba Effect, Res ipse loquitur, Clandestine Hater, We'reNumber1Moses, Trouser Python, Squirt Tower, Rocket Surgeon, Genious, Elaborate Meat Suit, Celtic Ice Wolf 3000, MudFarmingSheepRapist, Cream Cheese Enigma, Mrs Badcrumble, Dear Ndugu, PriceTagButt, Semicriminal Hermeneuticist, OneSpectacularBM, Reilly Diefenbach, Nine Inch Brown Dragon, RomanianDeadlift, Precocious Reggae Fan, Libatius Piddlewiggins, Magic Negro, Liver Killer, Bosomly Gifted, B.F. Moran, Debbie Downer, Optimistic Beaver, Charlie's Angel, Nude Rockme, Douche Explosion, Keith Van Horn's Expiring Contract, Valentine Penis Cupcake, Corwin's Marmoting, Strategic Pork Reserve, Pigjacker, RaccoonDinner, Satan's Cookie, Client 9, the Small Guatemalan, Pubic Hair Truffle, Profligate Tipper, Isaac, Ubiquitous Chicken, Svetlana Suckakokoff, GuiltByAssociation, disavowed, SeanHannityslover, Intellect Fist, Pee Absorbing Flap, Posing Somdomite, Snake Wrangler, Semen Salesmen, Nitrogen Bull, Wide-Eyed Schmuckling, Ancient Chinese Secret, ObamasMadrassa, GoldenManThong, HaugenHurts, Phenomenal Huevos, schlafoong, Lowbrow Potbanger, Baader-Meinhof, Dune qua Dune, Smarty Whatnot, EyeBabies, iPod Winner, Kimchi Breath, Rectal Flutters, HotBeefSundae, MILF Hunter, Dick Darlington, Mustache Boogaloo, CreepyBackroomGuy, Naked Midnight Rider, Championship Persons, Tommy Kilborn, IN THE KNOW, Antone, LimpWristedAlumnus, Where's the Graty?
the Quilt
Back Room FAQ
Answers to frequent backroom questions can go here.
The Back Room Thesaurus
Want to look like a NDN veteran? Work some of these words and phrases into your posts.
| 20 percenter | ACP | agreeance | aspirational peer |
| coforcience | cranked in the fruitstand | cromulent, embiggens | disprove it |
| divorced, SUV-driving, secular-humanist soccer moms | ESPioNics | fundy | (head exploding) |
| ilk | in re; supra; infra | [inaudible] | -ist (fascist, cakist, pieist, istist, etc) |
| it was the goal line | Joe Vannie | (keyboard) | "likes crabcakes" |
| local call | moran | nad-pumpingly | Noosphere |
| novus ordo | ( o Y o ) | papolator | pickle-chugger |
| pie | residentiality | sausage | that Coffey guy |
| Todd Richard Branch | What if we win out? | wiener dog | Wolyjitarian |
Notre Dame Admissions Advice
Call the ND Admissions Office at (574) 631-7505. Giving advice on admissions is what they get paid for. Many of the folks offering advice on the Back Room mean well, but the advice they give is often incorrect. Please call the admissions office with any questions.
The "Talk"
The fiancee/spouse has to understand that Notre Dame football stands alone and above negotiations, akin to a discussion about selling your kids into white slavery-not an option.
My wife tried to set a wedding date that happened to conflict with the ND/Florida Sugar Bowl game on January 1, 1993. I had to sit down with her and have "The Talk".
She knew in her heart that we should not be having "The Talk", because she had experienced the centrality of Notre Dame football in my life, and that I had switched my "ROCKNE" personalized license plate between cars like the "Man Without A Country" was shifted between ships, so that he never again set foot on our homeland.
So, I say with care and affection, you must have "The Talk" and tell her, "I apologize if I gave the impression that I was trading favors - that I would go to this concert in consideration of you 'letting' me watch ND football with my friends. That was a momentary lapse of good judgment and mental focus. Of course, I cannot negotiate ND football as a favor to be traded, any more than I can negotiate breathing or my love for you: these things are immutable and the lodestone to my existence. They are my raison d'etre, my heart, and my life.
"The reason that you love me is because I am devoted to you, and because I am a man of great passion. One of those passions is Notre Dame football, and I know that alldeestings, such as Notre Dame Gameday, which as you know, comes up only 11 or 12 times per year, is not a favor to be negotiated. I will negotiate things like movies- you pick one one week, and I'll pick one the other. Or restaurants - we can trade picking those. And, I'll even trade possession of the remote control, but you have to never discuss this in mixed company - in fact, keep this as private as my tendency to sit down and watch "You've Got Mail" with you when you go to it like a bee to a flower.
"There are certain absolutes in life - Notre Dame football is one of them. Another one is to never tell you that your butt looks big or that a dress makes you look fat. I've been schooled on those marital landmines -the posters on the Back Room have taught me well.
"I hope that 'The Talk' has been a moment of bonding for us. It has to, since, like I said, 'It's non-negotiable'. Don't schedule any weddings on top of ND football. Don't set up any weekends with friends, or any visits to Grandma that include me. Notre Dame Gamedays are the black hole of sociability. I'm going to be harder to find than the Unabomber or Howard Hughes.
"These things I hold to be true and just. What God has joined between Notre Dame football fans, let no man put asunder. Now go, and negotiate this no more."
-mkovac
Why I Hate Michigan
Why I hate Meechigan, by OGerry:
My conscience dictates that I bear no hatred for a person or aggregate of people no matter how whiny, annoying, misguided or gynecomastic they may be. Ideas are different, though. The truth demands revulsion at ideas that lead souls from her path. My hatred of the Meatchickens, then, must be grounded in the realm of ideas, not personalities.
On the surface, their football program appears to have much in common with the Blessed Mother's University's own. They are both ancient midwestern powers, at least by the temporal standards by which college football can be measured. Midwestern roots tend to flourish best in the rugged soil of a punishing ground attack. Both schools are competitive universities, drawing a relatively similar student body, at least in the ways that the many measure such things. The Michiganers fancy that they have a respectable national following. If it were true, that would be another similarity.
These superficial points of confluence, however, only heighten the essential dissonance between the schools, and the irreconcilable philosophies that guide each football program. EdMartinigan clings to an empty, deracinated philosophy of education. There is no Good; there are only subjective goods, many of which must be respected as equal idols. Education is an end unto itself, to be used to whatever purpose the customer may wish to apply it.
Notice well how they have no compunction about using their athletes as kinesiological pieces of meat, tools of profit for the greater institution. Notice the size of the school and the emphasis on research at the expense of the undergrad's quest for wisdom and understanding. Concern for their reputation alone sets their path, straining to seem excellent rather than truly to be excellent, the aim of the sophist. Also note well how quickly they deride any mention of religious themes when mixed with athletic competition by their southern rival. The intellectual must be kept alienated from the spiritual and both from the physical, as if any person actually exists that way. In short, the University of RichardToddBranchigan has swallowed every error modernity has ever spewed into the wheels of human history. They cling desperately to these fallacies, believing that their obstinacy makes them valiant and will lead to victory, and ridiculing any with a wisdom that surpasses their own.
The yawning chasm separating this bastion of hubris from the University of Notre Dame cannot be plumbed, even if one could measure the distance between the east and the west. At Notre Dame, the soul is gently nurtured in the understanding that all things seek but one ultimate Truth, that every endeavor under the sun only finds fullness to the degree that it furthers that pursuit. Excellence in all things becomes the goal prized by worthy and dignified creatures. They are obligated to pursue it in all they do, with all of their faculties. There is a unity in life, with a single focal point that will consummate every part, transforming them into living stones. Athletes are not merely athletes. Students are not merely students. All must share in the essential life of the school, never used simply as an object.
This is why my heart leaps every time I see Notre Dame's warrior-poets take the field, golden domes flashing in the sun. They embody the spirit of the agon, an all-encompassing pursuit of excellence alien to Ann Arbor, a wrestling with personal weakness to yield to transcendent strength. Her warriors are a visceral reminder of that very mystical body, every part dignified and fulfilled in its unique and blessed toil for the common good.
