Random Thoughts

I'm in the midst of trying to find a new job. Been talking to tons of people and trying to make some moves.

The last bloo I purchased recently was the Pompeii 3D. I know the movie was a piece of shit but I read the 3D bloo is reference material. So I purchased it mainly for that reason. Also, it was only five bucks.

And a while back I posted about wanting to get some glassware for my house. This Sunday, I ordered 16 Pyrex containers from Macy's for $43 bucks (tax included). Gonna drive over there tonight to pick 'em up! No more stupid plastic containers which melt and are a bitch to clean.

Bottom line, you know life sucks when the one thing you look forward to in a week is buying glass food storage containers.

Rusty Cunt wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:This place has been deader than Robin Williams, what's everyone up to these days?

I bought myself a new tent yesterday.

Generally try and go out a couple times a year, and realised I didn't go once last year - main reason was I hated my old tent. Worst of it all is I spent most of last year unemployed and sitting at home on my arse. No reason I couldn't have spent as much time out and about as I wanted.

So that's what I'm doing. Waiting for my new tent to arrive, then spending a weekend in the bush ... then I'm coming home to start looking for a job.

Completely understand that, a few times a year I also unplug for a week or so and disappear into the trees.

What's the craziest critter you ever came across in the outback on one of your excursions? I've come across cougar, brown bear, moose and a couple of grey wolf packs over the years as all are native in my state but none have ever been aggressive towards me so it was all observational and never anything less than incredible to watch.

What kind of tent? Have you ever tried just using a hammock or is that highly unsafe where you go?

joey con carne wrote:Bottom line, you know life sucks when the one thing you look forward to in a week is buying glass food storage containers.

Or is your life awesome because that's all a Ninja truly needs.......quality cookware?

WyldeMan wrote:

Completely understand that, a few times a year I also unplug for a week or so and disappear into the trees.

What's the craziest critter you ever came across in the outback on one of your excursions? I've come across cougar, brown bear, moose and a couple of grey wolf packs over the years as all are native in my state but none have ever been aggressive towards me so it was all observational and never anything less than incredible to watch.

What kind of tent? Have you ever tried just using a hammock or is that highly unsafe where you go?

The tent I bought is the Snugpak Scorpion. Small 2-man tent. Light and easy to set-up. Problem I had with my last tent is it was a 2 pole design (i each end) that also required guy-lines to stay upright. I hate that. Easy to trip over shit, and always has to be adjusted. They aren't required on the new one.

I've always considered a hammock, but I generally prefer a clearing to sleep in. Main reason is when I usually go out, it's the middle of summer, and there's always a random storm that rips through and I frequently had large branches falling on me. I learned that the hard way. I definitely want to try one though. Have had my eye on a Hennessy Hammock for a few years ... just never pulled the trigger.

Nothing overly exotic as far as fauna goes. There's kangaroos but I see them driving to the shops. The occasional Dear, and maybe a Dingo.

Snakes are my biggest concern. The fuckers are everywhere, and they're venomous. That's why I want a tent design I don't have to keep getting out and adjusting.

I really want to buy a 4WD and do some traveling and get to new places. I'm kicking myself for not doing it last year, rather than putting my time and money into the Impala. Lesson learned.

Rusty Cunt wrote:The tent I bought is the Snugpak Scorpion. Small 2-man tent. Light and easy to set-up. Problem I had with my last tent is it was a 2 pole design (i each end) that also required guy-lines to stay upright. I hate that. Easy to trip over shit, and always has to be adjusted. They aren't required on the new one.

I've always considered a hammock, but I generally prefer a clearing to sleep in. Main reason is when I usually go out, it's the middle of summer, and there's always a random storm that rips through and I frequently had large branches falling on me. I learned that the hard way. I definitely want to try one though. Have had my eye on a Hennessy Hammock for a few years ... just never pulled the trigger.

