If I was in that price range, I'd have a hard time not choosing the Aston Martin Vantage.  Good lord that is one gorgeous looking car.

Funny -- Just this evening I was at the local MB dealer exploring a trade on my Vantage for the aforementioned AMG.  The Vantage is achingly, wonderfully beautiful, but the truth is that it just doesn't drive great.  The engine sounds incredible, but doesn't like to rev.  The interior is opulent, but not comfortable.  The suspension is hard, but not confidence-inspiring.   If I was content to stare at it in my garage, there's absolutely nothing better, but the car is compromised as a sports car and compromised as a GT.  Some cars, like a Viper, for example, are bigger cars but drive small (which is good).  The Vantage is small, but drives big, which for me is a negative.

Heh.  All I said is that it's gorgeous.  Car like that is a work of art more than it is just a car.

I'm getting brainwashed by watching Top Gear I think!

Insurance is a BITCH on the Aston.  There's no way I could make sense out of paying it.

Sadly I think the leader in the clubhouse is a BMW 135i with the new 7 speed flappy paddle gearbox.

There's GOTTA be a better (less douchey) option.

Shelby GT 500? Cooper JCW?  Boxster?

If I was in that price range, I'd have a hard time not choosing the Aston Martin Vantage.  Good lord that is one gorgeous looking car.

Funny -- Just this evening I was at the local MB dealer exploring a trade on my Vantage for the aforementioned AMG.  The Vantage is achingly, wonderfully beautiful, but the truth is that it just doesn't drive great.  The engine sounds incredible, but doesn't like to rev.  The interior is opulent, but not comfortable.  The suspension is hard, but not confidence-inspiring.   If I was content to stare at it in my garage, there's absolutely nothing better, but the car is compromised as a sports car and compromised as a GT.  Some cars, like a Viper, for example, are bigger cars but drive small (which is good).  The Vantage is small, but drives big, which for me is a negative.

I may be in the 'buy a new car' game again... ugh.  Life was so much better when I barely had to drive.

New A4?

Possibly.  I don't even know where to start really.  I am fairly certain I am going to lease, but the options are WIDE open.

I actually really want a new Jag XF, but I really don't want to pay for it.

I looked at those a few months back.  Completely perfectly awesome, but the R version is SO freakin' expensive.

I refuse to go to the dealer because I fear after driving one, loving it, then coming to my senses on the cost, I will be disappointed in whatever I eventually settle into.  Either that or just buy one out of impulse and idiocy.

Think about saving about 25K and picking up a leftover 2010 C63 AMG Benzo  It's not as plush, and it's down about 50hp on the Jag (leaving it with a positively anemic 450 or so   ), but it's smaller, and more agile.  

I may be in the 'buy a new car' game again... ugh.  Life was so much better when I barely had to drive.

New A4?

Possibly.  I don't even know where to start really.  I am fairly certain I am going to lease, but the options are WIDE open.

I actually really want a new Jag XF, but I really don't want to pay for it.

I looked at those a few months back.  Completely perfectly awesome, but the R version is SO freakin' expensive.

i've had my G37x for about two months now and still absolutely love the car.  now that i've had plenty of time behind the wheel, i still love driving it every day.  the G37 is a smooth luxury car for cruising around town, but it's also a sports car in disguise with acceleration that makes it an absolute blast on the open road.  add in great looks and some cool technology, and it's just an all-around great car.  while i can't speak directly about the G35, if it's anything like the newer model, you won't be disappointed in the least.

My last 2 cars have been 3 Series (the faster model) and I'm starting to think about getting something else, except I just love everything about the car. How does the G37x compare?

They drive pretty differently.  For previous gen cars I would have said that the Infinity's engine has more of a torquier feel to it, but with the newer 335s there's plenty of grunt.  On the whole, these days, the 3 series has a very light, agile feel that the Infinity lacks.  OTOH,I was looking at the new 335is last weekend and I was amazed by the spartan interior.  I mean, 3s have always been, er, "functional," but you have to appreciate that aesthetic I think.  The Infiniti, by contrast, could be considered a nicer place to sit.

Please stop acting like "Republicans" are some kind of homogeneous group. They're not. Some are about freedom and rights while others are about pushing their evangelical Christianity via politics. Those things come at odds on issues like same sex marriage. Obama doesn't even support same sex marriage.

Oh please. It's in the damn gop platform. I'm not going to apologize for the generalization and yes I understand some republicans get it. And Obama is being a douche and playing politics with his position on this.

