Nightingale

Ah. they seem to be fairly popular here. Sounds like you ended up with the cobalt binding instead of nickel binding. You may want to replace it, as there isn't really a way to remove cobalt tarnish.

Just to to a local jeweler. any competant one should be able to help.

I believe a person's rights to make their own choices end where they infringe on another's rights to make their own choices. If drugs were legal, we could get rid of a lot of drug related crime, as they'd be cheaper (and the government could tax them and make money off of people's stupidity, rather than spend money putting potheads in jail), and we'd wipe out a black market of druglords, all in one move.

Egyptology or ancient history. The PhD is mainly to delay the student loans, though. I'll just take one class a semester at a state school (I can pay for that out of pocket) until I've been a lawyer long enough that I can afford to make the loan payments. I'll take subsidized loans and pay off the unsubsidized ones, and then pay off the balance at zero interest as long as I stay in school.

Cider's good.

Most people I know drink guinness. I wouldn't drink bud if you paid me.

Yup. I was a film major, and my MA is in education.

Q So... WHY is "The American Way" so good that it's OK to force people to follow it, and kill folk who don't want to? A: It isn't. Q Why is "The way of Islam" so good that those who don't want to follow it NEED to be killed? A: They don't. If they're killing other people, then of course they need to be dealt with, but that's because they're killing, not because they're Muslim. Q Should we be encouraging folk to kill for their beliefs? Why is video of one side being killed "Great" and video of the other side being killed "Awful"? A: No. I'd never consider a video of anyone being killed "great." Q Why is it OK for "Us" to have, say, Nuclear Weapons but so DANGEROUS for "Them" to have the same weapons? If we feel threatened, then can't we see how they also feel threatened? A: Well, ten years ago I'd say that we wouldn't use the weapons for anything but self defense. Today, I don't think we can be trusted with them either. Q Why do "We" insist on stereotyping "Them"? And go on to take such offence when "They" stereotype "Us"? A: Stereotyping is human nature. We feel more comfortable when we can pack people up in neat little boxes. It's not a good thing, because stereotypes are generalizations, and nobody's going to fit into a box. Q Does "Might-Make-Right"? If "We" are right to kill "Them", then are "They" just as right to kill "Us"? A: We're not right to kill them unless they're killing us. Q Is the invasion of Iraq still a "War of Liberation"? Or has it become something else? Should the end game in Iraq & Afghanistan have been to depose the regime & then withdraw to the start points ready to go in again if the old regime re-surfaced? A: I don't think Iraq was ever about liberation. Afghanistan was, and we should stay there as long as the new government desires our assistance, and leave when they ask us to.

Last year, the first letter I got from my friend was four words long. "Thanks. Send more cookies." A longer letter followed explaining that for every guy that gets something, there are ten or twenty that don't, so he shared the cookies, and only ate one cookie out of four boxes. He said there's somthing about girl scout cookies that reminds him and his buddies of home, because even that far away, trefoils and do-si-dos still taste the same.* *if anyone's thinking about doing this, don't send the chocolate covered cookies. they melt.

Personally, my family follows the custom of hanging star banners in windows. Blue stars for soldiers who are alive but overseas, gold stars with blue borders for those KIA. Because each of those stars represents a soldier, I think they have a lot more meaning than yellow ribbons. I've made banners for a few people who have family overseas, and I truly hope I never have to sew a gold star over one of those blue ones. You can see the star service banners online here: http://emblem.legion.org/AmericanLegn/product_family.asp?family%5Fid=7629&gift=False&0=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D152%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree%3D%2CBlue%20Star%20Banners&mscssid=E23372C47204452193B3F3BE3381B8CE

Their lives. Their choices.

Start working on your degree now, and consider staying in the military until you finish it. Many schools offer distance learning for military folks. It honestly doesn't matter what you get your degree in, unless you want to go into a specific field like film, science, math, or engineering. Otherwise, just get the degree. in ANYTHING. pick something interesting. Most businesses don't care what your degree is in, just that you have one.

