David Hingtgen

Saw the 1080p 32in Sharp at BestBuy today---1400 bucks though. Target has the 32in Sony I was looking at on sale for 800. Hard to justify almost doubling the price though IMHO. 100 off (assuming) for Xmas +12% off for Reward Zone (hopefully) is still 1200 bucks. The higher res is notable if you look for it, but it's not immediately/obviously apparent at the 5ft distance I plan to watch. Demo footage was decent as BB goes. (Ironically the high-end Sony had a horrific demo like the one I was looking at earlier had---like bad VHS copy of a copy) What I really want is to see itty-bitty menu and HUD text from a 360 game--THAT will show if 1080 is worth it over 720 at 32in.

At least some stores got in the face plates today, going out soon to check. It also seems that if you ordered the flight stick, there's a face plate inside the box, and it's different from the pre-order faceplates.

THAT is neat. (sorry I don't have anything more profound to say, but I'm damned impressed) In other news, Thailand ordered a dozen Gripens. Rafale still has no export sales.

Oooh, game mode. That's missing on the 2 Sony's I was looking at. (The Sony XBR4 has it, but it costs 30% more and has a few minor issues)

I don't get the impression that many places will, I'd be pretty surprised if TRU does.

I'm not much of an LCD fan either--but it's the only option for sub-40in screens. Oihan---what's the difference between those two Sharp sets? If they're roughly a grand, that's a definite possibility. (I was hoping to spend 800 or so when Holiday sales occur, but I'll pay 200 bucks to go from 720 to 1080)

I'm looking at a 32in LCD too. Forget about 120hz----Every post I've read said it's a weird, disturbing effect that'll mess you up. (Since it's not really 120hz at all---it's 60hz with "guesstimated" frames inserted in every-other-frame) If you get one with it, make sure you can disable it--someday real 120hz will come, but it's not out now. I'm leaning towards the Sony 3000 series---either S3000 or M3000. (The XBR4 has issues, I think cloudiness) But those are 720p like most. Depending on the price for 1080's in the next few months, I might splurge for that---but I'm not paying double or anything. (nor will I wait another year for prices to drop---I'd like one for Xmas, but could wait until Feb/Mar or something if there's some big price drop or new model coming out) I have the exact same requirements as you---HD movies, and 360 gaming. (my current TV isn't even hooked up to cable----it's PURELY for movies and gaming--mostly gaming) So 360 performance (lag, blur, ghosting, etc) is the main concern. Honestly I'd like 30in if I could find one. 26 is just a LITTLE too small, but 32's actually "a little too big". But 32's almost always have better/nicer versions available than 26's. Sony's KDL 40S3000 looks great to me, but there's no way a 40in will fit. The 32S3000 is "very very close" but not quite as nice. But among the best 32's out there. Haven't seen a 32in 1080 in person yet, will have to check BestBuy again soon and see if they have any set up decently (and see how much they want for them)

There's quicker/easier ways to disable a truck. Plus the sheer fact that no semi can be started up and ready to go quickly. If it's "cold" shutdown, you are not going to be able to turn the key (or hotwire it) and be ready to go in 30 secs. Takes several minutes (depending on remaining air pressure), maybe 5. Now, it's possible they converted it to internal cleaners--but what's the point? Prime has big shiny external ones, it's an obvious feature. Why go to the work to make it LESS like Prime? Or in short---I have no idea why it's like that.

That's not an oil tank, that's the air cleaner. And I've never seen one permanently removed from a factory installation. Is just the one on that side removed, or both sides? I don't know how/if it'll run with one removed, but there's no way it'd last very long with both removed, if at all. I honestly can't remember a semi's air intake routing---do both cleaners supply equally to both the engine and compressor, one to each, or does it go to the compressor then the engine, or engine then compressor? Will have to find that out.

The all-time best 2D fighting game is X-Men vs Street Fighter. Just the perfect blend of speed, difficulty, characters, music, etc. Everything was just awesome. Nothing beats it, can play for hours against another human (CPU's not as fun). Reason alone to keep a Saturn around. Ryu+Magneto is a heck of a combo. I like Cyclops (so cheap you can't help but abuse it) and Ken. Or Chun-Li+Rogue or Storm. Akuma+Wolverine does severe punishment to anyone. Oh yeah--Cammy+Gambit.

Air Force One may have a heavier structural weight than basic 747's, but the payload is far less. It never hauls 300 people, their 50 lbs of luggage each, and several container's worth of cargo in the belly. Also---it flies so rarely it's really pointless to try to get a marginally more efficient plane. It's not like there's 500 of them flying every day with afterburners (unlike all our ANG F-15's for example, which can drain a drop tank in a minute if they try) Also---not many airports can take an A380. Air Force One can get into a lot more airports than most people think. Heck, it comes to CID all the time.

Yeah, but I doubt I can get my 5 bucks back from BestBuy (they'd probably ask for the pre-order bonus back!)

Don't even think about blue lights on a semi on the road. You will NOT get away with it no matter how lucky you are. Unlike cars, trucks are subject to *frequent* inspections---every day if you need to weigh at the scales. It's easy to have illegal stuff on a car---just remove it the day before the annual inspection. But good luck trying to get around daily/weekly inspections...