Notre Dame Paint Colors
From JoeJackTalcum: ND Navy 289, ND Gold 116, ND Metallic Gold 872, ND Green 347, White White http://www.nd.edu/~ndlicens/resources/documents/NotreDameLogoSheet.pdf
Note from cujays96:
Go to the paint store and get a bunch of swatches you think are close. This next part I can't stress enough, you do not pick out paint at the store. Bring the swatches home and look at them in the light of the room you are painting. Hold the swatches side by side with something ND colored and don't stare at it for more than 30 seconds at a time. After 30 seconds they will start to look the same.
For the gold you will not get gold flake because it and silver paste has to be stored in solvent or it will oxidize. Therefore the can it is stored in is flammable/combustible and the stores don't like dealing with it. Ask that a pearlescent be added. It will give you the shining effect.
Pantone guides are just that guides. Because of pigment selection etc no manufacturer can exactly match the Pantone book no matter what they say.
Gadget BR
HDTV
When it comes to questions about HDTV or home theater equipment in general, the AVS forum is the best place to find an answer.
Here are some good general guidelines (as of August 2007)
I limit comments here to flat screen LCD and Plasma only. These will be about 4 inches deep and can hang on the wall or table mount. For screen sizes 40� and below, go with a flat screen LCD. Most every other technology has conceded this market to LCD. For screens larger than 40�, read on.
Rear projection LCD, DLP, and SXRD(Sony) TVs will typically be less expensive, but bulkier. If they have the space (depth) and want to save some money, you could look at those. The Sony SXRD are stunning. I am not a big fan of DLP, since you lose much of the brightness of the screen as you move to the side and away from directly in front of the screen. Rear projection, however, can give you an excellent resolution and nice display for quite a bit less money than the flat screens.
LCD vs. Plasma
- LCD screens are the standard below 40�. Plasma has been the standard above 40�, but LCD screens are now getting larger.
- LCD screens will work better in bright rooms or those with glare.
- Plasma screens will work better in darker rooms.
- Due to how the screens are lit, LCD screens will have whiter whites while Plasma screens will have blacker blacks. LCDs have a harder time getting completely black. If you have a picture that is not full screen (say a standard TV signal), the black bars on the sides on the LCD will give off some light. In a dark room this may bother you.
- LCD screens are better as a computer monitor than Plasma, if you intend on attaching a computer to the screen.
- Plasma screens are better at reproducing fast-paced action, like sports. Plasmas typically have a screen refresh rate ~2ms, while LCDs are typically ~7ms.
- LCD screens have a potential problem with dead pixels. You will see these as a single bright spot on your screen. Manufacturers typically won't consider a screen defective unless there are up to 6 dead pixels on the screen. In a dark room, these can be quite noticeable.
- Plasma screens require that you spend some time burning them in, so that you avoid image retention down the road.
- Plasma screens are a little less expensive for comparable size today, but the difference is shrinking.
- LCD screens typically have a higher resolution for a comparable size. Many LCD screens have a full 1080p resolution while most Plasmas max out at 720p/1080i. This will not typically be an issue for HDTV broadcasts at all, but could be once they get an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player.
Given all this info, I would consider the following:
Do they have the space to get a deeper TV, and not a flat screen? If so, check out one of the rear projection screens. Sony SXRD is stunning (I can't say this enough).
Is the room quite dark or quite bright? If so, choose Plasma(dark) or LCD (bright)
Would a bad pixel bother them in the middle of the screen? Would having to burn-in a screen, by following the manufacturer's instructions, bother them? If so to either, then avoid LCD (bad pixel) or avoid Plasma (burn-in).
Are you a technophile? If not, the maximum resolution is probably not an issue. All these TVs will be pretty damn good.
If none of the above is significant, then go with something affordable that you think looks good in the store.
If you have a Costco nearby, that is exactly where I would buy one. They have a phenomenal return policy and excellent prices.
Regarding manufacturers: Sony, Sharp, and Philips are the standard for LCD. Pioneer and Panasonic are the standard for Plasma. There are a large number of pretty good quality manufacturers out there and a large number of poor quality manufacturers out there. Whatever you choose, make sure you see the TV in person first and like its picture. If you like the picture and the price is right, the specific manufacturer is not overridingly important.
For detailed reviews and discussion on every TV out there, go to http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=9. It�s not a particularly easy site to navigate, but there is a wealth of information available if you are willing to cull through a very busy message board.
Once you buy a TV, calibrate its colors. Buy a ISF HDTV calibration DVD and run through the steps to make sure your colors are correct. $20-$30 and well worth it.
For cables, go to http://www.monoprice.com. They have excellent HDMI/DVI/Component cables for around $20, instead of the $60 - $100 Monster Cables.
Satellite Radio
One of the most common board questions is Sirius versus XM - which should I get? Because the two services have just about converged on price, the content offered is most often the deciding factor. You might also consider the hardware offered, as XM seems to be two steps ahead in true satellite portability and providing "tivo-like" recordable radio. Both offer devices for listening in the car as well as home. Some units have boomboxes that can be transported out for tailgates and the like.
From a commercial-free music standpoint, there is little difference between the two services. Each service has the typical array of Rock, Country, Pop, Rap, Classical, Jazz, Blues, etc. Sirius has an "all Elvis" and "all Stones" station as well as stations "programmed" by Eminem and Jimmy Buffett. Both services offer hourly shows with various celebrity hosts, such as Bob Dylan on XM and 50 Cent on Sirius.
The main difference between the two providers is their Sports, Talk, and News offerings.
From a sports standpoint, Sirius offers: the NFL, NBA, NHL, Arena Football, English Premier League Soccer, and college sports. Notre Dame broadcasts are exclusively on Sirius. NASCAR will be moving to Sirius in 2007. XM offers: MLB, NASCAR, IndyCar, NHL, PGA, and the 2006 World Cup. It also offers college sports, primarily from the ACC, Big 10, and Pac 10. Both have ESPN Radio; XM also carries Sporting News Radio and Fox Sports Radio.
For News and Talk, it's probably easiest to look at the detailed channel listings below to see if your favorite stations are on each service. There are many common news and talk stations offered by both (Fox News, Bloomberg, E!, CNN, CNBC, etc.). However, some of the differentiating offerings for Sirius are Howard Stern Radio, Martha Stewart Living, Maxim Radio, Playboy Radio, EWTN, and NPR. Some stations found only on XM are Air America, Opie & Anthony and Ron & Fez.
Both services offer weather and traffic for various cities, though XM seems to feature more cities.
Sirius has a page of its exclusive content at: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=Page&cid=1107787275024&
The Programming lineup for XM can be found at: http://www.xmradio.com/programming/full_channel_listing.jsp?sort=number
The Programming lineup for Sirius can be found at: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=ChannelLineup&cid=1139320914821
All of the above will be moot as there are outward signs of a merger. On February 19th, 2007, an article in the NY Post reported the pending announcement, with a target date for the deal to be finalized in mid-2008.
Tivo
As for Tivo, any question you can think of has probably already been asked and answered at TivoCommunity.com
iPhone, iPod, iTunes
iTunes-- the free software-- manages music and video collections. It can rip CDs to any of a number of formats, including MP3. Its default setting is to rip to a format called AAC-- essentially a newer MP4 format.
iPods, which sync most easily with the iTunes software, can play music stored in several formats, including AAC and MP3. AAC files are now supported by many digital music players. iPods cannot play Windows Media files (.wma) which are found on some online stores. They can be converted to a usable format by importing them into iTunes.
The iTunes Music Store-- accessible through the iTunes software-- sells songs that download in a Protected AAC format. The raw purchased file will play on any computer, and can be burned to a CD to play in any stereo, but the only portable player the raw file will play on is the iPod.