Nothing overly exotic as far as fauna goes. There's kangaroos but I see them driving to the shops. The occasional Dear, and maybe a Dingo.

Snakes are my biggest concern. The fuckers are everywhere, and they're venomous. That's why I want a tent design I don't have to keep getting out and adjusting.

I really want to buy a 4WD and do some traveling and get to new places. I'm kicking myself for not doing it last year, rather than putting my time and money into the Impala. Lesson learned.

I can't imagine seeing Kangaroos on my way to the store though, I've only ever seen them in animals prisons aka zoos. Are dingos much of a problem?

The snakes are actually why I prefer my hammock but it depends on where I go since everything will kill ya if they give it the chance.

Washington State is probably the most diverse in the country when it comes to landscape, gloriously beautiful mountain locations and interesting animals. I've been all over the US and never found another state with so many interesting sights in one location. I've got mountains on three sides of me and the Pacific Ocean two miles to the west, which leaves me endless options.

Who's too old to be flying, Harrison Ford that's who. Solo, hang up your wings now you nearly suicide bombing fuck!

WyldeMan wrote:

I can't imagine seeing Kangaroos on my way to the store though, I've only ever seen them in animals prisons aka zoos. Are dingos much of a problem?

The snakes are actually why I prefer my hammock but it depends on where I go since everything will kill ya if they give it the chance.

Washington State is probably the most diverse in the country when it comes to landscape, gloriously beautiful mountain locations and interesting animals. I've been all over the US and never found another state with so many interesting sights in one location. I've got mountains on three sides of me and the Pacific Ocean two miles to the west, which leaves me endless options.

Kangaroos are everywhere with the exception of major urban areas, you're likely to see one, though now it's more common to see them dead on the side of the road. They're very active at night and frequently jump in the path of trucks.

Dingoes are a non issue. They're only a nuisance around some holiday resorts where people keep either trying to feed them, or just arseholes leaving rubbish around.

Problem with hammocks and snakes is getting out of the hammock, as a snake could easily chill underneath it because it's dry. You step out of the hammock ... bam! You stepped on the snake. That's the benefit of a tent. Whilst it's on the ground, before I unzip the fly and step out, I can easily check to make sure no snake has curled up and tried to get warm under the vestibule.

That's the only contact I've ever had with snakes. Aside from the odd occasion of seeing one move alongside a road or path, 90% of my contact has been just as I'm about to tread on one, or put my hand on a rock, and "hey!, there's a fucking snake on that rock."

If I ever got to live in the US, I'm pretty sure the Pacific Northwest is where I'd live. It seems like the perfect place for anyone that enjoys the outdoors and nature. Watched a great online series a little while back about guys in 4WD's over-landing from there up through BC and Yukon into Alaska. That whole western sections of North America, from Oregon up looks sensational.

... and if I couldn't like there, I'd live in Texas.

Rusty Cunt wrote:Kangaroos are everywhere with the exception of major urban areas, you're likely to see one, though now it's more common to see them dead on the side of the road. They're very active at night and frequently jump in the path of trucks.

Dingoes are a non issue. They're only a nuisance around some holiday resorts where people keep either trying to feed them, or just arseholes leaving rubbish around.

Problem with hammocks and snakes is getting out of the hammock, as a snake could easily chill underneath it because it's dry. You step out of the hammock ... bam! You stepped on the snake. That's the benefit of a tent. Whilst it's on the ground, before I unzip the fly and step out, I can easily check to make sure no snake has curled up and tried to get warm under the vestibule.

That's the only contact I've ever had with snakes. Aside from the odd occasion of seeing one move alongside a road or path, 90% of my contact has been just as I'm about to tread on one, or put my hand on a rock, and "hey!, there's a fucking snake on that rock."

If I ever got to live in the US, I'm pretty sure the Pacific Northwest is where I'd live. It seems like the perfect place for anyone that enjoys the outdoors and nature. Watched a great online series a little while back about guys in 4WD's over-landing from there up through BC and Yukon into Alaska. That whole western sections of North America, from Oregon up looks sensational.

