So they figured they'll give you your first workout as you're putting it together.

Well actually, the putting together was way more of a mental work-out then the physical of moving around all the heavy metal. After finally getting it, I sent them off an e-mail with suggestions to change the instructions, as they REALLY sucked. They responded with the generic “Thank you for using our product, we will take your advice under consideration” hopefully they really took the advice.

so, how do you like that crossbow? i was looking at them a while back and wondered if they were as good as they say they are... is it easy to use? does it take up a lot of space? are you happy with it

My first book ever!

Do I like it? Yes I love it, it is perfect for what I want to do (as far as muscle strength/tone I wanted to achieve and now maintain!)

Are you happy with it? I can honestly say this is the only time I have ever spent more then $200 for one item and never regretted it/gave it a second though!

Does it take up a lot of space? Yes and no.
In the folded up position it only takes up about a 3-foot by 2-foot space. And it is VERY easy to unfold/pull out into workout mode (2 steps, total of 10 seconds). But, it is very heavy, and while it does come with wheels for you to tilt it and roll it out of the way, I would not recommend counting on this! It is not worth the trouble (and in some cases, dangers) of trying to move it around a lot. I move it out from the wall about a foot when I use it, but I would never put it in a place I have to move it much more then that and or turn it.
When it is in workout mode you need at least an 8-foot by 5 foot space. It will feel a little cramped with that small of a space, but still completely usable. (ohh, and 7 foot ceiling space too!)

Is it easy to use?
Yes very easy. And it is great, for what it good for using. I will list a few pros and cons real quick.

The “flex bars” might be XX Pounds, but that is only at a certain amount of bend. At the first part of the bend it will be a slightly lesser weight. While not critical for general muscle strengthen and toning and shaping. But you could not use this type of a machine to perfect the look of your body to get into competitions or anything like that. However this is offset by another factor (which has ups and downs).
Since it uses a pulley and rope (steal cable covers in plastic/rubbery stuff) you can not perfectly isolate one muscle for a given range of motion, again if you are trying to go crazy with it, not possible. How-ever, since you can not totally isolate one muscle for one range of motion, you work out the support/balancing part of the muscle. This has two benefits. One, some guys can bench-press 500 pounds, but barely in real world lift over 200 pounds. They have only trained there muscles to be strong for a specific handgrip, and a very controlled motion. And working out the support/balance muscles really does add a subtle change to the look of your body, and it is for the better. I still go to a gym daily because I injured my knee badly, and part of rehab is to work out on elliptical machines (http://www.precor.com/hpr_efx.php ) But I simply can not afford one right now! (plus, it is the only way for me to get a serious cardiovascular workout with the bum knee). But anyway, not to try and sound like I am full of my self, I regularly get people say I am in great shape, and something about my body just seems “natural” and fit, I believe it is because I have worked out the support/balance muscles (part of the muscle actually) as well as the main muscles. However, since you can not perfectly isolate it takes longer to start seeing results/actually start changing your body. (The BowFlex has is the same, I used one at a friends and decided I wanted one, but simply went with the CrossBow because it was cheaper)

It is very easy to change from one workout to another.
Sports stores quite often have one of the CrossBows setup for you to play with. If you are considering one, I would check it out that way first! Since BowFlex does not use stores to distribute, you can not try the BF first-hand.(but you can also Mail-order the Crossbow, but why pay for S&H if you can go pick it up your self?

The biggest problem with working out (on anything) is motivating your-self to do it, and do it right.



_____
Enahs Secret Text!
This comment was edited on Jan 30, 12:23.

This is just as bad as the article a few months ago about "Master/Slave" being offensive.

No, this is considerably worse. In that case it was merely a memo for LA County, and wasn't actually causing anything to happen.

In this case we have an actual plan to allow schools to buy textbooks that don't contain any references to "evolution". A local radio station (WSB AM-750, www.wsbradio.com) is quoting her as saying that evolution is merely a "buzzword" and that they're still going to teach "biological change over time". Which is utter bullshit. Jimmy Carter is blasting her, and they seem to be backing off, but I'm still going to send a letter to her office over this. I live in Atlanta (yes, we have shitty traffic -- I don't know what The Truth's other issues were though) and this seriously bugs me.

This comment was edited on Jan 30, 12:09.

To put it more plainly, part of the post-Columbia recommendation was that the Shuttle must be able to be inspected post-launch. Right now there's no way to do this (reasonably) except at ISS. So any mission that doesn't involve ISS is essentially scrapped.