Most songs purchased from the iTMS are protected AAC files. These can be burned to an audio CD, which can then be re-ripped to a computer in any format you desire-- including unprotected AAC, and MP3. The new file has no protection or restrictions at all. This is all perfectly legal as well. Recently, Apple began selling AAC files not protected by DRM. These files cost more ($1.29 per song), but are encoded with a higher bitrate.
Some people think that taking an AAC file, burning to CD (which does not degrade the quality) then re-ripping to MP3 format (which uses a different kind of compression) degrades the quality of the sound. They are right, but depending on the settings used, many people cannot hear the difference. That is the trade-off to get the format you want.
Recommended iPhone Applications
Here are a few Back Room recommend apps for the iPhone:
Internet/IM/Productivity/Misc:
- Google - Mobile Google search - Free
- fring - Instant messaging for AIM, Google Talk, more - Free
- Sportacular - Sports scores - Free
- Sportstap - same thing - Free
- Drinks Free - Drink instructions - Free
- Firemail - type e-mails in landscape rather than portrait - Free
- Evernote - if you already use the software on your computer, you know what this is - Free
- Stanza - download books (many for free) and turn your iPhone into a Kindle - Free
Music:
- Shazam - Records a sample of a song and provides artist/song/album information - Free
- Pandora - Streaming audio - Free
- NPR Mobile - Free
Restaurants/Movies:
- Open Table - Restaurant Recommendations and Reservations - Free
- AroundMe - Finds nearby restaurants, bars, movie theaters, banks, more - Free
- Urbanspoon - Finds nearby restaurants - Free
- Now Playing - Find movies and purchase tickets - Free
Games:
- Price is Right - iPhone version not tainted by Drew Carey - $2.99
- Sim City - iPhone version of Sim City 3000 - $9.99
- Word Warp - Free
- Astrotilt - AKA Alleyway, Brickbreaker, etc. - Free
- ESPN Cameraman - sports equivalent of Nude Photo Hunt - Free
- Tap Tap Revenge - like Dance Dance Revolution - Free
- Topple - build the tower high and quickly without it falling over/bizarro Tetris - Free
- vConquer - AKA Risk - Free
Digital Cameras
Before purchasing a digital camera, it is very important for you to consider how it is that you're going to be using it. Do you want something small and stylish, always available in the briefcase or purse? Do you want something with a longer zoom, and more manual controls? Do you want to take pictures of kids and puppies scampering about the house, and need fast response? Or do you mostly take landscapes and not really care because the mountain isn't going anywhere? Are you really only ever going to make 4x6 inch prints, or are you going to want to make a 11x14 or 13x19 to show off your artistic side? The answers to these questions should help guide you in what direction you should go.
Digital cameras basically come in 3 different types: the compact or ultra compact, the more "prosumer" type, and a digital SLR (single-lens reflex). In general, the cameras in all types are shipping in the 3MP(megapixel) range all the way up to the 7 to 8MP range. Do NOT get yourself caught up in the megapixels hype! Sure, a 7 MP camera will have more absolute resolution than a 3 MP camera, but if you're only going to make 4x6 pictures, you'll NEVER notice the difference! I'm going to go on record here as saying the way you process your images in the editing software of your choice has a LOT to do with the way you're prints are going to look. (Hint: Unsharp Mask is your best friend and a filter found in any of the Photoshop full versions or Photoshop Elements, 2.0-3.0 which ships free sometimes, or similar Paint Shop, etc.. ) I've made professional quality 11x14 inch prints from a 4 MP camera that are capable of being sold as artwork; looking like they came from a high resolution film camera. I've also gone as high as 13 x19 inches from the same 4MP camera with results 99% of you would be delighted with, and I find completely acceptable. So, to simplify: 3 MP = fantastic 8x10, 4MP = fantastic 11x14. Anything more is just gravy for most people, but those extra megapixels give you the option to crop your photos heavily (zoom in) and still maintain that superior quality. And I'll go on record here as saying that a 8x10 size photograph is absolutely HUGE for most people. For example, my Mom puts 4x6's(maybe a rare 5x7) in frames around the house, never larger.
The compact/ subcompact segment consists of small to unbelievably small "point and shoot" type cameras. Most people get something like this and simply turn it on and off, shooting primarily in Auto mode, and get great snapshots. These cameras have been designed to be foolproof to use and to download onto your computer. You can buy models which are utilitarian and plastic; there's also stylish stainless steel models for the "gadget lover" in you, the person with the latest tiniest cell phone in the office, etc. Pros: size, portability, ease of use. Cons: limited features, VERY limited flash, short zooms or no zooms.
The "prosumer" segment of cameras consists of larger , more fully featured cameras. They usually have long to VERY long zooms, quick start-up times and very short shutter lag, and higher resolution/megapixels. Some of these cameras have the equivalent of a 28mm-300mm "35mm film camera" lens built right in. What a convenience! You'll be able to reach out and grab shots of Junior playing shortstop from your seat in the bleachers with no problem at all! Also, more importantly, the shutter lag has been shortened drastically, so you don't miss those perfect moments anymore. Those of you who have tried to take pictures of kids or pets with your digital camera know what I'm talking about. By the time the camera actually focuses and fires, you've missed the moment! Well, the manufacturers have really addressed this problem, and some of the cameras are much faster now. BUT, seek out some info about the camera you want, and it also doesn't hurt to actually try it out in the store. In addition, you also get a full complement of manual controls and overides, so the more adventurous and artistic of you can control your images more. The same rules apply with megapixels as does above. Buy what you need; but it certainly doesn't hurt to have more.
The digital SLR segment consists of SLR (single lens reflex) cameras. A SLR camera is the type of camera you may have used when you took a photo class in school; or the kind you imagine professionals using when you see them on TV or at a wedding. The great advantage of these cameras is you are looking directly through the lens which is taking the picture; you focus, frame, and see exactly what you're going to get! These cameras have the advantage of multiple interchangeable lenses, flashes, and accessories. It is exciting what has happened in this segment. You can now get an amazing 6 MP SLR camera from a couple of manufacturers for under $1000(even more like $800) that will do ANYTHING you could possibly want from your camera. The BEST part though is the absolutely instantaneous shutter release and focusing mechanism. Getting great shots of your pets or action shots of the kids are no longer a problem with the "what you see is what you get" aspect of these cameras. These digital SLR's were once only the domain of working professionals, but the price has dropped so drastically that it is not a stretch at all for the typical ND person hanging around here to consider one. It is my strong opinion that you should look at one of these cameras BEFORE you go ahead and spend the $500 -$800 or so on an all-in-one prosumer model as discussed above; that is if you are indeed looking in this price range.
Some other considerations:
-Buy a case, and use it. There are small, stylish cases out there that don't get in the way at all, and these small compacts and ultracompacts do not take kindly to being dropped...not even once. I cannot tell you how many of these I saw come in for repair, simply as a result of being dropped, sat on, etc. Of particular concern is the delicate lens mechanism on these cameras; try not to bump the lens or force it at all. I will tell you that the manufacturers do not cover impact damage, especially visible impact damage. If you have it in a case and it falls, maybe it stops working...but there's no "visible" impact for the repair place to quarrel over. I will also tell you the manufacturers will want $150 or so to repair that $200 camera you just broke...so in most cases, it's not even worth it to make the repair. You go get a new one.
-Continuing on this theme, it's a good thing to have a full 1 Year manufacturer's warranty on these cameras, so check with the salesperson and inside the box. I can't tell you how many I've seen come in that just "failed' or stopped working for no apparent reason whatsover. Think of them as little computers. Beware: there's one highly regarded name brand out there that begins with a "S" that only gives a 90 day warranty on its cameras; they make a good stylish product, but that warranty policy precludes their products with me. I'll also say I didn't see too many of that brand come in for repair either, so take that for what it's worth. Also, there's no need to purchase the extended warranty if offered to you by the store, unless you're going higher end. Those warranties are HUGE profit makers for the sales staff and store. If something is going to go wrong, it will usually go wrong within the warranty. If it's past a year or longer, the lower segment of the market changes so rapidly that you just go buy something that has more megapixels, is faster, is smaller, and 3/4 of the price you paid for your last camera!