Replica Prime running qualities: Based on the "before" pics it looks like it was basically junkyard-quality. And most semis that old are on their 2nd engine, or at least a MAJOR engine overhaul. And the 1980's one in the movies would probably be the same way. But overall---they'd run pretty much the same. Engine tech was pretty stagnant from 80's to mid-90's AFAIK. Horsepower increase of course, a bit better fuel economy---but nothing major. And for sheer idling/running smoothness, suspension, transmission----nothing changed at all AFAIK. PS--if I was to do something like that, I would have waited until the movie was out, or even better, the DVD. Why go through all that work and money and just GUESS at the paint scheme details, when you could just wait a bit? Plus the zillion of great reference pics from the Botcon appearance etc. Overall the blue is too pale, and there's not enough orange. And it needs the toolboxes, which should certainly fit if the steps are removed.

It's just to scare Boeing into lowering their prices. Seriously: 1. C-5's carry tanks etc and can air-drop. A380's could never do that without redesigning half the plane from scratch. And we don't even need to discuss rough/short field capabilities. They'd sacrifice just about every capability the C-5 and C-141 have. Of course, they just decided the "too old, too big, too loud, too slow" Chinook is to be replaced with more less-old Chinooks, which are just as big, loud, and slow and almost as old---but cost just as much as new, quieter, faster, more agile choppers. 2. Air Force One, while technically a 747-200, has many features/systems of the -400, notably the engines. There are few planes more reliable or efficient. They are also among the last -200's built, and were the last -200's delivered, and have fewer hours and cycles than planes 1/3 their age. They'll last forever, and are as economic as a 747-400 built last year. Saying Air Force One is old is kinda like saying an F-15K isn't a modern fighter. Sheer aerodynamics-wise, it's not. But I'd rather have one of those than an original-config F-18A since everything else is top of the line.

Definitely Chun-Li whenever possible, she just rocks. Ken a lot of the time, for Shoto-scrubbing. He's overpowered/cheap in EVERY version, and I abuse it. 3rd---never consistent. I like Vega/Balrog, Athena, Kyo, Shiki, Hibiki, Andy Bogard, Mai. (I really like a lot of the Darkstalkers cast, but they're never in the Vs games besides Morrigan--who I can use but not often--give me Rikuo, Q.Bee, Anakaris, Huitzil) I really want Billy Kane in a vs game...

I really would like to see a "Sv-51 fixes" thread we could sticky for a while. But I too don't want to go back through the past couple dozen pages of posts to find them.

Gamestop doesn't have the MassEffect pre-order bonus yet, and there's no mention of it with the Limited Edition version of the game. (Which is not available in stores period according to the website) However, BestBuy has it sitting right there in the games section. Just pick it up and take it to the register. I don't plan to make good on my pre-order and will just eat the 5 bucks and order the Limited Edition version from Gamestop.com (They are guaranteeing DELIVERY on the release date for MassEffect if you pre-order and use overnight shipping) Well, at least for the regular edition. I expect it'll happen with the LE as well, even if the site doesn't mention it yet. The pre-order bonus is worth 5 bucks to me, so I don't mind, especially getting it a MONTH earlier than from Gamestop. Gamer pics, themes, etc on the disc.

Just take a good look at the nose from the side before you order though. That mold is very snub/blunt-nosed.

No faceplates at my Gamestop, pre-ordered though so I can at least pick it out when they do arrive.

And hey---the Japanese version is the "real, true" version for most games, especially first-party Nintendo ones. Anyone got a pic of a Zelda 3 SFC cart?

I'm going out tomorrow to look for both the faceplate and Mass Effect goodies. If there's no faceplates until it ships, then I'll preorder there so I can pick mine out. F-15E is a given, but the pic is so tiny I can't tell any of them. I mean, an F-14 faceplate would be awesome, and I'd hate to miss out, especially when they're free. (Hopefully they'll be of decent enough printing quality to actually look good and use)

Oooooooh. As I've mentioned before, Movie Prime is just a typical Peterbilt with a LOT of custom/aftermarket parts. You can go to any large truck stop and get half the stuff you need. Very close, though I notice the aft toolboxes are missing--surprising, those are actually a standard modern 379 part and any dealership should be able to get them easily, if they don't already have them in stock. The grill is a replacement but a stock part------2003-2005 or so I think--about the closest you can get with getting it custom-made like the movie one. (2006+ is even closer, but won't work with older cooling systems) Doubt you could drive it more than 30 secs with the running lights on without getting stopped, and any DOT inspection would be an instant fail. Curious about the front fenders---they look identical to Prime's, but I thought those were utterly custom for the movie. Maybe it's an aftermarket part I've never seen before.

Most modern planes have just a single gun on one side. F-14: port F-15: starboard F-16: port F-18: centered (freak) F-22: starboard As for planes with 1 or 2 depending on variant---the Tornado comes to mind. The Tornado ADV has one (port I think), the Tornado IDS has two.

Hey, the Academy Legacy bug has a flaps half-way option. (Which seriously, is how I'm going to build it)