Link to Canadian Snow Train
Author: Dave
Christmas Prayers
You are in my Christmas prayers, and in my Christmas dreams.
When I hear people laugh, and I see children play, it reminds me of a photograph of us on Christmas Day.
It’s us on Christmas Day, I see you standing there, and smiling down on me, as I untie the gifts that lie beneath our Christmas tree.
And every Christmas day, I know I’ll find you there. You’ll always be the answer to my every Christmas prayer.
Grandmas, grandpas, fathers, mothers, friends I’ve loved dear, sisters, and brothers, I once played with, aunts and uncles I once stayed with. Their story will be told, as long as love recalls, those loved ones smiling down on me is the greatest gift of all.
The loved ones far and near will be forever there. It’s Christmas up in Heaven too with love beyond compare. You don’t have to live the book of life behind a veil of tears. You’ll always be right here with me and in my Christmas prayers.
Phipps Conservatory at Christmas
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Plants vs. Zombies 3
Why are we inviting you to this early edition? Because our players are our most important critics and our biggest cheerleaders. You get us! You embrace our wacky weirdness and you love our games as much as we do. Because of that, we’re committed to providing you and the PvZ community with the highest quality experience we can.
Keep in mind, PvZ: Battle for Neighborville’s modes and features are already final. By giving our biggest fans a chance to come in now, we’ll be polishing performance as you play to ensure our scaled experience is running at peak levels for launch and beyond, making the PvZ: Battle for Neighborville experience the best it can be. Thanks, neighbor!
Here’s what you’ll get with the Founder’s Edition:
Exclusive Founder’s rewards for the first four weeks when you log in each week
A special Founder’s price of $29.99
A dedicated Discord channel where Founding Neighbors can share thoughts with our development team
Updates on new weekly gameplay experiences through News from Neighborville posts and our weekly PvZ developer livestream Live from Neighborville
The progress you make in the Founder’s Edition will roll over at launch
Here’s how you can get involved:
Get the digital-only Founder’s Edition – only available for purchase until September 30, 2019
Play through six weeks of content as new parts of the game go live, including new multiplayer modes, free-roam regions, and more from September 4 – October 17.
On October 18, enjoy all the same content as the $39.99** Standard Edition product at no additional cost
Go here to buy the Founder’s Edition
Summer Vacation 2019
Wendy and I went out to Phoenix, Arizona for the Grove Family reunion on the weekend of June 7th. After the weekend of fun family activities, we drove to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas. Here are some of the pictures from that excursion.
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The Big Bang Theory – The End!
Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS
©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Flash t-shirt courtesy DC Comics
Chuck Lorre summing up the “The Big Bang Theory”
Question: How did “The Big Bang Theory,” which had two pilots and an inauspicious start, connect with viewers?
Chuck Lorre: We stumbled out of the gate pretty hard in the beginning, and it took a while to find the voice of the show. Remarkably, we came along at a time when the audience wanted to see a show about characters that were outliers. Despite the fact that they were Caltech scientists, these were people who weren’t fitting in. And that sense of estrangement is something I think people identified with. You don’t have to be a prodigy to feel left out.
Q: What allowed “Big Bang” to remain so popular for so long?
Lorre: It begins with this remarkable cast. Each one of these characters as played by the actors is so endearing and remarkable and specific in their own way. The relationships changed, and I think that breathes a lot of life into it. … Turning the show over to (executive producers) Steve Molaro and Steve Holland expanded it greatly because their sensibilities were different than mine, and that was really good. The Steves had the creative freedom to move the show in different directions that kept it fresh.
Q: What stands out about your “Big Bang” experience?
Lorre: For 12 years, there was no drama. It was people coming to work every day, having a good time and looking out for each other. It was wonderful. I looked forward to going to table reads, rehearsals and shoot nights and I think everyone involved felt the same way. We were lucky. It was a gift to be part of something like that for so long and to enjoy it and feel grateful the whole time. It just doesn’t happen very often in his business.
Q: Did you want the show to continue past this season?
Lorre: I would have supported it had it gone either way. At a certain point, I kind of felt that decision was not mine to make.
Q: How significant was Jim Parsons’ decision not to go beyond this season?
Lorre: When Jim announced this would be his last year – that’s an obvious decision as an artist, to try other things, play other characters – then we had to make a decision: Do we want to do the show without him? The real thing is: Do we want to do the show without any of the principal characters? I was of the mind that the ensemble was perfect the way it was, and I didn’t want to continue with a major absence.
Q: Would you have been happy to continue a couple more seasons?
Lorre: Absolutely. We’re still having a good time, and I’m really proud of the work. And a lot of people had gainful employment. … There are many reasons to keep it going, so when you ask: Am I OK with it ending? No. I’m grief-stricken that it ended, but at the same time, I’m proud of what we did. I’m grateful that we get to do it.
Q: Is there any chance of a spin-off featuring “Big Bang” characters?
Lorre: There was lots of talk about it. CBS and (producing studio) Warner Bros. were very vocal about wanting to find a way. I wasn’t against the idea, and I’m not against it, but it has to be because it’s creatively an exciting idea, not because it’s economically important. … At the moment, we’re not discussing anything going forward, but if I’ve learned anything, it’s that I cannot see the big picture. I don’t know what’s coming next.
Q: How important is the show’s connection to fans?