-Beware of "digital zoom", as it is a misleading feature. You want "optical" zooming only, and want to disable the digital zoom feature on your camera if possible. All digital zoom is doing is cropping in on the center part of your photo digitally; basically the same effect as zooming and cropping the Jpeg later in the image editor of your choice! It magnifies the pixels, and results in image degradation. It is a false and misleading feature, designed simply as a selling point. Turn this off, and crop your photos later on.
-Try and shoot at the lowest ISO speed rating you can. That generally means anywhere from 50-100 speed. As you go up in "film" speed, the pixels become noisier, more magnified, "pixelated", "grainier"; very similar to the way film gets grainier as you go up in speed. There is a big trade off in quality as you go up in sensitivity. Most of you will just leave the ISO setting on Auto, but you'll get better color and "smoothness"if you can capture the same photo at the lowest speed setting possible.
-If you're looking at point and shoot types, consider buying cameras which use cheap readily available batteries such as AA's. You'll be able to grab a set of short-lasting alkaline batteries in a pinch. You'll also be able to buy inexpensive, long lasting rechargeable NiMH AA's which you can use in any number of devices around the house in addition to the camera! You can get a charger with 4 batteries, and an extra set to always be ready. Try and find the highest mah rated batteries you can find. Current tech batteries are now in the 2300mah + range. The manufacturers don't put a "cell phone" type battery in these cameras because of cost. At the lower price point, the customer doesn't want to pay $50 for a spare battery, when you can get cheapo rechargeable AA's. The more expensive, smaller cameras get better batteries, but you pay for it. Those "proprietary" type batteries from the manufacturer cost a fortune, and are a HUGE source of profit. So that ultra stylish mini- stainless steel camera you want is going to cost you if you want a spare battery. But, in many cases, these cameras can't even fit AA's anymore as they've gotten so small.
-Get some memory as you want to shoot at the highest resolution Jpeg ALL the time! I cannot stress this enough. Shooting a high resolution camera at low resolution is like using a new Ferrari to drive up the street at 10mph in 1st gear to get a latte! Drive the thing would ya! Unless you have specific needs and will never need to go higher (insurance claims/ emailing only of pics), you can always resize a picture DOWN to suit your needs, but you cannot go UP in resolution! More experienced users can probably come with a trade-off resolution that they like to use, but don't get stuck with that once in a lifetime shot of Junior having been taken at a low resolution; unsuitable for a 8x10 to give to your Mom, or for you to remember with a big print when Junior is all grown up. At last check, a blazing fast 1 GB CF (Compact Flash) card or 1GB SD card is now in the range of only a $100! (I remember a time when a very slow performing 128MB CF card was around $1000!) For a rough idea of how many images you'll get on a card, consider this. A 4 MP camera at highest Jpeg resolution will generate a 1.5MB to 2MB file per shot. So, a very inexpensive 128MB CF Card will store anywhere between 70-80 photos at highest resolution on a 4 MP camera ( for larger quantity cards, simply factor up in multiples of 128MB) So to summarize, shoot high; memory cost is low.
People often ask me what's the best camera to get or what's the best brand to buy. It's a difficult thing to say, as I work in the field. I usually say whatever works best for you. Some people have great experiences with products from a manufacturer whose product I would never own in a million years. Some people have bad experiences with product from whom I think is the best manufacturer. I will state here, though, that I am a big fan of a couple companies in particular: they are traditional Japanese camera companies who have been around a long time and know photography. One begins with a "C"; the other begins with a "N". Any professionals working today are using cameras from one of these 2 companies. And the "C" company is so good in design, style, ease, and technology (even more so in point and shoots), that is is a clear cut winner for most people. They are a huge company with R&D from many industries, and they utilize it.
I am a frequent lurker and poster, and I ask you to contact me via e-mail with any questions, comments, or advice. My address can be found by seeking out my profile. I can answer some questions in the public forum of the Backroom; sometimes it's best if I do not. Good luck.
ferndog
How to Protect Your Home PC
There are 4 main privacy issues to look out for on your PC that range from dangerous to merely annoying. Luckily, there are plenty of programs dedicated to handling these problems. Here are the 4 major categories of programs to have and use to keep your computer safe and clean.
Anti-Virus Software Viruses are the things that get into your computer through email attachments or the work of a hacker. The best and only way to make sure your computer is virus-free (or fix your computer should a virus infect it) is to use Anti-Virus Software. There are some free versions, but this is something where paying for a quality product is probably a good idea. The two main anti-virus software packages are from Norton and McAfee. They are both easy to use and are very powerful tools to keep your computer healthy. Read the websites and find the product that fits your level of home PC use. If you work for a large company, check with IT first. Sometimes they have copies they will let employees put on their home computers, especially if you do work from home. If you don't mind spending some extra money, some of the deluxe anti-virus software packages, like Norton's Internet Security Professional, combine an anti-virus package with the next topic, a firewall.
For free programs try out either AVG or Avast. Both work really well and AVG at least appears to take up less resources than either McAfee or Norton, which means your computer will not slow down as much.
Firewalls Firewalls are what keep your home computer shielded from hacker attempts to infect your computer or take it over completely. Basically, a firewall only lets in and out of a computer what you let it. Along with anti-virus software, a firewall is becoming a must have for the home PC...especially one with broadband internet access. The two major firewall developers are Zone Alarm and Black Ice. Some users though have reported issues with installing Black Ice. Zone Alarm is a nice option since it has a free basic version that is entirely suitable for home needs. If you want the extra whistles and bells, their professional versions are annual award winners. Another option is to buy a router that plugs in between your computer and your internet connection. Think of it as a hardware firewall, as opposed to a software one. You can buy a hardware firewall/router for ~$50, or ~$100 for one that will also give you a wireless network. Routers will then protect all the computers on the local network from common internet attacks. Linksys, US Robotics and D-Link are the best known brands. If you have Windows XP, a firewall is included and while not as robust as the versions by Zone Alarm, Black Ice, and Norton, it is better than nothing. If you're not sure if your firewall is working, run the Shields Up! test at Gibson Research to see what exactly your computer is showing to the world. This test involves probing your computer but the site is trusted and nothing malicious is being installed on your computer.
Spyware Eliminators Spyware are the programs loaded into your computer without your knowledge...much like viruses. However, unlike viruses, they are rarely destructive. Rather, they are normally used for shady marketing purposes. If you all of a sudden notice the same pop-up coming up over and over, or if your home page has changed to something you've never seen before, you probably have spyware on your computer. Spyware can also track your online surfing habits and report back to whatever company/person wrote the software. A common source of spyware are file-sharing programs like Kazaa. To get rid of these nasty programs, download a tool like Ad-Aware, which is a widely used, free, and very effective spyware eliminator. Like Zone Alarm, they offer professional versions with more features. Some people like to use multiple programs to find tricky spyware a single program might miss. If you'd like, you can run Spybot Search and Destroy as well. Unfortunately, certain spyware programs are able to reinstall themselves and take a bit more work to eliminate. One handy program is Hijack This! which reports back everything program that is tied in to your browser. Unless you know what you are looking for, it's best to save the generated log file and send it to a trusted computer expert friend or try to find the answer at a message board like www.spywareinfo.com/forums. One last program that is extremely useful is called the CWShredder, which is dedicated solely to eliminating one particularly nasty and persistent piece of spyware called the CoolWebSearch. The CWShredder is a great program to run when nothing else seem to be working. If you want to do further research into the various programs that can infect your machine, the pestpatrol website (another spyware program site) has a great definitions section with tips on how to remove all manners of spyware.