... and if I couldn't like there, I'd live in Texas.  

I hsdn't realized that for you guys, Kangaroos are essentially massive Possums which where I live are everywhere and nearly always dead on side of road.

Never had a snake kick it underneath me but I can also see through my hammock to the ground before jumping down if I needed to. The only problems I ever had with snakes were in Missouri and Nevada when I came upon a few rattle snakes but luckily both times they were heard before they were in striking distance.

I love WA, it's got everything from the ocean to endless rivers, waterfalls, mountains, flat plains and abundance of green and trees. It all depends which direction you drive in the state. But yes if you enjoy Wheelin, the PNW is the area for you. There are hundreds of 4x4 clubs in just the surrounding counties alone, several I've seen are clubs filled entirely by women.

Out curiosity, what's property pricing like in your area? Cheap, affordable or obscene?

Property prices here are retarded. My parents last year sold their home. It was on a quarter acre block, was an old fibro home that was fucked. It needs to be knocked down .... and they got $800,00 for it. Absolutely ridiculous.

They moved 2 hours north, and bought a newer, slightly bigger home, and slightly larger land size, for less than half the price.

Unless I win Lotto (which I don't play), I will never own a home here. Far too expensive.

Rusty Cunt wrote:Property prices here are retarded. My parents last year sold their home. It was on a quarter acre block, was an old fibro home that was fucked. It needs to be knocked down .... and they got $800,00 for it. Absolutely ridiculous.

They moved 2 hours north, and bought a newer, slightly bigger home, and slightly larger land size, for less than half the price.

Unless I win Lotto (which I don't play), I will never own a home here. Far too expensive.

WOW........the average in my town for a single family home would be around $250k. House flipping is a big market now though so it's not uncommon to see 70 year old homes on five acre lots for around $200k that get renovated and re-sold within months for $100k higher but for $700k you can buy 40 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The Texas house market is exploding too. Fairly sure there are about ten different shows on DIY and HGTV all about people flipping homes in Texas.

Real estate prices here in NYC are just stupid, too. I live in an attached townhouse tudor. My parents purchased this place for like $180,000 and now if we were to sell, it would be about $750,000. If you want a detached house out here in Flushing or Bayside area, you're looking at spending upwards of $800,000 to over $1,000,000.

You know what the problem is? The mainlanders (China). Those fuckers all come here and buy up property for CASH. All cash. No financing. The wealth distribution in certain parts of China are so fucking skewed. Either you're dirt poor or you're richer than a motherfucker. And those rich ones are coming here and fucking up the real estate market.

Pisses me off so much. This happens frequently:

1. A house goes on the market for $650,000.
2. Many bidders come around. Price goes up to say $700,000 from bidding war.
3. A Chinese person will go up to the owner and say "I'll give you $670,000 cash. No financing. Fast close."

They probably don't even do an inspection because because they will just tear the house down and rebuild it into a two family house for the rest of his family. Most times the seller is willing to take a $30,000 cut from the top bid just so they don't have to take a chance on the deal falling through.

I've heard (from other shady real estate agents) some Chinese are even putting down upwards of a million in cash down on a house just so they can tear them down and rebuild.

But, rumor has it, the Chinese government is putting a stop to that. They can't just take their cash out of the country anymore. I hope this is not a rumor because that would mean real estate prices will finally come down slightly.

By the way, homes here which cost $650,000, the first thought you would have is "Okay, what is wrong with it?" Usually, unless you're going after homes which are in the $800,000+ range, you will have to put in a good deal of money to renovate because anything from $650,000 to $800,000 would be questionable condition while anything below $650,000 is usually something which is not move-in-ready.