Lorre: When you go to Comic-Con and people respond to seeing the cast, you go, “Oh, this means something. This is not a frivolous exercise.” When I was growing up, there were shows that were deeply important to me, like “Star Trek,” “The Smothers Brothers,” “Laugh-In” and “Get Smart.” To be involved in a show that means something to people, it’s special. It’s a rare thing.
Gaming Computer 2019
I’m currently working on a budget gaming PC. The following is the final list of components that I am using.
CPU: AMD RYZEN 5 2600 6-Core 3.4 GHz (3.6 GHz Turbo) Socket AM4 processor with Wraith Spire Cooler
AMD SenseMI Technology
Socket AM4
Max Turbo Frequency 3.6 GHz
16MB L3 Cache
3MB L2 Cache
DDR4 Support
Unlocked Processor
Thermal Design Power 65W
AMD Wraith Spire 95W Cooler Included
Motherboard: MSI B450M Bazooka
Supports AMD® Ryzen 1st and 2nd Generation/ Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics/ Athlon™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics Processors for Socket AM4
Supports DDR4 Memory, up to 3466+(OC) MHz
Lightning Fast Game experience: 1x TURBO M.2, Store MI technology
Core Boost: With premium layout optimized power design to support more cores and provide better performance.
DDR4 Boost: Advanced technology to deliver pure data signals for the best gaming performance and stability.
Audio Boost: Reward your ears with studio grade sound quality for the most immersive audio experience
PCI-E Steel Armor: Protecting VGA cards against bending and EMI
X-Boost: Software that auto-detects and allows you to boost the performance of any storage, Optane or USB device
EZ Debug LED: Easiest way to troubleshoot.
Memory: HyperX FURY 8GB (2 x 4GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666
HyperX® FURY DDR4 can handle even the toughest battle. It recognizes its host platform and overclocks to the highest frequency published (up to 2666MHz*) — so you can wreak havoc. FURY DDR4 runs at 1.2V, even at 2666MHz, so it stays cooler while you play. You don’t need to alter the voltage to reach higher speeds, which means there’s more power for other hardware in the system. FURY’s sleek, asymmetrical black heat spreader provides enhanced thermal dissipation to help keep your cool and help you stand out from the crowd.
Automatic overclocking — up to 2666MHz
Low power consumption at 1.2V
Optimized for X99 series motherboards
Stylish low profile heat spreader in black
Storage: (2) X Kingston – A400 240 GB 2.5″ Solid State Drive
Kingston’s A400 solid-state drive dramatically improves the responsiveness of your existing system with incredible boot, loading and transfer times compared to mechanical hard drives. Powered by a latest gen controller for read and write speeds up to 500MB/s and 450MB/s1, this SSD is 10x faster than a traditional hard drive1 for higher performance, ultra-responsive multi-tasking and an overall faster system. Also more reliable and durable than a hard drive, A400 is available in multiple capacities from 120GB–960GB2.
Fast start-up, loading and file transfers
More reliable and durable than a hard drive
Multiple capacities with space for applications or a hard drive replacement
Video Card: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 ZT-P10620A-10M 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5X
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB is a great graphics card for gamers seeking serious performance and features at a price that won’t bust the wallet. Based on the state-of-the-art Pascal architecture, the GeForce GTX 1060 is built using 16nm FinFET technology and equipped with 1280 CUDA processors that operate at unprecedented high clock speed. Coupled with high-bandwidth GDDR5 memory, the GeForce GTX 1060 delivers brilliant performance to take on the latest high-definition games. It also delivers innovative new gaming technologies and breakthrough VR experiences, making it the ideal choice for your gaming machine.
This ZOTAC ZT-P10620A-10M GeForce GTX 1060 6GB comes with dual large fans for efficient yet quiet cooling, and is built with superb components ensuring stability, reliability and durability you can count on in extreme gaming.
Case: ROSEWILL ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
Classic and Professional Design: ROSEWILL CHALLENGER S is a typical mid tower pc computer case with a gaming look to leverage the gaming practice and a solid gaming computer case comes with a blue LED case fan at the front for excellent gaming systems.
All-Around Airflow: With 2x front blue LED 120mm and 1x rear 120mm computer case fans pre-installed, the gaming case (CHALLENGER S) aims to create the best airflow for any gaming system. ROSEWILL CHALLENGER S can not only give the excellent ventilation but also the easy access I/O ports at the front.
Spacious Internal: The ATX case pre-installs 2x front blue LED 120mm and 1x rear 120mm and support another 2x 120mm gaming case fans (optional). Easy to customize interior components with screw-less design for 5.25″ external drive bays and 3.5″ HDD.
Hassle-free Installation: The ATX mid tower case offers tool-less installation of the 2.5″ drives and 3.5″ drives for a hassle-free build. Plus, the case has a bottom-mounted dust filter that protects the power supply from the threat of dust.
Great Expandability: With up to five internal 3.5” drive bays and two external 3.5” drive bays, the Rosewill CHALLENGER gives DIY builders ultimate flexibility in personalizing their PC. It’s also furnished with three 5.25″ external drive bays. Additionally, up to seven expansion slots let you better take advantage of your motherboard’s expandability.
Power Supply: EVGA 600 W 80+ Certified ATX
When building on a budget, the EVGA 600W 80 PLUS is a great choice at a low cost. Supporting 49 A on a single +12 V rail provides more options without having to reduce your component requirements. Save space with the 600W’s compact design, well-placed power switch and fully sleeved cables. The 600 W offers the connections and protections needed for basic system builds.