Pop-Up Stoppers Pop-ups are the annoying windows that "pop up" while web-surfing from site to site. Usually they are harmless and are basically ads for things like Orbitz or a certain cell phone company. Pop-Up Stoppers vary widely in effectiveness so feel free to try out a few different ones. One quality pop-up stopper is built into the Google Toolbar. A nice benefit is that along with the pop-up stopper, you get a google search toolbar and Auto-Fill capabilities for online forms. Yet, there is another form of pop-up that nearly all Pop-Up Stoppers fail to catch. These annoying windows take advantage of a built-in Windows service called Windows Messenger Service. Luckily, you can turn off this mostly useless feature. Read how to do so here. A final option to stop pop-ups is to stop using Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Netscape altogether and start using Firefox. This might be for someone who's a bit more comfortable around computers though.
What ND Online Site Should I Subscribe To?
(originaly posted by SavageDragon)
I think it's a choice that has to be about one of a couple considerations: 1) interest in recruiting. Following who ND is interested in, what players like ND, and getting some scoops can be fun; if it's just about finding out news of commitments (that is, not about the speculation, anticipation, reading the tea leaves, etc.) then pay sites don't really give you anything extra. News breaks and is publicly available within 30 minutes on sites such as this, or in free articles on the pay sites.
2) interest in day-to-day reporting. The pay sites give practice reports daily, though at some point that becomes somewhat meaningless -- it's fun to read, but really, it doesn't much matter whether Scott Smith or Anthony Vernaglia or Kerry Neal looked good in practice on Tuesday, looked bad on Wednesday, or had a funny quip on Thursday. This is exacerbated by the ND policy that allows access only to the first 20 minutes of practice. That said, for those looking to get every little piece of info on the team, the pay sites provide that service.
3) a ravenous desire to read ND football information. If you want to read every article out there, and want to jump into every message board, and want to meet every fellow ND fan, and most of the ND bashers ... Seriously, there's certainly a social element to it, and each board gives you something a little different. Each may have a slightly different culture, both in terms of the boards and in terms of the writers' articles.
So that's the general answer to "are paysites worth it (for me)". Now as to my impression of the differences, let me be up front saying that I'm a member at both IE and II, and I was a member at BGI immediately after the split from Rivals, but not for long enough, and not recently enough to make any judgment there.
II gives you much higher "traffic" -- the board turns over faster, there are more conversations, and at least it seems that there are more people. You'll get probably a greater latitude for outlandishness; it makes sense: the boards aren't as tightly moderated, there's higher traffic, and there's a larger population of younger (and in some cases, far younger) fans. Further, the entirety of the Rivals network seems to be aimed at the less mature audiences, though this may be changing with Scout/MySpace alliance. Rivals has an excellent video network, and cleaner UIs than Scout, and their national boards bring a (sometimes boorish, but generally entertaining) collection of fans together. If one cares about the national analysts, I think that their national analysts are a bit more high-viz than Scout's, on the other hand they also seem to interact less with the individual sites. I will say that Jack Freeman does an excellent job for II, but the lack of support he gets with no "citizen mods" and a network-wide mandate to allow the stupidity and low levels of discourse neuter some of his good intent to make the II boards excellent.
Scout's network is clearly inferior to Rivals; the video is rudimentary and a small library, the national boards are improving but still fledgling, and they seem to have a much more contemptuous relationship with the individual site operators (as indicated by the recent defections to ESPN and ongoing strife with remaining site operators). What Scout has going for it for ND fans is the IE site itself. The population is, in my view, much more civil and mature at IE than at II, and the site is heavily moderated. Some may look at that as a bad thing -- less freedom of conversation, assumptions of censorship, etc. I look at it, in the terms of one of the mods there, as a benefit: the same level of signal with less noise to corrupt it. Also something that gives value to the IE boards is a heavy influence of coach-posters, that is, current and former HS and college coaches who give insight into the game of football and share information that the casual fan might not understand. This is a big job, and something that certainly adds to the board because the II writers (and so too with the IE ones) simply can't keep up with this amount of information dissemination on their own.
The writers/gurus on the sites are very much a matter of taste. I enjoy reading material from both sites, and they both get their fair share of "scoops" in terms of recruiting and player news. I personally prefer both Mike and Jeff from IE over the II guys, but I also do enjoy Pete Sampson and Steve Hare's work on the Rivals site, so I don't mean for my preferences to be a slap in their face.
One thing that many find a black mark against Rivals is that the II guys tend to fancy themselves journalists more than the Scout guys; Mike and Jeff are fans, they'll try to be objective but if they get caught up in homerism, they'll admit it and move on. The Rivals writers, most notably Tim Prister, seem to want to put their journalistic integrity ahead of their fandom. This is fine, except that when they get called on homerism, rather than admitting it and moving on, they seem to feel compelled to come back with a disgustingly negative article that is written for proving their journalistic bona fides to the outside world. It reeks of the same problem of Malloy's preference to look good to outsiders than to be ND and thus look good to those who matter.
At the same time, however, it opens up the site to more points of view, because people are less likely to line up behind the writers' opinions and exclude all critical thought when the writers' opinions differ. Also, in terms of reading the gamut of opinions, many people pick II just because of the higher population. This is also especially true since Mike Frank has been so giving with his time and information and provides a lot of information for free to the community, due to the situation he came from and his desire to rectify that for future years of Irish fans. On one hand, it's a great thing that he is so giving, but I'd imagine he hurts his own subscriber base by giving away so much of his information that people can get much of his stuff and subscribe to II for all of theirs, rather than subscribing to IE for 100% of Mike's and getting almost 0% of II's.
I suppose that it's something that you have to experience for yourself; I can talk/type until I'm blue in the face, but you have to jump in and figure out which culture you prefer, which writing/reporting styles you prefer, etc. I will say that most of the opinions you'll get on this site will likely strongly favour IE, as Mike is a good friend of many on this site, and they rightly want to throw business his way since they (again, rightly) feel he does a good job.
If you have any questions as to my opinions (and I must stress, that I'm not actually affiliated with either site, and am just happily a "paying member", to use the common II line, of each site) feel free to ask. I'm sure I'll have responses disagreeing, and it makes sense -- as I said, there are distinct board cultures, and each brings something valuable to the table, but each also has downsides.
Back Room Betterment
Spelling & Grammar
Learn it. Know it. Live it.
- If you know you can't spell, embrace Firefox's built-in spell checker.
- It's spelled "definitely", not "defiantly" or "definitly" or "definately"
- It's spelled ad nauseAm.
- Know your subjunctive mood. "Does Charlie Weis win the national championship this year?" is not only wrong, it's embarrassing.
- "Ironic" does not mean "coincidental" or "paradoxical." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
- "Begs the question" does not mean "raises the question." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question
Interview Tips
I asked for interview tips awhile back.
A bunch of people responded (gmurphy, GU82ND4ever, banshee, tbsone, sprack, chicago, GoDomers, Matty96, 105Marquette, RJD) and gave some awesome advice.
I'm now deciding between two offers and just wanted to thank everyone for helping out.
And if anyone's curious, here's a compilation of the tips:
- Make sure your shoes are shined and your suit pressed.
- Smile, be positive, research the firm, have questions to ask, ask for the job, and send thank you notes asap to those with whom you interview.
- Learn everything you can about the company
- Nothing is more annoying than bringing an interview candidate in and their first question is, "So who are your clients?" or "How long have you been around?".
- Do your research - it shows you're serious about the position.
- Good firm handshake, look them in the eyes
- Also, say "yes" and "no", not yeah or yup, or na. its sounds basic, but many people fail to use yes, and it makes them sounds stupid.
- Do a quick teeth and breath check.
- Remember the name of the interviewer and use it when speaking to them.
- be sure you can state how you will ad value to the company, not necessarily monetarily.
- Know what are your accomplishments, be able to state them clearly.
- be able to articulate your strengths and your weaknesses. Should they ask you about your weaknesses, limit them to something about being impatient or that you're a big picture guy and that you offset your lack of detail with complementary skills in your staff.
- If these interviewers are worth their salt, they may ask you situational questions. e.g., a member of your staff is smart and hardworking, and produces good results, but steps on the toes of his peers. What do you do?