You know what else is in the 2008 gop platform? 2nd half of the top paragraph in the Chairmen’s Preamble:

Devotion to the inherent dignity and rights of every person.  Faith in the virtues of self-reliance, civic commitment, and concern for one another.  Distrust of government’s interference in people’s lives.

Right.

Be glad you're not in Texas.  Here, the official GOP party line is that while they obviously believe that letting two guys or gals get married is going to cause the downfall of modern civilization, they want to take it a step further and make anyone that performs a same-sex ceremony a felon.  Seriously.

+100

Thanks for adopting two great pups. I and my whole family of adopted animals (2 herding mutts, one ancient wienerdog, 3 cats) think you are aces!.

OMG match point!

And an ace to escape.  Unreal.

Whoever wins this match will lose the next one.

Ya think? 

Isner looks completely fucked.  How he is managing to hang on I just do not know.  Riveting stuff though.

Don't know either.  It's gotta be disheartening to see Mahut jumping around between points, diving for stuff, looking fresh.

If you're Mahut, it's gotta be disheartening that you can't finish off a guy who looks about to drop dead any moment.

Now 57-56 Isner.  USA USA USA!

Yeah, but Mahut is basically serving to stay alive *every time.*  Without a doubt he's been in the weaker position the entire 5th set.

Also, I sner has a monster serve.  I think his 2nd serve is still over 100mph

Isner looks completely fucked.  How he is managing to hang on I just do not know.  Riveting stuff though.

Don't know either.  It's gotta be disheartening to see Mahut jumping around between points, diving for stuff, looking fresh.

54-53!  It may be over all too soon for Mahut!

Mahut has had to serve from a game down the entire set.  Each one has held something like 72 games in a row.  Most incredible thing I've ever seen.

Mahut looks like he has tons more left than Isner though.

Get online, get to a TV.. whatever.

Isner and Mahut at Wimbledon.  51-51 in the 5th.   Match has been going for 9 hours.

I loved my 2 weeks of training in Austin. I was up in the Arboretum area as well and thought nothing but great things about the city. Lots of good food (but unfortunately I can't recall much beyond the already mentioned Rudy's), friendly people, well laid out highway system...I wish I was going back to Austin in August rather than Houston *shudder*.

I lived in Houston for 4 years - it's actually a pretty cool place if you know where to go. Post up another thread when you're on the way and I bet we can help you out

Glad you enjoyed the suggestions.  We actually saw Ateam at gold class on friday night.   First time id been there and it was quite an experience.

Think I'm gonna have rudy's for lunch

My current track beast

Five Guys whips Mighty Fine any day of the week.

There's always Sixth Street.

Maybe (I don't agree), but you can get Five Guys anywhere. I think Mighty Fine is unique to Austin, right?

Yep. Actually  P. Terrys is probably better than both and also local

I'm in the Arboretum area, and yes, I'll have a car.  Wow, a biker rally.    That's some good timing!

Food:

ZTejas up in the arboretum is awesome, and an Austin legend (at least the 6th st location - food is the same up north though).

If you are into sushi, go to Uchi down on South Lamar - nationally recognized and the best restaurant in the city.

Likewise, if you're into farm-to-table gourmet, go to Olivia, also on South Lamar.  Plan to spend between $50-$75 at either just for yourself though.  But definitely try to do one or the other.

Hit up Mighty Fine for a great casual burger, or Rudy's for great casual BBQ.  Not a stubbs fan myself, but County Line and Salt Lick are both great as is Lamberts downtown.  Salt Lick is a drive, though.

Take in a film at the Alamo Drafthouse one night, and have a beer or some wine along with dinner while you're at it, or hit Gold Class Cinemas up atthe Domain for a more upscale movie/dining experience.

You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a bar band here, so just wander in somewhere and check out some tunes.

Where are you staying, and do you have a car?

PS - you're in for a treat this weekend. 

The biggest problem with this:

Follow me here - Tarantino, original ultraviolent script + the picture I attached.

Clearly there is still money to be made.  Heads up Hollywood, you can stop with the remakes.  (this moment brought to you by me reading that somebody is looking to remake Real Genius.)

Is this:

Tarantino

Plaid shorts ... wow.  Just tell me they're not the "patchwork" ones and I won't have to re-assess my opinion of your style.

Course not.

But to simply rule out plaid in general ignores current fashion trends.  Still, the "patchwork" nonsense is awful.