Thanks for reading my long ranting shit. I had to vent a little. Fuck those guys.

joey con carne wrote:Real estate prices here in NYC are just stupid, too. I live in an attached townhouse tudor. My parents purchased this place for like $180,000 and now if we were to sell, it would be about $750,000. If you want a detached house out here in Flushing or Bayside area, you're looking at spending upwards of $800,000 to over $1,000,000.

You know what the problem is? The mainlanders (China). Those fuckers all come here and buy up property for CASH. All cash. No financing. The wealth distribution in certain parts of China are so fucking skewed. Either you're dirt poor or you're richer than a motherfucker. And those rich ones are coming here and fucking up the real estate market.

Pisses me off so much. This happens frequently:

1. A house goes on the market for $650,000.
2. Many bidders come around. Price goes up to say $700,000 from bidding war.
3. A Chinese person will go up to the owner and say "I'll give you $670,000 cash. No financing. Fast close."

They probably don't even do an inspection because because they will just tear the house down and rebuild it into a two family house for the rest of his family. Most times the seller is willing to take a $30,000 cut from the top bid just so they don't have to take a chance on the deal falling through.

I've heard (from other shady real estate agents) some Chinese are even putting down upwards of a million in cash down on a house just so they can tear them down and rebuild.

But, rumor has it, the Chinese government is putting a stop to that. They can't just take their cash out of the country anymore. I hope this is not a rumor because that would mean real estate prices will finally come down slightly.

By the way, homes here which cost $650,000, the first thought you would have is "Okay, what is wrong with it?" Usually, unless you're going after homes which are in the $800,000+ range, you will have to put in a good deal of money to renovate because anything from $650,000 to $800,000 would be questionable condition while anything below $650,000 is usually something which is not move-in-ready.

Thanks for reading my long ranting shit. I had to vent a little. Fuck those guys.

I agree entirely on the China complaint, in 2014 they came to Seattle and started buying up property like there was a fire sale. They've spent billions in Seattle over the last several years and show no signs of slowing down, at this rate they're going to own the Pacific Northwest inside of five years and the market will be fucked. They're taking over Real Estate and Hollywood, it's all gonna be Chinese owned before long. No joke.

But in the age of $20k tiny homes and with the vast advancements of renewable energy, I feel no remorse for anybody who chooses to throw down nearly a million dollars for a ticky tack McMansion. I'll never understand the price differences in real estate just because of a zip code. No thanks, I'll keep my money, you keep your bragging rights.

They're doing it here to. Biggest issue is, aside from the cost of buying, rental prices have gone through the roof.

Problem for the city people is, the properties are being bought, but not rented out. They just sit there vacant. I think they call it negative gearing or some shit. Essentially they buy the property, but rather than rent it out, hire a property manager, etc, they just let it sit and let the asset itself accrue value, along with it being a tax write-off.

I just realized that next week is the upcoming Emerald City Comic-Con and as I was saying i've never been to a convention, this one has a pretty stellar line-up of lovely ladies and also some cool dudes, however all have photo fees of $60 - $80 so I won't be meetin anybody cause I don't pay for play.

Em City Con Lineup

The highlights for me would be; Anna Silk (Lost Girl), Catriona Balfe (Outlander) and Evangeline Lilly (Freckles)

Cool dudes; Renner, Momoa, Rooker, Alice Cooper, Peter Mayhew, Ric Flair, Robert Englund, Vincent D'Onofrio.

Even Stan Lee and Tom Felton will be there. Also Eleven from Stranger Things but nobody else from the show for some reason.

Seems like an interesting line-up of panelists.

Yeah I would never pay for an autograph. I'm actually not a big fan of them at all especially since most people literally just sign their name. IF I got an autograph I'd want a cool message, dammit, or even a corny one, not just a scribbled name.

The only just name autograph(s) I have that I'm really proud of is a proof sheet of artwork for Team Sleep's first and only real studio album signed by the whole band and mostly the fact that it's on the proof sheet is what makes it really unique. I have the full band autographs on a more common promo poster too but so do a lot of others.