- Avoid talking money, unless they bring it up. In which case, you may ask, "While I know $$ is important, I would first rather uncover all there is to know about the job first. But since you asked, what salary range is available for this position. Avoid putting a price on your head until you know where the pain begins for them.
- Follow up letter to all interviewers, with a hand written note at the bottome of the letter. Be sure to remember something about each interviewer that you can refer to in your handwritten note.
- Ask for the job, if it one that you like.
- Read up on EQ (emotional intelligence) and ask how it is a component in the way people are hired, evaluated, asked to contribute and valued.
- Be confident, you're good at what you do and exude all of that.
- It is good to have some specific examples ready to go of some past successes in work etc. If you get into a situational interview if you have 4 or 5 good stories to tell you can almost always work one of your stories around the question being asked. They are not necessarily looking for an achievement, but on how you got there, decisions made, problems solved etc. They want to see your thought process and how you have handled some adversity in the past.
- Also, don't forget to ask for the job.
- Always Be Closing, and just like how a salesman must always ask for the sale, an interview is no different. Always, always, always ask for the job - but at the end of the interview, of course.
- Get each interviewer's business card and follow up that evening with a hand-written thank you note to each one.
o Agree -- don't email them.
o Taking the time to handwrite them will show you made the extra effort.
- Greet 'em with a solid smile but not too big.
- First impressions are very important, so check your zipper if you made a nervous pit stop.
- Make sure that you read you resume and can answer any questions on it because it will be the basis of questions. Many folks forget their resume once it's on paper.
- Have a good answer for where you want to be in 5 years.
- Maintain eye contact. Stare a hole in them if you have to.
- From having gone through this a year ago (for consulting interviews):
- Your first interview will likely be one case interview and one "fit" interview. The fit interview means nothing unless you nail the case.
2nd round of interviews will likely be multiple cases.
- Ask probing questions to gather case information (you will not be told all information upfront). Use a structured framework to evaluate the data you are given and to give the interviewer insight into your thought process.
- If you have a good rapport with your interviewer and get stuck, walk through the data at hand, he or she may give you a hint as to the direction they want you to take.
- Most importantly, practice, practice and more practice. Get a good case guide (Wetfeet publishing makes one) and familiarize yourself with the various types of cases.
- Then find a friend, preferably one who has consulting industry experience, to run through practice cases with you and offer you constructive feedback afterwards. Buy them beer if necessary. I would recommend at least 10 practice runs before your interview. You will feel more confident and be better able to frame the various types of cases after rigorous practice.
- Some consulting firms will have first year associates visit campus to give case run through. Take advantage of this, as they will often give you more targeted feedback than your buddies will.
Submitted by: thegonzo
Personal Finance
The following books have been recommended as good reads for someone looking to learn about investing and personal finance.
The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Investing (quick way to get yourself in the right ballpark)
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing (a time-tested classic)
The Motley Fool Investment Guide : How The Fool Beats Wall Streets Wise Men And How You Can Too
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio (focuses on mutual funds)
The Intelligent Investor (geared towards equity investors)
The Little Blue Book that Beats the Market (geared towards equity investors)
Guide to Sartorial Elegance
This is meant to be a list of basic rules - not instructions on perfecting the GQ look. You will not be complimented outright for following them, but it just might prevent you from cramping other people's style.
DOs
- match your shoes and your belt
- match your socks and your pants (exception: jeans)
- wear shirts that fit - the shoulder seam should stop at the end of your shoulder
- wear pants with the correct inseam - they should cover the tops of your shoes but not drag on the ground
- wear wider belts with less formal pants, narrower belts with dress slacks
- wear only very dark brown or black shoes with navy suits
- invest in good shoes and keep them clean and shined - they say a lot about you
- invest in a good watch - silver bands match all clothes while colored bands do not
- wear a brightly-colored item, provided that you are wearing subdued colors with it (exception: Zubaz must never be worn)
- leave the top button of button-down shirts open unless you are wearing a tie
- use a money clip when wearing a suit
- keep your damn collar down
DO NOT DOs
- use excessive hair gel
- wear a sports jersey outside the privacy of your home or an actual sporting event
- wear jeans that taper at the ankles
- wear jean shorts (AKA "jorts")
- wear casual pleated pants
- wear braided belts
- wear laceless shoes (loafer, buckle) with a suit
- button the lowest button on your suit coat
- wear black and brown together
- wear grey and brown together except in extreme moderation
- wear a belt and suspenders together unless you are Larry King
- wear double-breasted suits unless you are "made"
- wear a cowboy hat unless you are an actual cowboy
- wear backwards baseball caps
- wear a visor unless you are a card dealer, you are golfing, or you are actually standing in the ocean
- wear a mesh shirt or a t-shirt with its sleeves cut off
Beginner's Workout
Here is a template that I would recommend for beginners. Honestly, it would work really well for intermediate and advanced trainees too. Only the intensity and volume parameters would change a little.
The first thing most will notice is that there is no bodypart split. That is an inferior way to train for 99% of the population. In this fasion, every muscle group is being trained three times per week as opposed to the conventional once per week. One main characteristic of lesser-prepared trainees is that neuromuscular coordination and overall work capacity are not sufficiently high. Training the whole body with major compound lifts three times per week solves this problem. It also means greater total motor unit activity over the course of the week, which in turn means greater metabolic activity and increased adaptive protein synthesis.
Please note that you are not going to failure on any of the primary (or most of the secondary) exercises. The adaptations to this program are induced in a cumulative manner. You don't not need to annihilate a muscle to get it to grow or become stronger. Soreness is not an indicator of a job well done. It should be viewed as an unfortunate by-product of training, not a goal to attain. It is for this reason that the Monday and Friday workouts utilize the same exercises and sequencing (although set-rep parameters change). Changing exercises too often leads to excessive soreness and slows the rate of adaptation to the stimulus.
Warm-up (same every day)
7 minute incline treadmill walk. HR @ 110-120 7 minute active warm-up -Jumping Jacks, Walking Lunges, Leg Swings, Neck Circles, Arm Circles, Ankle Circles, Cat-Camels (from yoga), Bodyweight Squats, Bodyweight Pushups, Light Pulldowns, etc.
Monday
A. SE Bench Press - 6 x 5 (SE = Submaximal Effort. Do not approach failure on any set.) B. SE Squat � 3 x 8 C1. Lat Pulldown � 3 x Reps (Reps = 2 reps short of failure) C2. Romanian Deadlift � 3 x Reps
- Numbered exercises of the same letter are performed alternating �superset� fashion. (Take adequate rest between.)
D1. Pushups - 2 x Reps D3. Reverse Cable Fly � 2 x Failure E. 200 Crunches
Wednesday
A. SE Incline DB Bench Press 3 x 8-12 B. Pull-Ups 3 x Failure C1. Jumping Jacks C2. Push-Ups C3. Bodyweight Lunge C4. Crunches C5. DB Shrug C6. DB Hammer Curl C7. Tricep Pushdown C8. Crunches
- �C� exercises are performed in continuous circuit fashion, using 20 second work and 20 second rest intervals. Go through the circuit three times. If you have a heart rate monitor, use it. Try to keep HR between 120-130. If you don�t have a monitor, just know you should not be sucking wind or struggling to finish reps at any time. Use a steady, rhythmic pace for all reps.
Friday
A. SE Bench Press - 3 x 8 B. SE Squat � 4 x 6 C1. Lat Pulldown � 4 x Reps C2. Romanian Deadlift � 4 x Reps D1. Pushups - 3 x Reps D2. Reverse Cable Fly � 3 x Failure E. 200 Crunches
Written by: Papa November - The Back Room's resident trainer and crazy raw meat eater
Back Room Book Reviews
The Book list in the regular almanac is a mess. People can work together to organize a good list here.
