Pros: I can hopefully get a Kyogre and/or Groudon with a Kalos shield in my X Pokédex instead of the current Pokéball icon.

Alaskans don't hate Texas. We know we're bigger, and awesomer.

Alaskans hate California too. We love Washington. We even cheer for all Washington sports teams as if they were our own. The only thing we'd "hate" Washington for is losing the Supersonics and thereby leaving us to cheer for the danged Trailblazers instead.

Alaska: California

Are you fascinated by Detroit? Are you, like me, a young person (or young person at heart), who does not want to get stuck with some lame position working for table scraps for the rest of your life? Have you, ever played the computer game Oregon Trail as a youngster? (or better yet, as an adult?) If your answer…

I'm a firm believer that little Skyler should be allowed to explore the chainsaw for themselves, to make their own mistakes and grow from them.

It's definitely the latest firmware, I checked (and then tried updating it anyway, just in case). But with so many people saying it's supposed to work great for everybody, I may try getting a new Chromecast unit entirely, in case I somehow got a lemon.

I appreciate the feedback, thank you. Most of what I found looking for troubleshooting tips was other people frustrated that they couldn't get theirs to work (it's quite the skewed sample group). I may see if there's a way to exchange it.

Yup, that's the theory. And days and days later, with multiple routers and multiple devices attempting to connect to it, and resetting the Chromecast and searching forums and FAQs and tinkering with router settings and computer settings and network settings, it still doesn't actually work. It took me two days and…

I got a Chromecast for Christmas, and I still can't get the dang thing to work. That quite probably says more about me than it does about Chromecast, but I've never had a computer or consumer electronics problem I couldn't solve before this.

People may hate on Windows 8, but if you have multiple monitors, Windows 8 has some nice upgrades. Most notable is the ability to extend your taskbar across both monitors.

I picked my 2012 brackets by flipping coins.

"Leonardo da Vinci" means "Leonardo from Vinci", so calling him "da Vinci" is a little like referring to "Tony from Brooklyn" as "from Brooklyn". It's not a proper last name or anything.

"Um" and pals work well (in moderation) live, but they are grating as all-get-out on an audio/video recording. Not sure why, perhaps raised expectations after years of watching professional actors and edited multiple takes, but the difference is pretty clear . . ..

The ONLY reason I bought a 2DS was to buy Pokémon X to go with it.

Why is our planet filled with greenery? It's because the green life overran and pushed out much of the cyan life that preceded it (which in turn poisoned nearly all of the anaerobic life forms before that). Today's flowering plants are only abundant because they squeezed out the conifers, cycads and ginkgoes that…

Sorry. That . . . yup. I see that now.

But nearly every living thing on Earth will kill in excess of their need. Bacteria fell larger organisms—often the very organisms that they rely on to survive—with their poop. Trees that will never know drought nonetheless poison the soil with their fallen leaves, killing off smaller plants that might have…

I got a blood clot from reading books.

I was going to communicate the same thing, but less eloquently.