Tyger wrote:Yeah I would never pay for an autograph. I'm actually not a big fan of them at all especially since most people literally just sign their name. IF I got an autograph I'd want a cool message, dammit, or even a corny one, not just a scribbled name.

The only just name autograph(s) I have that I'm really proud of is a proof sheet of artwork for Team Sleep's first and only real studio album signed by the whole band and mostly the fact that it's on the proof sheet is what makes it really unique. I have the full band autographs on a more common promo poster too but so do a lot of others.

In the 90's I collected celeb autographs through the mail, I had personalized messages and signatures from guys like; Pacino, DeNiro, Pesci, Caan and Travolta and dozens of others that I got for postage but I lost interest or got bored after about six months. I don't even know what happened to them over time but when I was a kid I was proud of them for a little while, I remember displaying them on my walls but I can't imagine doing that now let alone paying money for someone's signature. Are con panels very interesting in person or about as exciting as they are on youtube?

I haven't been to a con since I was a kid which was very different from modern cons and I don't remember anyway

WyldeMan wrote:

In the 90's I collected celeb autographs through the mail, I had personalized messages and signatures from guys like; Pacino, DeNiro, Pesci, Caan and Travolta and dozens of others that I got for postage but I lost interest or got bored after about six months. I don't even know what happened to them over time but when I was a kid I was proud of them for a little while, I remember displaying them on my walls but I can't imagine doing that now let alone paying money for someone's signature. Are con panels very interesting in person or about as exciting as they are on youtube?

They're about as exciting as they are on YouTube.

I considered going to a Supernatural con here in Sydney a few years back, which as you could imagine is even extra expensive due to the distance they have to travel, so I watched a few clips online and read some reviews. Also asked a friend who went to one a year or two prior. I came to the conclusion that to really enjoy them, you have to be a full fledged fan.

Paying for the autograph is what you get. I signed photo. Can't stand around and chat for a couple minutes. If by chance you see one of them walking around the Con, you can't ask them to stop and take a photo (isn't fair to the people that pay).

Regarding the panels, I'd say about 10% is show/story related, the rest is just fan nonsense. Personal questions, behind the scenes jokes, social media happenings.

It's all nonsense. You have to be the fan of fans, otherwise you'll sit there thinking to yourself "these people are fucked in the head".

Rusty Cunt wrote:They're about as exciting as they are on YouTube.

I considered going to a Supernatural con here in Sydney a few years back, which as you could imagine is even extra expensive due to the distance they have to travel, so I watched a few clips online and read some reviews. Also asked a friend who went to one a year or two prior. I came to the conclusion that to really enjoy them, you have to be a full fledged fan.

Paying for the autograph is what you get. I signed photo. Can't stand around and chat for a couple minutes. If by chance you see one of them walking around the Con, you can't ask them to stop and take a photo (isn't fair to the people that pay).

Regarding the panels, I'd say about 10% is show/story related, the rest is just fan nonsense. Personal questions, behind the scenes jokes, social media happenings.

It's all nonsense. You have to be the fan of fans, otherwise you'll sit there thinking to yourself "these people are fucked in the head".

I tend to stand by the belief that you should never meet your heroes and I'm worried that I'll just walk away thinking people I've liked for years are just morons and dbags.

Supernatural Con comes to Seattle every March so I've been seeing lots of promos. I would have been pumped to go back around season 5 but now I'm just like, why would I pay for a panel just to look at three mediocre dudes and no ladies?

I feel like I'd love the idea of a Con more than the actuality of a Con. Thanks for the info guys, I think I'll just skip this one.

Bill Paxton is dead...........

I have never been more proud of my firm than I am now. LOL Fucking moron at the Academy Awards. Yes, that guy works at my firm. El oh fucking el

That really made my day. Leadership sent out two emails addressingthe situation to us and told us what we should say should our clients question us about what happened.