They're reviewing the Hubble mission though. To not go to Hubble would be a huge mistake IMO -- we've already got the instruments and equipment needed to sustain it (several million dollars worth), and without them Hubble is almost certain to become non-functional by the end of 2007 (15% chance of continued viability).

As for the risk -- essentially NASA feels that the shuttle is a dangerous launch platform now. And the loss of one more shuttle means no manned launches for a long, long time (we'd need a new fleet of vehicles), with potentially serious issues for ISS (nobody would be stuck up there, but it would have to be abandoned).

I, too, actually had that happen yesterday, but I presumed it was something from another page.

UGO = Evil

33% of the way through the PC version of PoP,
Ray

-------------------------------------------------------
Time does not heal, but it does numb.
http://users.ign.com/collection/RayMarden
http://www.guzzlefish.com/collection.php?username=ray_marden
I love you, mom.

During my whole "What is $%@#%$@$# wrong with my system???" fiasco, I ended up just buying a cheap stock XP3200. The heatsink works incredibly well and is the quietest heatsink that I have ever owned.

It is essentially silent; you can hear the whirring of the storage drives and the fan of the 9800xt is as loud as it gets (which is rather quiet compared to Nvidia's hair dryers...)

On the other end of the scale, I have had systems with as many as twelve fans or fans that, no larger than two inches in size, could easily blow harder than a fan you might turn on to cool a room.

MWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Wondering if ATI really will be Nvidia to market by a month,
Ray

-------------------------------------------------------
Time does not heal, but it does numb.
http://users.ign.com/collection/RayMarden
http://www.guzzlefish.com/collection.php?username=ray_marden
I love you, mom.

Well, the HSF that I will be using is still up in the air. It will definitely be an after-market one, (just for the hell of it...no OC'ing yet) and I have looked at some of the Thermaltake Volcano's (9 and 10+ and a SilentBoost). I also seriosuly considered the Thermalright 900A purely for its looks, but I was worried that installing a seperate fan and heatsink would be more difficult for a newbie than installing a combo HSF.

I have also already decided to use a good non-conductive shim just for the hell of it.

Are there any companies (besides Thermalright..thanks banddirector) that offer REALLY good installation guides?

All4naught

Yeah I just saw that. I couldn't even get myself to read the entire article. These are the same idiots who wanted to hang Galileo in the 1600s for identifying gravity and proving the Copernican theory. What's next, 1930's-style book-burning rallies where science books get tossed in the fire?

What is really funny about this is that at the end of the article it actually states that neither side (conservatives or liberals) like this idea, they both think it's total crap and won't do anything. Well if they both don't like it who the hell came up with it? This is just as bad as the article a few months ago about "Master/Slave" being offensive.

Blue,

When I typed in www.bluesnews.com this morning, I was re-directed to an eBay welcome page. This wasn't the normal passthrough add, but rather taken directly to a different site. I tried again and made it here, but I thought you should know in case others are having the problem.

Edit-Actually I just checked my history, and I was redirected here: http://pages.ebay.com/education/index.html


This comment was edited on Jan 30, 11:59.

If you are not overclocking (and paying extra), the stock heatsinks work quite well...

I put together an AMD box for a friend about 8 months ago and the heatsink fan was so freaking loud I almost regretted recommending the AMD processor to him.

With that in mind, when I decided to give AMD a try I knew I had to pick up an aftermarket fan.

Do a fair amount of research prior to making your purchase. Unless you are Ray you will be using this combo for a while.

-TPFKAS2S
http://www.braglio.org

When I first was putting it together, I was like... why in the hell does it need to have so much metal, this shit is heavy!

That's part of the workout, Enahs.

edit: doh... must read 2nd page of comments before replying. damn you long-haired jim!
This comment was edited on Jan 30, 11:43.

As I have actually made this mistake :o...........if you do install the chip and heatsink prior to installing the motherboard, make sure that the two are not so tall as to prevent you from sliding the motherboard into its slot.

Heh.

It really depends on the heatsink you are using, though. Does it clamp on? Screw in? Have a holding plate? Use one-use plastic pegs?

If you are not overclocking (and paying extra), the stock heatsinks work quite well...

Lazy about grounding; usually just (barely) touching the case,
Ray

-------------------------------------------------------
Time does not heal, but it does numb.
http://users.ign.com/collection/RayMarden
http://www.guzzlefish.com/collection.php?username=ray_marden
I love you, mom.

I was reading this article on CNN yesterday. Basically NASA was saying:

1. We don't want to take the risk of operating the shuttle in an orbit that is not compatible with that of the ISS (for potential rescue/lifeboat purposes I presume).