American Lit
James Fenimore Cooper, The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers, The Prairie
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, The Blithedale Romance, My Kinsman, Major Molineux, The Maypole of Merry Mount, Young Goodman Brown
Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar, The Divinity School Address, Nature
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Emily Dickinson, selected poems from any decent anthology--make sure it includes Because I could not stop for death
Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Billy Budd, Benito Cereno, Bartleby the Scrivener
Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy, Sister Carrie
Henry James, Portrait of a Lady, The Beast in the Jungle, The Ambassadors
Ernest Hemingway, in our time, The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, Big Two-Hearted River (Parts 1 and 2)
William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Light in August, Absalom, Absalom!, Go Down, Moses, The Hamlet
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night
T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Four Quartets
Wallace Stevens, Sunday Morning, Idea of Order at Key West, The Man With the Blue Guitar
Robert Frost, Neither Out Far Nor in Deep, After Apple Picking, Birches, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, Desert Places, Provide, Provide
Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March, Herzog, Mr. Sammler's Planet
Norman Mailer, The Naked and the Dead, The Executioner's Song, The Armies of the Night
Philip Roth, American Pastoral, Sabbath's Theater
Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, The Road
James Merrill, The Changing Light at Sandover
David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest, Broom of the System, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, Oblivion, Girl With Curious Hair
Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, Jitterbug Perfume, Still Life With Woodpecker, Skinny Legs and All
British and Irish Lit
Chaucer, Canterbury Tales
Anon., Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Pearl
Malory, Morte d'Arthur
Marlow, Doctor Faustus, Edward II, Hero and Leander
Shakespeare, Most of It
Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy
Beaumont & Fletcher, The Maid's Tragedy
Beaumont, The Knight of the Burning Pestle
Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
Wyatt, They flee from me that sometime did me seek [sonnet]
Donne, The Canonization, A Valediction Forbidding Mourning, The Ecstasy
Herrick, Corinna's Gone a-Maying, Delight in Disorder, Upon Julia's Clothes
Milton, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, Lycidas
Congreve, The Way of the World
Johnson, Rasselas, The Vanity of Human Wishes, Introduction to his Shakespeare
Pope, The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, Windsor Castle
Fielding, Tom Jones
Sterne, Tristram Shandy
Blake, Songs of Innocence Songs of Experience
Wordsworth, The Prelude, Lines...Tintern Abbey, Ode: Intimations of Immortality
Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan
Shelley, Ode to the West Wind, Prometheus Unbound
Byron, Don Juan
Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn, Ode to a Nightingale, To Autumn, Ode on Melancholy
Dickens, Great Expectations, Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend
Thackeray, Vanity Fair
G. Eliot, Middlemarch
Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Emma
E. Bronte, Wuthering Heights
Tennyson, In Memoriam
Arnold, Dover Beach, Stanzas from the Grand Chartreuse, The Function of Criticism at the Present Time
Joyce, Ulysses, Portrait of the Artist, The Dead
Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, Studies in Classic American Literature
Forster, A Passage to India
Wolf, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse
Yeats, The Wild Swans at Coole, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, Sailing to Byzantium, The Tower, Under ben Bulben, The Second Coming, Among School Children, Easter, 1916, Ego Dominus Tuus
Conrad, Lord Jim, Nostromo, "The Secret Sharer," Victory, The Secret Agent
Shaw, Major Barbara, Pygmalion, Caesar and Cleopatra, Man and Superman
John Cowper Powys, Wolf Solent, Glastonbury Romance
World Lit
Hesiod, Works and Days, Theogony
Homer, Iliad, Odyssey
Aeschylus, The Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides)
Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus
Euripides, Bacchae, Iphigeneia at Aulis, Medea
Virgil, Aeneid
Dante, Divine Comedy
Rabelais, Gargantua, Pantagruel
Cervantes, Don Quixote
Montaigne, Essays
Goethe, Faust
Moliere, The Misanthrope
Racine, Berenice
Rousseau, Emile
Diderot, Rameau's Nephew
Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil
Tolstoy, War and Peace, Anna Karenina
Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, Notes from Underground, The Brothers Karamazov
Flaubert, Madame Bovary
Kafka, The Trial
Proust, Remembrance of Things Past
Camus, The Plague, The Fall
Sartre, Nausea
Chinua Akebe, Things Fall Apart
Non-Fiction Business
Darrell Huff, How to Lie with Statistics
Non-Fiction History
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
Thomas Friedman, From Beirut To Jerusalem
Non-Fiction - General
David Foster Wallace, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Consider the Lobster, Up Simba, Everything and More: A Brief History of Infinity
The Civil War: Topics
George Rable, The Confederate Republic: A Revolution Against Politics
Richard N. Current, The Lincoln Nobody Knows
Richard N. Current, Lincoln and the First Shot
Reid Mitchell, Civil War Soldiers
James Robertson, Soldiers Blue and Gray
James McPherson, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War
Gerald F. Linderman, Embattled Courage: The Experience of Combat in the American Civil War
Larry J. Daniel, Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee
Charles Royster, The Destructive War: William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, and the Americans
Mark Grimsley, The Hard Hand of War: Union Military Policy Toward Southern Civilians
Herman Hattaway, Shades of Blue and Gray: An Introductory Military History of the Civil War
Grady McWhiney and Perry D. Jamieson, Attach and Die: Civil War Military Tactics and the Southern Heritage
Archer Jones, Civil War Command and Strategy: the Process of Victory and Defeat
Joseph T. Glatthaar, Partners in Command: The Relationship Between Leaders in the Civil War
Steven E. Woodworth, Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West
Steven E. Woodworth, While God is Marching On: The Religious World of Civil War Soldier
Drew Faust, Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War
Frank Vandiver, Their Tattered Flags: The Epic of the Confederacy
Dudley Taylor Cornish, The Sable Arm: Black Troops in the Union Army, 1861-1865
Noah Andre Trudeau, Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War
Lonnie Speer, Portals to Hell: The Military Prisons of the Civil War
Charles Sanders, While in the Hands of the Enemy: Military Prisons of the Civil War
Gaines Foster, Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, the Lost Cause and the Emergence of the New South
Charles Reagan Wilson, Baptized in Blood: The Religion of the Lost Cause
Mark Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis
Non-Fiction Psychology
Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
Soren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Dread
Non-Fiction Philosophy
Plato, Apology, Phaedo, Phaedrus, The Republic, Laws
Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Poetics
Leo Strauss, The City and Man
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
Descartes, Discourse on Method
Spinoza, Ethics
Hobbes, Leviathan
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Second Treatise of Government
Rousseau, The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right
Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
Hegel, Phenomenology of Mind
Schopenhauer, World as Will and Idea
Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals
Russell and Whitehead, Principia Mathematica
Moore, Principia Ethica
Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus Philosophical Investigations
Husserl, Ideas
Heidegger, Being and Time
Sartre, Being and Nothingness
Ryle, The Concept of Mind
Rawls, A Theory of Justice
Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia
Sandel, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice
Non-Fiction Theology/Religion
Saint Augustine, Confessions
Karl Barth, Epistle to the Romans
Reinhold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History
Karl Adam, The Spirit of Catholicism
Gustavo Guti�rrez, On Job
Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain
St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul
the Back Room's Favorite Movies
Required Viewing
If you haven't seen these, you probably live in a cave. Once you get electricity, rent them immediately.
- Airplane
- Animal House
- Apocalypse Now
- Back to School
- Big Lebowski, the
- Blazing Saddles
- Blues Brothers, the
- Braveheart
- Caddyshack
- Casablanca
- Die Hard
- Godfather I & II, the
- Goodfellas
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Jerk, the
- Knute Rockne, All-American
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Lord of the Rings - Trilogy
- Love Actually
- Monty Python & the Holy Grail
- Office Space
- Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs
- Raiders of the Lost Ark series
- Rudy
- Saving Private Ryan
- Shawshank Redemption, the
- Star Wars 4-6
- Stripes
- Swingers
- Usual Suspects, the
- Young Frankenstein
the whole list, by votes
Keep in mind that every movie on the list is, at the very least, recommended by someone -- so don't think that just because a movie got only 1 vote that it isn't worth seeing. It is. Somebody cared enough about it to include in his or her top 10, so keep them in mind for your Netflix queue. And at the end of the poll results is the list of "Obvious, Must See Movies".