What a great day. haha!!!

I work at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. It is stylized as PwC.

We are the number two financial services firm in the world in terms of revenue followed by EY and KPMG (in that order). Number one is Deloitte. Yea, we are all so cool we only use acronyms in our names. So cool.

Is it just me or has Forever not posted in awhile?

Yea. I feel like I haven't seen her in a month or so.

Edit: Her last post was on 26 January. Hope everything is okay.

joey con carne wrote:Yea. I feel like I haven't seen her in a month or so.

Edit: Her last post was on 26 January. Hope everything is okay.

I haven't seen anything from her in about three weeks, I'll send an email.

joey con carne wrote:I work at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. It is stylized as PwC.

We are the number two financial services firm in the world in terms of revenue followed by EY and KPMG (in that order). Number one is Deloitte. Yea, we are all so cool we only use acronyms in our names. So cool.

Joey, your firm is Yahoo's main page story today....

Academy, Oscar Accountants Offer More Apologies; Investigation Launched

Btw Joey, do you know the guy responsible Brian Cullinanor? I read he's been with PWC for over 30 years. Is he just one drone of many within a very large company or do you all work in one building? Cullinanor was posting a picture of Emma Stone to his twitter account in the minutes before the major fuck up when he should have been getting his shit in order, LOL.

Brian Cullinan is not some lowly associate. Homeboy is a partner of my firm! He's a partner in the Los Angeles office. LOL what a douche.

We got another email today from Tim Ryan, the chairman of PwC, addressing the massive fuck-up by Cullinan. Tim Ryan needs to just let this shit go. Damage control isn't going to help in this case when Cullinan was told not to twitter while performing his duties. His gaffe was as fucked up as a soup sandwich.

If I was a partner in the LA office, I would ride the shit out of him about it. He's not going to live this down and his legacy will not be "The partner of PwC who worked for the Academy". He's going to be that fucking moron who blew the one simple job he was supposed to do: hand out a god damn envelope. Instead, he's going to be the guy who fucked up the Oscars in 83 years. LOL I hope he is getting ribbed so bad. LOSERRRRRRRRRRRRR

joey con carne wrote:Brian Cullinan is not some lowly associate. Homeboy is a partner of my firm! He's a partner in the Los Angeles office. LOL what a douche.

We got another email today from Tim Ryan, the chairman of PwC, addressing the massive fuck-up by Cullinan. Tim Ryan needs to just let this shit go. Damage control isn't going to help in this case when Cullinan was told not to twitter while performing his duties. His gaffe was as fucked up as a soup sandwich.

If I was a partner in the LA office, I would ride the shit out of him about it. He's not going to live this down and his legacy will not be "The partner of PwC who worked for the Academy". He's going to be that fucking moron who blew the one simple job he was supposed to do: hand out a god damn envelope. Instead, he's going to be the guy who fucked up the Oscars in 83 years. LOL I hope he is getting ribbed so bad. LOSERRRRRRRRRRRRR

I could understand if it was Amy Adams or Jessica Chastain that had him under the hypnotic redhead spell but Emma Stone? She's not the least bit seductive or distracting. Yet he didn't have enough blood in his head brain to pick the right envelope with a 50/50 chance.

That looks good! I'll be happy to watch it.

You know what sucks? Those stupid Verizon commercials where that toolbag keeps wanting to "drop the mic".

joey con carne wrote:That looks good! I'll be happy to watch it.

You know what sucks? Those stupid Verizon commercials where that toolbag keeps wanting to "drop the mic".

Poor Thomas Middleditch! He's the star of the hilarious HBO series Silicon Valley.

My bad. I wasn't saying Thomas Middleditch is a toolbag. I meant to refer to the character he was playing in the commercial.