Nah.  It's looks fine with a plain v-neck t.  But seersucker is where it's at this year

I just purged most of my old stuff, but I have a classic 2 button Ralph Lauren suit jacket that I've had for a few years and should remain relatively timeless, and a couple of shirts that I bought right when menswear started getting a little more fitted - say 4-5 years ago.

I also have the requisite ratty old t shirts that see gym duty.

My wife, OTOH, has a closet full of vintage dresses from the 50s and 60s that get work constantly.

Meh, I was not that impressed with Lee last night to be honest. His final performance was better than Crystal and Casey's but I thought he did not sing it that great and that song is overplayed to the max.

Heresy.  It just about made me cry.   

I wonder what the next 25 buck mount will be... imagine if they did a new one quarterly....

Seems the smart thing to do would be to limit the amount of sparkly stuff they sell but jack the per-piece price way up.  That way they keep their income from this stuff but also allow the players to keep some amount of individuality.

Geezer,

While it is possible that Ubisoft was telling the truth, it is also possible that Ubisoft lied.

It is always possible that Ubisoft's server has problem because they didn't allocate enough resource to handle the badly designed DRM connections from the games they sold. It is likely that their own games DDoS their server. If you consider that Half Life 2 had problem during the launch or other games that had problem during launch because of the online activation, the problem with Ubisoft can be predicted. Unlike those games, Ubisoft's games require constant connection so once a game connected, they're using connection port to Ubisoft server. Once the server ran out of ports to maintain connections, it can't accept more game client. This is why MMORPG has server limit, why WoW have queues. There are a limit on what the server can handle.

Yes, this is possible.

There is no way that Ubisoft admitted the problem was caused by their own fault so they're making hackers the scapegoat so that someone naive like you'll defend them.

But there's no need to be an ass about it.

That would be where the dehumanization of hackers comes in, to invalidate the second requirement.

Ah.  Yes, you did say that huh? 

[An intervening cause has several requirements: it must 1) be independent of the original act, 2) be a voluntary human act or an abnormal natural event, and 3) occur in time between the original act and the harm.]

There's a legal term called "proximate cause"

The most common test of proximate cause under the American legal system is foreseeability. It determines if the harm resulting from an action was reasonably able to be predicted.

If you'll play along and let me dehumanize hackers as a general population to an easily deterministic reaction not unlike a wild animal, I posit that the implementation of an online-only DRM method had the foreseeable reaction of said bestial hackers to attack much like wandering into a bear's cage at the zoo covered in honey. 

The attacks of the hacking community to myself and, I believe, each and every one of the distinguished jury, were not only capable of being conceived, but were in fact eminently foreseeable, thus the fault lies with Ubisoft.

Yes, but:

Direct causation is a minority test, which addresses only the metaphysical concept of causation. The main thrust of direct causation is that there are no intervening causes between an act and the resulting harm. An intervening cause has several requirements: it must 1) be independent of the original act, 2) be a voluntary human act or an abnormal natural event, and 3) occur in time between the original act and the harm.

Direct causation is the only theory that addresses only causation, and does not take into account the culpability of the original actor.

[offline, single-player game]

I just think that blaming Ubi when pirates deny access to servers is stupid.

I want to make it clear that I don't specifically blame Ubisoft for the DDoS attack.  I'm not even particularly supportive of the attack.  The perpetrators are perhaps making a point, that if Ubi's servers are inaccessible you won't be able to play the offline, single-player game that you paid for.  As I keep saying, a DDoS won't ever be the only reason these people won't be able to play their games.

And I understand this POV.  If I haven't been clear, I think Ubi probably did, as a practical matter, make a wrong choice.  But the pirates are the a-holes that are making it hard for the public to play the game.

[Fast forward ten hours and it seems that the problem still hasn't been resolved,]

Wow.  From that article:

Well, as it turns out, when the Ubioft severs go down, no one can play their games and Ubisoft customers get very upset. At around 8am GMT, people began to complain in the Assassin's Creed 2 forum that they couldn't access the Ubisoft servers and were unable to play their games. Fast forward ten hours and it seems that the problem still hasn't been resolved, despite the assurances from a Ubisoft representative that the servers were 'constantly monitored'

(Emphasis mine)

Unable to play a single-player game that you bought because of a server being down?  That would really piss me off.  Fuck Ubisoft.

No, fuck pirates.  While I can acknowledge that, as a practical matter, legit users are being hosed, I continue to be amazed that there is so much ire directed at Ubi when the pirates *are the one causing the problem*.

psst buddy, pirates aren't your customers. why should a legit customer be punished for because someone else decided to not to purchase the game legally?