2. We're going to curtail the shuttle program to work on other programs such as developing a new CEV and eventually going to the Moon and Mars.

I found a bit of contradiction in their goals. They don't want to risk a HST service mission (the shuttle's been flying long before ISS), but they're willing to risk a trip to Mars? Hmmm. Sounds like #1 is an invalid resion to not service HST and there's much more to it.

I was incredibly worried about this with my AMD chip. For my first installation, I actually ordered a shim to prevent any damage. However, the shim ended up taking one day longer than all the other items and I simply could not wait that long - I ended up installing the chip and heatsink as they were.

Since then, I have installed three other systems without any problems or having any fears about crushing the die.

The main things that I can really think of are to go slow, take your time, be sure that the heatsink is facting the correct direction, and, although being firm, make sure that you never force a fit/connection.

With some of the more advanced/1337 sinks and motherboards, you can run into some space or layout issues, but that is when you just want to make sure that (a) your heatsink and motherboard and compatible and (b) that you follow any specific or special instructions for said installation.

Wanting to upgrade "Just because" :(,
Ray

-------------------------------------------------------
Time does not heal, but it does numb.
http://users.ign.com/collection/RayMarden
http://www.guzzlefish.com/collection.php?username=ray_marden
I love you, mom.

That doesn't surprise me. It's still sad that in this day and age the American Taliban exist to that degree.

"Three quarters of the American population literally believe in religious miracles. The numbers who believe in the devil, in resurrection, in God doing this and that -- it's astonishing. These numbers aren't duplicated anywhere else in the industrial world. You'd have to maybe go to mosques in Iran or do a poll among old ladies in Sicily to get numbers like this. Yet this is the American population."
- Noam Chomsky

"Science offers us an explanation of how complexity (the difficult) arose out of simplicity (the easy). The hypothesis of god offers no worthwhile explanation for anything, for it simply postulates what we are trying to explain."
- Richard Dawkins


"The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit."
- W. Somerset Maugham

Blue, take a page from Microsoft:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;%5Bln%5D;833786

"The most effective step that you can take to help protect yourself from malicious hyperlinks is not to click them. Rather, type the URL of your intended destination in the address bar yourself. By manually typing the URL in the address bar, you can verify the information that Internet Explorer uses to access the destination Web site. To do so, type the URL in the Address bar, and then press ENTER."

Using this logic, the way to protect yourself from car accidents is by not driving on the roads! See how simple it is?

Feel free to consult Microsoft for other sage advice.

Yeah, it makes me happy that I went with the “cheap” Weider Crossbow version (http://www.thecrossbow.com/crossbow/index.html ). Not only does it cost a thousand+ less for a BowFlex that has the same features, it is made out of a ridiculous amount of wasted steal for extra strength! When I first was putting it together, I was like….why in the hell does it need to have so much metal, this shit is heavy!

That was probably their way to address the "impatient" crowd. You know the ones who want to use (or get the benefits of using) something as soon as it's outta the box.

So they figured they'll give you your first workout as you're putting it together.

enahs,

so, how do you like that crossbow? i was looking at them a while back and wondered if they were as good as they say they are... is it easy to use? does it take up a lot of space? are you happy with it?

- tron -
---
"tron is big and tron is full of action"
-from the Tron 2.0 box
This comment was edited on Jan 30, 11:31.

What struck me as the dumbest part of the article wasn't that they were attempting to ban teaching evolution. Instead, they're attempting to ban the word evolution, but teaching the concept will still be allowed. I guess for teachers that don't want to teach evolution, it'll just make it easier for them to "sneak" the whole concept by the kids without the kids noticing.

LOL! This goes well with a news story I read yesterday on C|Net:

Security firm warns of new IE flaw
http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-5149583.html?tag=nefd_top

Here's an excerpt:

The alleged flaw could be particularly effective if used in combination with
another IE hole identified by Secunia last month. That flaw lets Web site
owners disguise the identity of their site by displaying a false address in
the Internet Explorer address and status bars.

Microsoft has yet to release a patch for that vulnerability, although it has
posted a bulletin with tips for avoiding such "spoofed" sites. Among the
tips are not clicking hyperlinks. "Rather, type the URL of your intended
destination in the address bar yourself," Microsoft advises.

I lived in Georgia for a year (last year).

And damn, ti is the worst state ever! no kidding, its an absolute joke, bad traffic, bad managment, bad government, bad rules.

Absolute joke, anyone thinking of moving there, do yourself a favour and dont!

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Leading the "Support our Arrow keys" movement!