I tried to join the military. They wouldn't let me. There are a lot of people willing to serve that the military won't allow. For example, people with handicaps, people who take medication daily, etc... There is plenty these people can do that would free up completely healthy individuals to do things that only completely healthy people can do. I hate those yellow ribbons on cars. There are better things people can do with their money to support the troops. As my my friend Andy (currently in Iraq) says "I hate those f-ing yellow ribbons. Most of the people who have them haven't done a damn thing for the troops except slap a yellow ribbon on their car." He then looked at me, grinned and said "You send girl scout cookies. I wish people would spend money sending girl scout cookies instead of buying ribbons."

Hmm... Karl Strauss Red Trolley or Endless Summer Sam Adams Winter Lager Pyramid Hefewisen Harp Newcastle Guinness Boddingtons Blue Moon Corona NOT Coors Bud Miller Michelob etc... Life's too short to drink bad beer. Get something yummy and I will be happy to contribute to the keg fund. =) Best place I've found to get a keg is HiTime wine cellar in Costa Mesa. www.hitimewine.com They've got a lot of beers available for kegs that aren't on their website, too.

Well, we don't live in a total democracy, you know. While the will of the people can regulate many things, it can't supercede the constitution without amending the constitution. If they're making the argument that the amendment to the state constitution is unconstitutional, they have every right to do that, because state constitutions are not superior to the federal constitution.

You know your employer sucks when you hear "if you want something done right the first time don't bother going to *boss*. He can't do anything right. Just talk to his assistant." The assistant in question happened to be me. Unfortunately, this comment was made when the speaker was unaware that *boss* was listening. He was pissed at me for the rest of the day. *names omitted to protect the guilty.

The point of issuing the licenses was to give people standing to challenge it in court. Because they are personally affected, their case is less likely to be thrown out as groundless.

Penn and Teller did something similar also. In some places in the US (Wyoming comes to mind), the tap water tastes BETTER than bottled, so I could see how people would fall for that.

Unfortunately, my sink is equipped with a sprayer and is configured in a way that I can't add a filter. I talked with maintenance at my apartment complex right after I moved in about trying something like that, and they poked around under my sink and decided it wouldn't work. =( I used a brita filter for a while, but it didn't help much, and the cats still wouldn't drink it. Also, brita filters (and other water filters that you have to change the cartridge on) create waste that ends up in landfills, and the recycled big bottles don't. For a while, I was buying the bottled water for the cats and using the brita stuff for myself, and then I started thinking "why in the heck am I paying for good tasting water for the CATS and not myself?!" So I buy an extra bottle for me now.

The same thing happened to me at wal-mart, except it was a box with a camping tent instead of soda bottles. I blocked the thing because I didn't have time to move, and was fine except for a bruise on my forearm. The manager was quite apologetic. If I'd broken something or been severely injured and wal-mart didn't pay up, you bet I'd have sued them. Also, chronic pain doesn't necessarily stop people from doing things they need to do. Just because something is physically uncomfortable and you'd rather not be in pain, it doesn't always mean you can't do things like lifting boxes or gardening. It can mean that doing things like that are quite uncomfortable or painful, but you are physically capable of doing them. You just deal with it. I competed in karate tournaments with a sprained ankle. I handed the crutches to my coach, got in the ring and fought, then took the crutches back after the match. Just because I was fighting doesn't mean I wasn't injured, or that the injury didn't hurt like hell. It just meant that I was willing to put up with it. It may be the same situation with your neighbor. With regards to your deer issue: The sprinkler sounds like a good idea. Also, they have motion sensors that will bark like a dog when activated, and your yard already smells like dog to the deer.