Precisely.  Now who, exactly, is preventing legitimate customers from reaching the Ubi servers?  

Would you appreciate it if you were shopping for groceries using cash widthdrawn from an ATM and the clerk told you he can't accept it because your bank is currently being robbed, since your bank has issued a rule that says nobody is allowed to use cash from their bank if the bank isn't available on the phone? The bank may be in the process of being robbed, but that shouldn't have anything to do with whether or not you can use the cash from their ATM machines.

So the bank makes the rule, the public is incensed, and then robbers intentionally trip the trigger denying you your groceries and it's the bank's fault?   Crazy talk.

Did the bank make a dumb rule?  Yep.  But the robbers *intentionally mae it so you can't use your cash*.

LEAVE UBISOFT ALONE!!!!  

Heh   Let me be clear that I think Ubi didn't think this through.  I just think that blaming Ubi when pirates deny access to servers is stupid.

No, fuck pirates.  While I can acknowledge that, as a practical matter, legit users are being hosed, I continue to be amazed that there is so much ire directed at Ubi when the pirates *are the one causing the problem*.

Don't be silly.  Ubisoft implemented this DRM scheme, not pirates.  Whatever the cause of a server outage - because there will be outages that are directly Ubisoft's fault - the fact is it was Ubisoft's decision to use this DRM.  This is Ubisoft's fault, nobody else's.

Whose fault would it be if Ubi made hammers and someone beat me to death with one?

[Fast forward ten hours and it seems that the problem still hasn't been resolved,]

Wow.  From that article:

Well, as it turns out, when the Ubioft severs go down, no one can play their games and Ubisoft customers get very upset. At around 8am GMT, people began to complain in the Assassin's Creed 2 forum that they couldn't access the Ubisoft servers and were unable to play their games. Fast forward ten hours and it seems that the problem still hasn't been resolved, despite the assurances from a Ubisoft representative that the servers were 'constantly monitored'

(Emphasis mine)

Unable to play a single-player game that you bought because of a server being down?  That would really piss me off.  Fuck Ubisoft.

No, fuck pirates.  While I can acknowledge that, as a practical matter, legit users are being hosed, I continue to be amazed that there is so much ire directed at Ubi when the pirates *are the one causing the problem*.

psst buddy, pirates aren't your customers. why should a legit customer be punished for because someone else decided to not to purchase the game legally?

Precisely.  Now who, exactly, is preventing legitimate customers from reaching the Ubi servers?  

[Fast forward ten hours and it seems that the problem still hasn't been resolved,]

Wow.  From that article:

Well, as it turns out, when the Ubioft severs go down, no one can play their games and Ubisoft customers get very upset. At around 8am GMT, people began to complain in the Assassin's Creed 2 forum that they couldn't access the Ubisoft servers and were unable to play their games. Fast forward ten hours and it seems that the problem still hasn't been resolved, despite the assurances from a Ubisoft representative that the servers were 'constantly monitored'

(Emphasis mine)

Unable to play a single-player game that you bought because of a server being down?  That would really piss me off.  Fuck Ubisoft.

No, fuck pirates.  While I can acknowledge that, as a practical matter, legit users are being hosed, I continue to be amazed that there is so much ire directed at Ubi when the pirates *are the one causing the problem*.

I can.  My sister however can't watch any movie that has anything at all done to animals whether it's accidentally or malicious.  She can watch Sin City and laugh as people get shredded, but freaks out at implied violence vs animals in Butterfly Effect.

Heh.  This is me.

I had a head-to-head fight with a counter-top (after wrestling with a throw rug)... mmmm, night before last.  At first I thought it was just an unfortunate incident that caused a cut on my nose, right between my eyes, and I'm wondering if it will just "run it's course."  I got a slight raccoon-effect going, can't touch anything within two inches of the cut, and everything around my eyes is swollen.  So of course, I came here first for advice, lmao.   

I'm pretty sure, even if I did break my nose, that docs don't do anything about this type of thing anyway, so I've just been icing the area, Bacitracin'ing the cut - and hoping for the best.  I actually missed a day of video gaming because of it, but I'm hoping I will be back on ACII today or tomorrow - where u can fall 50 feet and just pay 50 florins to instantly heal yourself!

I'm hoping it won't "leave a mark" - not so much as in a scar-line, it being a thin, clean cut to begin with.   I'm curious though about my chances of gaining a rather ogre-sized bump at that spot.

Please share all of your broken-nose stories (c'mon, you know you want to!) because right now I'm rather listlessly watching cable news, and I need more entertainment than that!