11 The Princess Bride banshee, DEA, El Kabong, ewillND, gmurphy, lbbeachrat, Mr. Natural, PMan, PUgrad NDfan, scal_irish, shamrock
11 Rushmore Dillon1998, Domer25, Final_Flanner, Jameson, JPH, Legacy, minister, Mr. Natural, shamrock, SoCaliDomer, socalnd
10 Fargo banshee, BostonDomah, Denver Jim, ewillND, FourLeafDomer, Francisco Brothers, Khaddafi, MCB, rknsaw, shamrock, Oldomer
10 Groundhog Day banshee, FourLeafDomer, gmurphy, Irish96, JacksDaddy, minister, Mr. Natural, RJD, SoCaliDomer, Special_K
10 Memento banshee, bbill99, BostonDomah, DEA, ewillND, Final_Flanner, FOFM, Francisco Brothers, JacksDaddy, PUgrad NDfan
9 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Angel, Denver Jim, drmurray, Fantom, FourLeafDomer, Francisco Brothers, Khaddafi, RJD, rknsaw
9 Tombstone DEA, gmurphy, Irish96, irishvol, MCB, minister, PMan, PUgrad NDfan, RJD
8 Amadeus drmurray, Final_Flanner, Irishted, JacksDaddy, MCB, Mike Embrey, NDFoil, PUgrad NDfan
8 Bottle Rocket Brandywells, Dillon1998, Final_Flanner, FOFM, Francisco Brothers, shamrock, SoCaliDomer, Spiral_Stairs
8 Chinatown Denver Jim, drmurray, Irishted, lbbeachrat, Nitschke, PUgrad NDfan, shadyirish, Special_K, Oldomer
8 Dr. Strangelove banshee, bbill99, drmurray, FONToKNOW, Irishted, JacksDaddy, RJD, shadyirish, Oldomer
8 Full Metal Jacket bbill99, Denver Jim, FourLeafDomer, NDEE01, Nitschke, PeteatND, PUgrad NDfan, tbsone
8 Gladiator drmurray, Irish96, Mike Embrey, NDEE01, NDoggie78, rknsaw, SoCaliDomer, tbsone
8 Glory drmurray, El Kabong, Glass, Irish96, irishvol, JacksDaddy, Marine Domer, PMan
8 L.A. Confidential BostonDomah, Denver Jim, ewillND, Irish96, Irishted, Nitschke, Rallying Son, Special_K
8 Raising Arizona drmurray, ewillND, FOFM, Francisco Brothers, JacksDaddy, Mickey, minister, shamrock
8 Seven BostonDomah, Final_Flanner, lbbeachrat, MCB, NDoggie78, PUgrad NDfan, rknsaw, tbsone
7 2001: A Space Odyssey bbill99, Denver Jim, Dillon1998, FourLeafDomer, Francisco Brothers, JacksDaddy, shadyirish
7 American History X Angel, banshee, Final_Flanner, lbbeachrat, minister, NDoggie78, PUgrad NDfan
7 Band of Brothers (HBO) bbill99, BostonDomah, El Kabong, Final_Flanner, NDoggie78, PUgrad NDfan, SoCaliDomer
7 Cinema Paradiso bbill99, BostonDomah, drmurray, ewillND, JacksDaddy, MCB, PMan
7 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon DEA, Dillon1998, Final_Flanner, FONToKNOW, Francisco Brothers, JacksDaddy, Spiral_Stairs
7 Graduate, the Denver Jim, drmurray, Fantom, FourLeafDomer, JacksDaddy, Khaddafi, Special_K, Oldomer
7 Great Escape, the ewillND, FONToKNOW, FourLeafDomer, GMatous, PeteatND, PUgrad NDfan, shadyirish
7 Heat banshee, FONToKNOW, gmurphy, irishvol, NDFoil, PMan, Trosa
7 Hoosiers Domer73, ewillND, FourLeafDomer, Khaddafi, Mike Embrey, Mr. Natural, tbsone
7 Old School DEA, irishvol, NDEE01, PUgrad NDfan, rknsaw, SoCaliDomer, Special_K
7 Quiet Man, the El Kabong, Fantom, irishtattoo, Khaddafi, Mickey, NDoggie78, scal_irish
7 Sting, the drmurray, ewillND, FourLeafDomer, gmurphy, JacksDaddy, Mickey, PUgrad NDfan
6 Best in Show banshee, DEA, Domer25, Domer73, irishvol, lbbeachrat
6 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Denver Jim, drmurray, ewillND, Fantom, RJD, shadyirish
6 Clerks Dillon1998, El Kabong, Final_Flanner, irishvol, PUgrad NDfan, tbsone
6 Fish Called Wanda, A DEA, Domer73, El Kabong, ewillND, Fantom, Mr. Natural
6 Good, the Bad, the Ugly, the 47oft, Denver Jim, Irishjoeinnc, PMan, SoCaliDomer, Special_K
6 Hoop Dreams BostonDomah, ewillND, Final_Flanner, FOFM, Francisco Brothers, rknsaw
6 Life is Beautiful DEA, Fantom, FourLeafDomer, MCB, PMan, shamrock
6 Searching for Bobby Fisher Brandywells, ewillND, Final_Flanner, GMatous, JacksDaddy, SoCaliDomer
6 Silence of the Lambs, the Denver Jim, FourLeafDomer, lbbeachrat, NDEE01, NDoggie78, PeteatND
6 Super Troopers DEA, Final_Flanner, irishvol, NDEE01, PUgrad NDfan, Spiral_Stairs
6 Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the Buddy Jeans, Denver Jim, hobbs, Irishjoeinnc, Mr. Natural, Rallying Son
6 Unforgiven Fantom, JPH, minister, NDoggie78, Nitschke, PMan
6 Waiting for Guffman Domer25, Domer73, Fantom, Final_Flanner, FOFM, shamrock
6 Waking Ned Devine drmurray, ewillND, Fantom, gmurphy, NDoggie78, shamrock
5 Breaking Away Domer73, ewillND, JPH, Mr. Natural, shamrock
5 Bull Durham banshee, Dillon1998, ewillND, RJD, shamrock
5 Cool Hand Luke DEA, Fantom, Nitschke, RJD, shadyirish
5 Deer Hunter, the Francisco Brothers, Khaddafi, lbbeachrat, shadyirish, Spiral_Stairs
5 Fight Club BostonDomah, FONToKNOW, Francisco Brothers, MCB, tbsone
5 Good Will Hunting gmurphy, Irish96, MCB, NDoggie78, scal_irish
5 Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels BostonDomah, FONToKNOW, Francisco Brothers, Jameson, Trosa
5 Marathon Man, the 47oft, Fantom, FourLeafDomer, JacksDaddy, Khaddafi
5 Meet the Parents bbill99, Domer25, irishgambino, irishvol, SoCaliDomer
5 Mulholland Drive bbill99, Fantom, socalnd, Spiral_Stairs, Trosa
5 Natural, the Dillon1998, FourLeafDomer, MCB, Mike Embrey, tbsone, Oldomer
5 O Brother, Where Art Thou? banshee, NDoggie78, PMan, rknsaw, shamrock
5 Patton Dillon1998, drmurray, FONToKNOW, Irish96, shadyirish, Oldomer
5 Rear Window Dillon1998, Final_Flanner, Khaddafi, Mickey, shadyirish
5 Requiem for a Dream Angel, BostonDomah, Buddy Jeans, Francisco Brothers, Marine Domer
5 Rocky Dillon1998, irishvol, Mike Embrey, Mr. Natural, NDEE01
5 Rounders BostonDomah, ewillND, Final_Flanner, irishvol, Trosa
5 Royal Tennenbaums, the Francisco Brothers, gmurphy, Irishted, shamrock, SoCaliDomer
5 Run Lola Run DEA, Domer25, Final_Flanner, FONToKNOW, shamrock
5