DEEJAYKEG

UnChileno Good job guys..sorry I havent been around..Video card issues..It wont handle COD5 anymore..so Im stuck in COD4 world now...man are they ever gay over here..lmao @Chile: Have you overloaded that card with all the flesh tones you've forced it to display? Look forward to seeing you back where you belong soon! @Dirk: I'm sure but are you claiming you could last two hours??

Happy St George's Day, everyone! Here's a little something to get those patriotic tears flowing!

The more I think about it, I think I mis-counted... It was a SIX-rounder so nearly 2 hours long!

We played what has to be among the longest ever games on the servers, tonight! FIVE rounds, four of twenty minutes and a final round of four (?) minutes to try to separate the teams. We had some players drop out in the early stages so I thought I'd post the final score screen to show what they missed... The result a 2-2 DRAW! Major congratulations to deerejon and owens on their amazing 1000+ scores - we don't get to see scores like those very often! Kokoda is a great map and stalemates are not uncommon but I've never seen a game finish in a draw before after nearly 1½ hours of play. (Apologies to US Army team members who were off the screenshot.)

Saint George, one of the most prominent military saints, is the patron saint of England. His feast day is 23 April. For those who don't understand the complexities of British national identity or culture, it may be helpful to remind non-Brits that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a nation comprised of FOUR countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each has its own patron saint - St Andrew for the Scots, St David for the Welsh and St Patrick for the Northern (and Southern) Irish. Whereas the other countries' peoples mark their patron saints' days with celebrations and even, perhaps, a public holiday, it has been the norm for the English to do nothing of the sort. There are various explanations suggested for this, including the misguided notion that waving the national flag makes one some sort of fascist neo-nazi... So, if you are English or of another nationality for whom St George is patron saint (there are many around the globe), let's all celebrate his day tomorrow. I intend doing so with some fine English ale. My wife wouldn't want the flag flying from the window so I'll have to make do with changing my Facebook picture, I guess! Happy Saint George's Day to all!

Ted, that steak looks mouthwatering! Yes, we read the occasional horror story but the food industry is so heavily regulated over here that they are few and far between. I'm not yet ready to turn vegetarian, personally! I know some Americans refuse to touch English/Scottish beef due to "Mad Cow" without realising that, in order to deal with the outbreak, there wasn't a bull or cow over 18 months old left alive in the country... Aberdeen Angus is lovely beef.

SgtHarryWeezer Well, just to clarify, I am a direct descendant of Edward I (Longshanks) and therefore of "royal" blood. At some point, I guess, I need to press my claim for a dukedom or whatever. At the least, I should be a Lord (not in the religious sense and I do apologize for the religious reference; this isn't the place for that.) You've done better in your research than I have managed so far... We tend to hit a brick wall in the 19th century as that was when the registration of births, marriages and deaths started in this country. All we have prior to that are parish records to inform us and, though more are being digitised and indexed, it usually means going to a church somewhere distant and looking through very old paper registers. It seems my lot originated in Norfolk - farming country - and relocated to London during the Industrial Revolution. My great grandfather is listed in the 1901 census as a "cats meat vendor"! He and his sons actually ran a hackney carriage business (think "Taxi" 19th century style) in Shoreditch, London. I guess I know where the old worn-out horses ended up! I have an enigmatic great-grandfather who was a ship's cook in the days of sail. I know he is buried in Birkenhead cemetery (nr Liverpool) but little else about him yet.

Heffalump whether you like the royals or not, they are possibly the only thing to stop a political party taking complete control, constitutionally. and do you really trust politicians more? I for one do surely not. I agree. The monarchy unifies a nation divided by nationality, class, wealth, politics and religion. The crown is the focal point to which we rally in times of trouble. We're lucky!

Bushape All this seems strange to us Americans. I am a direct descendant of a preacher that he was the first person to translate the Bible to the English language. He was a Catholic I presume as he was given a choice by The English government to quit preaching or die. He had 13 children and decided that he could not quit preaching so the English government put him to death. The year was 1555, I beleive. I don't quite understand all of this, all I know is that the Church of England is in quite control of things still by the sounds of it. This just seems odd for it to be like this in modern times. I am stating some facts I am not stating if I am for or against any religion. So what was his name DJ? My family tree is so large it is hard to remember names. I am related to a lot of the earlier Kings and Queens of England, about 800 - 1000 years ago. Which I assume most of England is too. You've spoken of your genealogical research in the past, Bush', and it does sound fascinating! If I win a lot of cash, I'm coming over for a full briefing whilst being refreshed by that home-made beer of yours so you have been warned! The Church of England is the established church in this country. Its bishops sit in the House of Lords and are known as "The Lords Spiritual". The Queen is the Governor of the Church of England, so its official Head, retaining the office instituted by Henry VIII when he split from Rome. This means that Her Majesty has given the Royal assent to laws that would be contrary to Catholic teaching e.g. The Abortion Act 1967. The appointment of archbishops in the CoE is made by the monarch but she receives advice from her Prime Minister. So, Church, State and Monarchy are bound together in a unique way. This doesn't stop some of us from making our own choice, however, but I'll keep that from public forums as there is a real possibility that, were I to state my opinions, I would risk arrest, prosecution and imprisonment for "hate crime" merely for expressing my beliefs in an unrestrained way. In this sense, SOB is quite correct to question our "democracy" as it does look quite Stalinist these days. We do not have free speech here any more. I think the ancestor of whom you wrote is John Tyndale who was executed in 1536 as he did translate the Bible into modern English and was a Catholic. (In 1555, Mary I, a Catholic, was on the throne.) English history is fascinating. I think the fact that the monarchy has survived here for over a thousand years (with a brief spell as a Republic governed by a Lord Protector in the 17th century) says much.