 

Last spring my fiancee and I took surfing lessons in Hawaii.  She had decided to try and catch one last wave (mostly because I was having so much fun) and got caught across her nose by the board.  Totally bummed me out.  It sounds lik ethe same thing you had - a smack on the nose, a cut and some swelling.  She had a small fracture and the course of treatment was "try not to do that again."

Couple general things:

1) Don't get black.  You'll be completely appropriate with a solid dark grey (my preference) or solid dark blue and either one is a far more versatile look that will serve you well in the future.

2) A notch collar will look more current, longer than will a peaked collar (which is a little flashier and dressier), and I'd go with 2 button over three unless you're super thin as 3 buttons can look boxy on larger folks (no idea of your size, but 2-button looks good on almost everyone).  Avoid 4 or more buttons at all cost, and avoid double breasted as well.  It's making a comeback, but it's not the most versatile look.

3) No pleated pants.

3a) With flat fronts, no cuffs (on your pants).

As someone said above, check out places like Nordstrom Rack, Off 5th (Saks outlet) or the equivalent Niemans store (forget the name).  You can get good stuff at a great price, and you might even find a top-quality manufacturer on a closeout in your price range.  

And, of course, sorry about your grandmother

I'm expecting a Denial of Service attack upon their servers within the first week. Yeah, it's not a good thing to say at all, but I'm fully expecting it.

And I fully support a DoS attack against Ubi.

I respect every single one of the opinions in this thread.  Except this one. 

But your ok with the Crabs? 

Who wouldn't be???   

I'm expecting a Denial of Service attack upon their servers within the first week. Yeah, it's not a good thing to say at all, but I'm fully expecting it.

And I fully support a DoS attack against Ubi.

I respect every single one of the opinions in this thread.  Except this one. 

Hmm.. This still just doesn't bother me.  I have an always-on connection anyway, and I have other, better devices to entertain me in airports.  I mean, how often is the average gamer sitting on an airplane anyway?

I understand that it's irritating in concept, but in practice, a) I don't pirate games and b) I play PC games at home 99.5% of the time on a solid connection so c) I just won't get worked up over this. 

I travel quite a bit and do not always have reliable internet service where I am at.  That means most likely no games usning this can be played when I travel for work.  I also spend a lot of time at my family's place in the Mountains.  No interenet service there or in the forseeable future.  My aircard won't even work there.  I think it is shortsided to only look at how long is somebdoy on a plane as there are mutliple other places, times, instances when you just can't get online and yet still want to play a SINGLE player game.

That's fair.  I suppose ultimately the way the market responds will dictate whether or not Ubi deems this a "success" or not.  I guess the bottom line is that it won't stop me, personally, from buying SH5, for example becausethe inconveniences wouldn't inconvenience me.

I would not, by the way, put this sort of protection on my products, in case anyone was wondering, because as a small (ok, tiny) company I can't afford one lost sale.  There may be a different metric for the UBIs of the world.

Whenever someone does something absurdly bad, there'll always be someone around to defend them, no matter how morally reprehensible the situation. It's human nature.

Aw damn.  Y'all are harsh.    To answer a few questions posed:

1) No, I don't work for Ubi, but I do own a small software publisher (not gaming - business apps) and it bugs me when I see our stuff being stolen.  But it bugs me even more when I see stuff that we gave away for free being resold to victimized consumers online.  

2) If my my Internet connection goes down and I want to play Silent Hunter 5 and I can't atthat moment, I'm not gonna come here and bitch about it - because my Internet connection will be down

3) I think y'all underestimate the value of locking out casual piracy.  Now, maybe those darn kids today are all up on their torrents and stuff, and maybe they know all sorts of ways to break even the best DRM, but I suspect that there are a whole slew of folks out there that don't have a clue about how to pirate if it's not slapping them inthe face

3a) SH5 is going to appeal to sim geeks and history buffs.  Probably and older demographic, in general, and one that is not all hip to the current state of torrent-driven piracy.

4) Most teeth-gnashing seems to be of the "pirates will get it anyway - DRM just punishes legit users" variety.  We just have a fundamental disconnect there.  you could apply that same logic to any law - lawbreakers will always break laws, those that follow the law will be restricted.  Put another way, is the presence of lawbreakers a good resaon to dispense with law?  "Why put locks on your house?  Someone that wants your stuff will just break in anyway, and you might lose your key and lock yourself out.  It's just not worth it!"

5) I'm going to buy one copy of SH5 for everyone on this thread that says they refuse to buy it.  Just to encourage Ubi