Danica Swanson

I believe I have resolved my issue. I have a 64bit operating system and a 32bit browser. So Java auto detected that I should have a 32 bit version of Java. Last night I tried downloading the 64 bit Java by selecting it from Oracle's list instead of letting them decide what I need. I played Minecraft 1.9 for about an hour without crashing. There were a couple little lags with the sand and gravel falling in the water temple I just finished draining, but that happened from time to time before the update and I can live with that.

I don't think my drivers are faulty, as I played 1.8 successfully less than 10 hours prior to 1.9 and the crashing. I literally played before bed, woke up, and crash.
I have updated my drivers, fresh install of java, updated my launcher, played with the VBO and Vsync options, and still just do nothing but crash. Somebody even suggested turning off clouds and shadows. That didn't help either. I guess I only get to play 1.8. Bummer.