jfields

Maybe for you. For some people, that doesn't present a hindrance. Either the well endowed, or those with really good aim.

It is currently less important than good gold-fashioned Republican servitude to the oil and defense industries.

You weren't even replying to me, but, YES I am at work today and YES I do work in IT.

[Voice of Wimpy] I would gladly trade you working on Christmas for extra time off during the summer. [/Voice of Wimpy]

I'm at work. Pretty normal day, actually. However, I'm preparing for some time off next week. That should be fun!

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld seems to think we can "decisively" win a war with both Iraq and North Korea. Throw in the current issue with Afghanistan, and we have a tidy 3-front war. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&u=/nm/20021224/ts_nm/iraq_dc_341 Does anyone else think that the defense budget and the Gulf War successes of high tech weaponry have gone to their heads a bit? Even aside from the question of whether or not we can accomplish all that at once, it seems grossly arrogant to me to even contemplate it. Why are we searching out new battles to fight and new ways to basically have the whole world pissed off at the US? It sounds like a few deep breaths, and somber trips to a VA hospital and Arlington National Cemetary might be in order. They really need to contemplate the repercussions of what they are considering. Just my $.02, of course....

Hey.... Men are deep, philosphical creatures, capable of sophist... OOH, LOOK, BOOBIES!!! Just an admirer of beauty...

Okay. Who else was thinking boobie picture? Still good though.

Heh! That is so fun. My wife has finally learned not to cringe when I stand in front of the fridge, tossing ingredients over to the counter in seemingly random fashion. My percentage of good meals evolving from bizarre combinations is pretty high.

There is a long history of that. Look at Freud. Tons of documentation about various types of shrinks experimenting on both themselves and their patients.

Hmm... I wonder how much he is getting for the videos he is recording with the secret cameras.

Actually, the bust factor is the least of my concerns. I'd have to say my concerns, and why I won't use most drugs are: 1. Risk of addiction. 2. Uncertainty of danger rate. (bad reaction, OD, etc.) 3. Unexpected side effects. 4. Quality control of substance. (Cut with harmful compounds, etc.) 5. Financial cost of liking the recreational substance too much. Where I am would only have a small impact on those factors. Since some of them are specific to each individual, what is fine for you might not be for me. I don't have any moral objection to drugs themselves. My objection is with behavior that sometimes results from people using the drugs. For example, alcohol can be fine as long as you don't hurt other people through drunk driving or something. Note that I picked a legal (here) drug for my example. The harder the drug, the less chance people have to control their behavior once under it's influence. There has to be a point where it becomes prudent to consider a certain substance too risky. I don't necessarily agree with where our country has drawn that line, but I think there should be one.

That works fine unless you need to remember to take your child somewhere.

I tend to agree with Wendy. In this case, "skydiver" could simply be cited at the person's occupation, without anything further being meant by it. It can just be a descriptive detail about an individual. Just like saying "a truck driver", " a shoe salesman" or whatever else, doesn't imply a link between the profession and the activity. Not everything is a media conspiracy, just some of it.

JT, I never said it couldn't happen. I do believe it does. Like Quade said, in this particular case, we don't know what happened yet. The workplace has been historically sexist against women. In many ways, it still is. However, that is now interspersed with occasions where false accusations carry more weight than the truth, making life a living hell for innocent people. I look forward to the day when the oscillations damp down and we have a truly harassment-free workplace. I don't know that it will happen in my lifetime. Too many differing opinions on what constitutes "harassment".

Well, without passing judgement, it is still sad. If it isn't true, then it is sad that someone would resort to making such harsh false allegations. If it is true, than it is sad that someone would do such things. All I'm saying is that, either way, it isn't good. As to which way it turns out, that is for the courts to decide....

Paul, I don't even know what to say about this one. Definitely nothing good. Sad situation, all the way around.

As if paying for the bandwidth of this site wasn't bad enough, the utility bills for the dungeon must be astronomical. The burners for all that hot fork heating, and the electricity to run the AC-powered toys... It is a wonder HH hasn't gone bankrupt just keeping the dungeon operational.

