Nightingale

Well, I'm pre-coffee, so I'm stuck on floor 7. I've tried everything from "salad" to "online merge onion" and come up with nothing.

High: seeing this thread again Low: seeing this thread again and knowing why. Deuce, you will be missed.

If I was in your shoes, I'd display it on the phone and snap a photo of it, because I'm that silly and sentimental and wouldn't want to lose it if the phone died. I still visit Shannon's myspace page once in a while too...

I think we need to abolish the minimum wage, and then set a high fine for hiring undocumented immigrants. Then, we've removed the incentive for hiring undocumented people under the table, AND established a heavy consequence for doing so.

We've got a pretty damn big border. Unless you plan on pulling all the troops out of Iraq and deploying them along the border, I'm not sure how you're going to manage a "lockdown".

I think that's one of the best descriptions of Deuce I've heard yet!

I have no idea what to say. I'm staring at my computer screen hoping someone will pop up and post "APRIL FOOLS!" even though it's not even April. JP was one of the people I was really looking forward to seeing at Byron this year. I feel angry with him for doing this, and then angry at myself for being angry. Damn, Deuce... You'll be missed.

Yea, and the dang think looks like it came out of a "toy chest" of the adult variety! Have you seen the Dog Toy or Sex Toy Quiz?

WTF is a nerf-herder??? Edit to add: obviously, one who herds nerfs... but are we talking squishy footballs here or what? It's a line from The Empire Strikes Back. The appropriate response is "Who's scruffy-looking?" A nerf herder is, of course, one who herds nerfs.

The last time my friend's girlfriend called him a "stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder!" I couldn't stop laughing, but I'm a geek.

There's a dog toy called a Galileo...

Well, at least Clinton didn't have to pay for his blow jobs.

But if the electoral college is abolished alltogether, it won't matter what states are campaigned in, because each individual citizen would have an equal voice. It doesn't matter if they live in California, New York, or Alaska. They get one vote for president.

I think mine was a "Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine" I didn't care much for the toy part... I just love sno-cones!

My top 5: 1. Ireland (my trip journal is on my website if anyone's REALLY bored) 2. Yellowstone 3. Kona, Hawai'i 4. New Orleans (pre katrina) 5. Glacier Nat'l Park/Lost Prairie

Sloppy maintenance on a jump plane or reckless canopy piloting isn't something that should be "gotten over". It's something that should be remembered and taken into account the next time you're considering jumping at that DZ. There's a difference between bullshit that's annoying and shit that can cost you your life.

The Ace Hardware around here has CFLs for about 99 cents.

"wanton disregard" is usually in there somewhere too.

Or these: Government Agency Bans Windows Vista In a memo to his staff, the DOT's CIO Daniel Mintz says he has placed "an indefinite moratorium" on the upgrades as "there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade." and of course, we can't forget the infamous Microsoft Memo regarding the development of Vista, sent by Microsoft Vice President Jim Allchin to Bill Gates, stating: I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft. Some other highlights from the same memo: "I am not sure how the company lost sight of what matters to our customers (both business and home) the most, but in my view we lost our way. I think our teams lost sight of what bug-free means, what resilience means, what full scenarios mean, what security means, what performance means, how important current applications are, and really understanding what the most important problems are customers face are." You can read the whole thing here in .pdf: http://edge-op.org/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/010807/PLEX_7264.pdf

My take on the article was that, even if the sperm was donated, the guy in question pretty much acted like a parent, so the court treated him like one. An anonymous donor wouldn't be acting like a parent, so that's not an issue. It was the guy's actions, not the way the children were conceived, that made him liable. Whether an anonymous donor can be liable for child support depends on the law of that state.

I think the issue is more that we need to stop sending "checks" to people, and start providing benefits in other ways. My take on the welfare system is here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2614238;search_string=%20welfare;#2614238

Sigh. Why don't we make May "Public Transportation Month" instead? Since using public transportation actually does reduce fuel consumption, something might actually be accomplished.

Reputable breeders are definitely a good thing. Good breeders are very careful not to add to the pound or shelter population before the sire and dam even meet. They will usually require deposits on any potential puppies to make sure that each puppy will have a home. Breeders also help maintain a healthy breed. They breed for the good traits and try to breed out the bad. When dogs are overbred or inbred they have problems, and good breeders try to make sure that this doesn't happen. Breeders cater to the people who want a dog of a specific look, age, and temperament. Getting a puppy from the pound is a wonderful thing, but not everyone is willing to take the risk on an unknown animal. If you know that no dog for four generations has had hip dysplasia, that makes it a lot less likely that your dog will. Both my cats are rescues, and they're wonderful pets. If I get a dog, it will probably be an adult dog from a breed-specific rescue. That said, I totally understand why people buy from reputable breeders. Buying from a pet store or puppy mill, however, makes absolutely no sense any way you look at it.

ROFLMAO!

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney, please contact an attorney if you want legal advice. Anything below is my personal opinion. If I were in your shoes, I'd contact the EEOC about the $150/mo thing, provided you're in the US. You can reach them at www.eeoc.gov. http://www.workplacefairness.org/sexgender?agree=yes#5 "5. Is it illegal to give different benefits to male and female employees? Yes. Even though differences between the sexes may result in different benefit costs to an employer, it is against the law for an employer to discriminate between men and women with regard to benefits. From the EEOC: Sec. 1604.9 Fringe benefits. (a) ``Fringe benefits,'' as used herein, includes medical, hospital, accident, life insurance and retirement benefits; profit-sharing and bonus plans; leave; and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. (b) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate between men and women with regard to fringe benefits. ... (e) It shall not be a defense under title VIII to a charge of sex discrimination in benefits that the cost of such benefits is greater with respect to one sex than the other. http://www.wiggin.com/pubs/alerts_template.asp?ID=14268122001 OTHER FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION An employer may not discriminate in eligibility, amount or charges for employee benefits on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin or religion. Thus, for example, even if it costs an employer more to provide certain benefits to women, the employer may not charge female employees more or provide lesser benefits. Nor may employers use sex-based actuarial tables to calculate benefit amounts.