So there is some crazy politics going on in my office. Typically, I can navigate it pretty easily but this is ridiculous. Long story short, I work on a large engagement. There are "pods" of like five to seven associates working under one manager. My pod is fucked up and has two managers. These two managers don't always agree with each other and as the senior on the team, I'm getting told to do things differently by two managers. It's really starting to piss me off. I spoke up and now there is draaaamaaaaaaaaa. Fuckers.

joey con carne wrote:My bad. I wasn't saying Thomas Middleditch is a toolbag. I meant to refer to the character he was playing in the commercial.

So there is some crazy politics going on in my office. Typically, I can navigate it pretty easily but this is ridiculous. Long story short, I work on a large engagement. There are "pods" of like five to seven associates working under one manager. My pod is fucked up and has two managers. These two managers don't always agree with each other and as the senior on the team, I'm getting told to do things differently by two managers. It's really starting to piss me off. I spoke up and now there is draaaamaaaaaaaaa. Fuckers.

Whenever I got put onto a team with managers who were morons I would just pit their egos against each other in favor of whatever I needed them to do so I could get my job done. Just figure out which one believes he's the Alpha and then make him look like a Bitch in front of the others. You can then take the bitch's job...or his wife, maybe both if you want to, what I'm saying is you'll have options.

I will be installing the Amazon App in my PS3 tonight so I may begin watching El Hombre en el Castillo Alto and Sneaky Pete (Pedro Furtivo).

I was reading an article earlier that said 53% of households now have Netflix over DVRs compared to 35% just two years ago. I've been very strongly been considering ditching my DirecTV DVR setup in favor of a Roku and Netflix account. My question is, does anybody here have a Roku? I would love to get some feedback on the product as well as how you feel about the setup and pricing versus cable.

I never knew what a Roku was until I just looked it up from your post. I mooch off a Netflix and Hulu account. I think you'll be set with just Netflix. Then if you really run out of stuff to watch, go for Roku or something else. Netflix definitely has plenty of programming to keep you busy for a long, long time.

joey con carne wrote:I never knew what a Roku was until I just looked it up from your post. I mooch off a Netflix and Hulu account. I think you'll be set with just Netflix. Then if you really run out of stuff to watch, go for Roku or something else. Netflix definitely has plenty of programming to keep you busy for a long, long time.

Can you watch Netflix without a streaming device though? I haven't used netflix streaming because I had a shitty internet provider with a monthly cap which prevented me from ever streaming so I am only familiar with their old school dvd through the mail system.

For anybody without cable do you just download new shows through torrents or do you have paid subscription accounts that let you watch the latest programming? I've heard about SlingTV, Netflix and Hulu mentioned by most folks online but it's one thing reading random opinions versus talking to someone with the system.

Brad Treat was a Forest Service Officer who apparently lacked respect for nature and showed a complete lack of common sense, which tells you that never to go full speed around any blind corner even if it's a path you know, cause you're in nature asshole. trying to beat his best time and he went full speed into a bear??? I love that his buddy just bailed out and left him cause these assholes didn't care a single item for protection!!! LMFAO and Enjoy your Darwin Award Officer Brad Treat and thanks for giving back to nature.   

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Forest Service law enforcement officer Brad Treat was fatally mauled by a grizzly bear after accidentally surprising and colliding with the animal while mountain biking, the Board of Review Report has determined.

The board released its findings on the June 29 incident and made safety recommendations this week.

According to the report, Treat was mountain biking with a friend on the “Outer Trail” of the Green Gate Trails in the Flathead National Forest. Between 1:30 and 2 p.m. MT, Treat collided with a grizzly bear with his bike at a high rate of speed after rounding a blind curve on the trail.

Treat had access to the trails system from his house and was reported to jog the trails with his wife almost every morning. Treat mountain biked on the trails four to six times a week. Treat’s wife, Somer, described him as competitive and said he often tried to beat his previous times as he traveled the route.