Narcimund, I totally agree with you about getting past the apparent high cost of some ingredients. It is absolutely worthwhile to buy certain ingredients. People fall into the mistake making unrealistic comparisons. Either they say, "x dollars per pound is insane", not realizing that very little is needed, or they compare home cooked fine foods to store-bought convience foods. Cost of the following meal for two: good bakery bread 1-1.2 lbs dill mustard salmon (see earlier post) fresh steamed green beans with rosemary & cracked pepper $12-14? A meal for two people at a generic chain restaurant like Bennigans would cost twice that, and not be half as good. An equivalent restaurant meal would cost two people at least $50 at a place good enough to cook the food properly.

That's the truth! I cook, and I'm sure it was a factor in my wife's decision. I like to cook and eat good food. I had a good role model for that growing up, and I've tried to expand on what I've learned. By reading recipes, watching cooking shows, taking cooking classes, and a whole lot of in-the-kitchen experimenting, I've gotten to be pretty good. Of course, what each person defines as good is different. Some of what Narcimund was describing sounds great. Other parts don't appeal to me. It is all about making what you like to eat. When you learn to cook, you can more easily make meals that _you_ like. You can avoid flavors you don't prefer and emphasize or add the things you do. It doesn't all have to be fufu things that require foriegn language skills. Take a simple steak 'n cheese sandwich: You can use Wonder Bread, Steak-Ums and yellow American cheese. Barf. Or.... Buy some nice bread (Ciabatta works well), a good cut of steak, some mustard (either Dijon, or grainy whole-seed), fresh rosemary, fresh mozzarela, etc. Warm the bread up while you cook the steak to medium, maybe fry up some crisp bacon, some peppers/onions. Add the rosemary and cheese to the top of the steak when it is almost done. Smear the mustard on the good bread. Add the steak, bacon, peppers, and assemble your sandwich. Instead of a greasy ball of muddled flavors and soggy mess, you have a sandwich with fresh ingredients, differentiated textures and distinct tastes. I can taste the bread, rosemary and bacon in my head now. Damnit, it is only 8 am, and I have a long time until lunch! Or try making homemade pesto instead of buying the kind in the plastic or jar. It isn't that hard, and the fresh ingredients really do make a substantial difference. That is one where you can replace the jar without adding a lot of time. Making pesto is really quick. Here is another super easy recipe idea that I use a lot. Mix the following in food processor, adding in the following order (I don't have exact quantities at work, but experiment): Heap of fresh dill sugar dijon mustard white wine vinegar olive oil Pour the mixture over salmon, then bake at 400. Use extra sauce for dipping. It is easy to make, but beats the hell out of any fish sticks you'd buy. Okay, one more recipe, then I need to get back to work. Justin's Quickie Fried Mozzarella & Procuitto: Ingredients: mozzarella & procuitto roll from grocery store leftover french bread corn meal bran cereal (raisin bran, special k, whatever) egg spices (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, whatever) milk flavorful hot sauce (not just fiery) canola oil In a food processor, mix/chop the spices, bread, corn meal & cereal. Mix the egg, hot sauce and milk in another bowl. Slice the mozzarella/procuitto roll into discs. Get the canola oil really hot in a fairly shallow pan. Dip each disc into the egg/milk mixture, then coat with the dry mixture. Do all the discs the same way. Once you've finished them all, start on the first one, and carefully do them all a second time. Fry them in the oil, flipping after a couple minutes. They don't take very long to cook. Let them sit for just a minute on some paper towels, then serve them piping hot, with marinara if you want. They are way better than restaurant mozzarella sticks. You'll see the difference a home-made coating makes. As a cooking tip: if you want to make more than one pan full, use two pans, or change the oil between batches. Otherwise, the burned bits can add an unpleasant note on subsequent batches. Yeah, straight guys can like to cook and eat too.

That sucks, Clay. The ones Sebazz and I have suggested are much better.

This works as another model: http://www.luminet.net/~tgort/resign.htm

WTF? If you are specifying, pick out some good beer!

Wait until your paycheck clears before you buy the beer.