Windows 7 keeps pestering me to download it as an "important update" but, no, I'm ignoring it.

Sonovabich Yeah lets not talk about religion in the great democracy that's called Great Britain, i was born and bred in this country but guess what, as a Catholic i could never be Prime Minister unless i changed my religion.....can we say racism..or is religiousism Not quite, SOB, but it'd be awkward with the PM advising the Monarch on Church of England appointments. ( See http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_have_a_Roman_Catholic_Prime_Minister_of_Great_Britain ) No member of the Royal Family can remain in the line of succession if they marry a Catholic but, as I am already married, that isn't going to affect me or the wife!

Welcome, Ben!

SgtHarryWeezer I can't imagine being so bored, so absolutely devoid of anything even slightly useful to do, that I would watch one minuted of a royal wedding. It seems unbelievable that great nations like England and Japan - among others - hang on to this medieval construct of "royalty." Then again, billions of people continue to erect great and expensive edifices wherein to bow down to some invisible being which lives up in the sky and promises them that when their flesh rots, they'll live on, walking golden streets and playing harps - associated bullshit. Amazing - absolutely amazing. Harry, I posted this as amusement rather than to spark off a debate on the relative merits of constitutional monarchies and republics. Where atheism fits into this, only you know... So, I'll pin my colours to the mast as a loyal subject of Her Majesty - Long May She Reign - who is relieved we have such a dedicated example of service to our country on the throne. I'll be watching the event on TV and toasting Prince William and Princess Catherine in the pub afterwards. Religion is barred on these forums so, as a Christian, I had better not write more about the articles of faith... Lord, have mercy!

It takes place on 29 April but I don't think it'll be like this...

Sonovabich But if you take the chatterbox away where will i be able to profess my love for Frenchi Can't Rockape sort you two out a medal then you won't have to keep advertising your affections daily?

You won't see these any more...

For those clan members in-game who would like to view what some visitors were complaining about tonight, I have posted one of the video clips I captured in the members-only forum: http://www.xtremeidiots.com/fora_topic.asp?tid=16468 This features just the (visitor) player openly accused in-game but I have other video showing similar movement by another visiting player. Maybe those who know more about the workings of the game and cheats employed could have a look - it just looks like a graphical problem even if it did seem to impact on other players. (I am not trying to do the Admins' jobs for them - it made sense for me to leave the game and do this as it was late and I am on my way to bed, OK?)

Is there an echo in here? Is there an echo in here?

Likewise, I think it is the chatter box. I even posted a response on that but it did not appear within a few minutes. Now, it has improved somewhat.

Olive, I saw this on the news, this evening, and thought immediately of you...

I feel privileged to have been able to watch the first manned Moon landing live on TV (yes, folks, that was possible in the 1960s!). I am also proud of my nation's own ventures in space exploration... (Photo: Daily Telegraph) See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3548363/Teddy-bears-in-space-first-pictures.html

1Deerhunter I think your better off with a headset with a mic and they very in price but you get what you pay for.I use the steel series 5h ver.2 Yeah, Steelseries Siberia v2 user here also - very good indeed. http://steelseries.com/us/home

To keep you going, Harry!

Yes, SOB, the link produced when you click "Share" has changed but the one in your browser hasn't. In any case, as this example shows, the reference number you need to copy and paste into the forum editor to insert a video is exactly the same in both places...

Bush', I am truly sorry to read that you have been conned in this manner. Whilst I don't meet the "computer professional" requirement for what PayPal are demanding of you, I do wonder if there is an alternative way of handling this. If this is a recognised "sting", it is likely to be classed as fraud or deception in criminal law (whilst I know nothing of US federal or WA State law, they are based on English Common law in which I have some experience, shall we say!). It may be helpful to contact your local law enforcement. It appears you may be a victim of crime and crimes can be investigated, of course. The other apsect is that PayPal will respond differently if approached by a police officer who verifies what is being claimed. One has to ask why PayPal are providing payment facilities to an enterprise that seems to extort money from its victims... They decided a long time ago to cease servicing the "adult" industry and that was only tits and bums so someone there has some sense of morals! The down side is that, if a law enforcement entity took up your complaint, they'd want to look at the affected computer forensically, perhaps depriving you of it for some time to do this. I know this is not the easy way. Labob has spoken wisely and yes, the bottom line is to trust nothing online and keep ones machine behind a good firewall and with AV cover all the time.