When I lived in my old apartment, I had no problem drinking the tap water. I'd drink it here, if my water didn't reek of chlorine. The chlorine smell and taste is so strong that it's even possible to taste it when I've used tap water to make ramen or mac and cheese. My water is so nasty, my cats won't drink it, and they didn't have a problem with the water before. Apparently, according to the city, I live much closer to the treatment plant than I did before, and that has something to do with it. I don't mind paying for bottled water, because I won't use my tap water because it's so foul, and there aren't any other alternatives. I do get the big bottes, though, and fill up a nalgene bottle for when I need to take water with me. The bottled water company recycles the bottles, though, so they get sanitized and reused instead of filling up landfills.

I got Lara too: A thrill-seeking, slightly unscrupulous, tough-as-nails archaeologist, Lara Croft travels the world in search of ancient relics perhaps better left hidden. She packs two Colt .45s and has no fear of jumping off buildings, exploring creepy tombs, or taking on evil meglomaniacs bent on world domination. Lara Croft 88% Captain Jack Sparrow 83% William Wallace 79% Neo, the "One" 75% Indiana Jones 71% The Terminator 58% Maximus 58% Batman, the Dark Knight 54% James Bond, Agent 007 54% The Amazing Spider-Man 50% El Zorro 42%

Marriage started out as a political institution used to sort out the distribution of property amongst heirs and political alliances between families, tribes, and states. The ceremony was performed by the church because the church WAS the state. So, you have a political institution that has been adopted by religion, and a refusal by religion to give it back.

Depends... Quite often, spelling bees have prizes such as cash or college scholarships. My high school had a joint spelling bee with several other high schools, and the PTAs put up about $10K in scholarship awards.

It's a rank thing. King outranks queen, so they don't want to call the husband of a reigning queen a king, because then it would appear as if he's in charge, and he isn't. Since king outranks queen, there's no problem with calling the wife of a king a queen, because queen is outranked by king anyway, so it doesn't make it appear as if she's in charge. The title of King Consort is sometimes given to the husband of a Queen. It's granted by the queen with the permission of parliament, and makes the couple co-rulers of equal power, rather than one outranking the other. For example, Mary II of England (1689-1694) married William III (1689-1702) requested parliament to pass an act alowing them to rule jointly. After she died, he continued to rule. The distinction here that makes them equals is that she's Queen Regnant and he's King Consort, rather than King Regnant and Queen Consort (he would outrank her in this case). "The highest title in England is, of course, King or Queen regnant. The spouse of the reigning monarch is either Prince Consort (i.e., Prince Philip, who is a prince in his own right, albeit of an exiled monarchy), or Queen Consort.* The King/Queen are known formally as "Your Majesty," and "His/Her Royal Majesty." Prince/Princess is the next rank. A prince/princess is called "Your Highness" by servants and "His/Her Royal Highness" when formally referred to by others. Using a first name would depend upon the closeness of the relationship, and the particular Royal's insistence upon protocol. The wife of a Prince who bears no other title is known as Princess Prince's Firstname. Thus, the wife of Prince Michael is known as Princess Michael. The husband of a princess is not automatically given a title, although the monarch may choose to do so. The children of a Prince are also entitled to the dignity of Prince/Princess. The children of a Princess are not automatically entitled to such titles, although the monarch might grant a title. Traditionally, since the time of Edward I, the first-born son of the monarch is granted the title "Prince of Wales." The wife of the Prince of Wales is known as "Firstname, Princess of Wales." Children of the Prince of Wales are known as "Prince/Princess Firstname of Wales." The eldest daughter of the monarch may be given the title "Princess Royal." Younger sons of the monarch are frequently granted titles. Queen Elizabeth gave the title Duke of York (a traditional title for the second son) to Prince Andrew upon his marriage, and the title Earl of Wessex to Prince Edward. Princes with other titles retain all princely precedential rights." -Tami Cowden So, unless the Queen's husband has a higher title in his own right, he gets promoted to prince. IIRC, Philip is Duke of Edinburgh, so his highest title is duke, which is lower than prince, so he gets called prince because he married the queen.