Treat was estimated to be going 20 to 25 mph, giving him only one or two seconds after rounding the corner to see the bear. The investigation found no signs of skidding or evasive steering, indicating Treat did not immediately see the bear and hit him at full speed.

The collision hurled Treat into and then over the handlebars of his bike and either onto or over the bear. The investigation indicated the impact caused Treat to break both of his wrists and his left shoulder blade as he tried to break his fall with his hands.

A riding companion was reportedly 20 to 25 yards behind Treat when the incident occurred. The companion reported hearing the impact and heard the bear vocalize and make a sound “like it was hurt.”

The companion rode around the curve and saw the bear standing over Treat, who was laying on the trail. The bear was described as “very big, brownish-black in color, lighter than black” with its hair “bristled up.” The companion reported waiting about 30 seconds as he tried to figure out what to do. Neither Treat nor his companion had bear spray, firearms or cellphones with them.

The companion said the bear was “intent and focused on Mr. Treat,” and did not turn to look at the companion when he came into sight. The companion decided to turn around and head back up the trail the way they came to seek help because he did not feel comfortable trying to get the bear off of Treat.

When the companion heard vehicles on Highway 2, he began bushwhacking toward the road, carrying his bike. Highway 2 is approximately 1 mile away from the trail through thick forest.

The companion flagged down a vehicle and was driven to a phone to call for help. The call was received by 911 dispatch at 2:52 p.m.

The initial investigators found the victim and his bike in the trail at the collision site. Treat’s helmet was beside his body and was reported to be bitten to pieces by the bear.

Treat was dead when responders arrived.

According to the investigation, no part of the victim’s body was eaten by the bear and the grizzly did not cache the body by covering it with dirt and debris. Bears often cache items they intend to store and return to later.

Chris Servheen, board of review member and adjunct research associate professor at the University of Montana, said the evidence indicates this was not a predatory attack, but rather a surprise encounter.

Twelve hair and swab samples were taken from the bicycle helmet and the victim. The hairs were tested for their genotype and found to belong to an 18- to 20-year-old male grizzly with no history of human-bear conflict. The bear had been captured once in May 2006 during a research project in Glacier National Park. At that time, the bear was estimated to weigh 370 pounds.

Though this is the first time someone in Montana has been killed by a bear while mountain biking, Servheen said bikers do occasionally encounter bears.

“The main thing is to slow down in places with little sight distance, meaning you can’t see very far,” Servheen said. “When the trail is thick with vegetation or has curves, we recommend you slow down and shout when approaching blind curves. Speed and noise are the factors that get people when they’re out on their bikes. They’re moving faster and quieter.”

A 2000 study in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, found that though hikers greatly outnumber bikers on trails, the number of bear encounters for the bikers was disproportionately high. The study attributed the numbers to bikers' increased speed and stealth when traveling.

Following the investigation, the Board of Review members also released a set of recommendations related to mountain biker safety in bear country.

The recommendations include suggestions to stay vigilant, slow down, carry bear spray, make noise, don’t ride alone, never ride at dusk, dawn or night, don’t think “it won’t happen to me” and remember bears live there and you are just a visitor.

WyldeMan wrote:

Can you watch Netflix without a streaming device though? I haven't used netflix streaming because I had a shitty internet provider with a monthly cap which prevented me from ever streaming so I am only familiar with their old school dvd through the mail system.

For anybody without cable do you just download new shows through torrents or do you have paid subscription accounts that let you watch the latest programming? I've heard about SlingTV, Netflix and Hulu mentioned by most folks online but it's one thing reading random opinions versus talking to someone with the system.

You can watch it on your computer, but to watch it on your TV, you either need to be able to hook your computer up to a TV and use it as your monitor, or use a device.

I have Apple TV, alternatively my Blu-Ray player (Oppo) can connect to it as well.

Anything non-Netflix I watch is acquired via downloads.

Bummer for me is a lot of content on US Netflix aren't on Australian Netflix, due to rights, etc.