Look what DeeperShade on PuF did (using various PuF members' personal avatars, in the style of the X-Men DVD promo). And then look what SimplyCosmic did (using Goshen heads).

311 is a joke.

Want to hear a scary psycho bitch who left 53 messages on a guy's cell phone voice mail after they broke up? Click here. I found it almost painful to listen to some of them. Let's see what you think. #22 is a good 'un.

Counselor Troi made a surprise appearance on Voyager tonight.

Got some sad but not altogether unexpected news tonight. Many readers obviously already know this, as it is pretty big. I've seen several threads around the community about it, so I'll post one of them. |C|ondemned finally went down for the count not too long ago (Rooster is in ]LoL[ now!). Now -[BHS]- is no more.

This was truly one of the greatest clans ever on ANY continent in ANY game... They were a model for me WAAAy back in the pre-{KS} days. They proved themselves the greatest DOM clan the world will ever see. DRD, AA, KS, THK, TuF, Boilerheadz, even C all challenged that dominance but to no avail. BHS earned (and kept) the title on the biggest ladder in North America (ProvingGrounds) and the biggest ladder in Europe (Clanbase). They leave PG with a 15-2 record on the DOM ladder alone. They also won a major tournament (though not a paying cup) which pitted the greatest in the world against each other. They also made their mark in RA, AS, CTF, TDM, and in individual competition (DM and RA) as well as on public servers everywhere. Besides all this, they were great guys. Statesmen-like (with the exception of Reakwon) and sportsman-like always. They were 'elite' without the 1337 attitudes. They will be missed.

I could sense this coming though. -[BHS]- didn't die out, they went out on top after having accomplished a number of amazing feats. It was a great organization and a credit to its members and the fantastic game of UT. But with Rhakka leaving to start his own clan and other clans falling out and having done what they set out to do, it wasn't a complete surprise. My hope is that BHS will be reborn some day, perhaps this summer when Tribes2 really takes over hardcore. I'd love to play for BHS.

Please, take the time to read one of the threads, you can find one HERE.
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[rant]80,000 physicians are suing 8 HMOs for their business practices. I say ABOUT TIME. How many more doctors will be put out of business because of this whacked out system? You just cannot stay in business or keep practicing when, instead of making money each year, you suffer net losses of $10,000+ annually. Some (most?) people may not understand the economics, but they certainly understand the sorry health care the HMO system has provided. Another reason for the lawsuit is the Orwellian medical information body known as the MIB.

You may not know, but my father is a physician who DOESN'T deal with HMOs. Period. This does not mean someone who has an HMO (through work, for instance) can't go see him; quite the opposite, in fact. Many of the people who visit him DO have HMOs and are fed up with the service provided by their 'Primary Care Physician' (who doesn't want you to come in to see him as it just means more work for very little additional financial compensation) but still carry insurance for the big emergencies such as month-long hospital stays (which could send anyone to the poor house).

So patients come to see a real doctor for their minor emergencies and checkups. They pay a little more, don't have to wait as long, get much higher quality care and longer attention and get a doctor whose hands aren't being tied by some shitty insurance company who can make his own diagnoses, spend as much time as he needs, and give away as many free samples of drugs as he wants.

Unfortunately, many (most even) doctors just don't have that luxury, due to a variety of factors including location, type of practice (a heart surgeon, for instance, is pretty much locked into dealing with managed care), or contracts. It's bad for the patients, it's bad for the doctors, but it's good for employers and the insurance companies. I'm sure some people will see the news and think something awfully shortsighted and kind of high school like "all those rich doctors living in their mansions and driving their Rolls Royces are mad cuz they're only making half a million dollars instead of three quarters of a million..." or something.

The reality is many doctors are making quite a bit less than the public seems to think and working extremely long hours (my father, for instance, worked 68 hours a week for over 13 years with less than a week off per year and no lunch). Meanwhile medical decisions are being made by customer service people from insurance companies!! It's a lousy system and one that HAS to change. Okay rant over, but I'll come back to this later when I can frame the argument with more facility.[/rant]

Mavs beat the Blazers tonight!! Yah! Now we're getting somewhere. Jazz and Blazers falling to the Mavs back to back. I'm tellin ya, they keep playing like this, they may find themselves staring at the NBA Finals!!

I was happy today when I saw how Bush keeps staunchly defending his retroactive tax cut. Come on, George!! You can do it!!

OK, let's do a couple bike pics. First, a matched set of helmets belonging to a husband and wife. And a nice TL1000R.