pirana

And Biilvon and JohnRich will claim they are supported by the anti-gun lobby. And Rhemwa will post something surrealistic about them that they will not get. And Lucky will unilaterally disagree and discount whatever they say. And I will post long droning paragraphs that no one will read. This is kind of fun. Rather Bonfirish though. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Interesting stats, but not of much real meaning. Do you console the parents of dead kids by telling them that: "We are very sorry for your loss, but you know the schools are 66% safer than they were in 1993, except for that nasty little blip in the late 90's. But the bottom line is that this is very uncommon, you just happen to be very unlucky. Let us know if we can be of further assistance, and have a nice day." The numbers are small, but the drop from 42 to 25 to 13 is no concillation at all. Hope we're not supposed to feel better becuase kids are now only at 1/2 the risk of being killed as opposed to a few years back (just don't pick 99 as a comparison point) and only at 1/3 the risk as in 1993. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

And from one of the articles on the Colorado incident: Gov. Bill Owens, who visited the school and the church Thursday afternoon, said he thought school security improvements made in Bailey after the 1999 attack at Columbine High School in nearby Littleton had probably kept Wednesday’s attack from being worse. The school was built with evacuation fully in mind, including a system that allowed students in adjoining classrooms to escape quickly, Mr. Owens said. So now one of the design elements for new schools is escapability from those that delight in murdering children. Wonderful world. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

jeez, I don't always agree with Idrankwhat, but he seems like a nice enough guy. I didn't mean Idrankwhat was an asshole and a murderous dictator. I meant Chavez. And I don't know either one well enough to know if they are nice guys or not. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I don't like the over-policing option either, so that is why my preference is to training. But the same effect could result (kids scared of school). If I intend to educate them on how to deal with bullies, ignorants, and possibly maniacs - the conversations could make them scared. In a way, that's just a reflection of the world we live in. We've already started, since she just had her 1st bullying experience. Our conversations so far have revolved around how to recognize toxic people. I've gotten the over-reaction reaction from a couple people. Granted, a few school shootings per year nationwide makes it one in many millions your child could be a victim; but I think knowing they were just very unlucky is small consolation for the parent of a murdered child. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Easiest question of the day. Answer is yes, they see no benefit. The only slightly more complex answer. There is not nearly the potential windfall as doing Iraq. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

15 new people per year, huh? Not very exclusive if you ask me. I was in the Radio Guild as a DJ at college. There were only about a half-dozen of us that joined the year I did. And there were about 10 of us that joined the American Association of Geographers. Now granted, a bunch of geography nerds and a group of wacky college DJ's may not seem too scary, but consider the possibility of these two groups co-mingling, combining their powers, feeding off each others compeimentary strengths. Some might see them as being way too powerful and in need of extreme scrutiny. Others might respond to their desire for private comraderie with fear of the power being amassed only for the sake of future world domination. In reality it was more like Howard Stern meets Pinky & The Brain. Very good times were had by all. And we never did anything to dispel the rumors about how incredibly brilliant and incredibly fun partyers we were. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Gotta be one of the toughest questions of our time. Believe it or not, I don't have an answer that I like. Could have a prison-like school environment. Total lockdown, extreme screening for anybody that comes near the place, profiling that would make the Klan look friendly. That is of course pretty unreasonable given the # of students injured and killed compared to the total # of students. But tell that to someone with a dead kid. Tough call. Enroll your kids in martial arts, help them master the Two Obs (Obsevation and Objectivity), and teach them to always trust their hunches when it comes to human behaviors. I would bet my bottom dollar this person exhibited plenty of abnormal behavior before the point of no return. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

And I would say that 1991 was a continuation of what happened in Iran (us putting a murderous puppet on the throne for the sake of cheap oil). It could also be linked to our support of Israel, our relations with the Saudi royal family despite their being one of the most oppressive regimes in the world, and so on and so forth. It's a tangled web that goes way back, with alliances that shift whenever it is economically convenient. I don't think there is an easy answer, or a graceful exit, especially because of the oil. At least in Vietnam all we lost was face when we decided 50,000 lives for um, . . . uh, . . . nothing I guess? Yeah, 50,000 lives lost for nothing seemed like a bad deal. So how many is this effort worth? When we cross into 5 figures, will it be cause to pause and rethink? 20,000? Should we go for 50,000 again? For all that oil it might be worth a million young men. But as someone pointed out, this has now become a clash of cultures as well as a battle for oil. The damage has been done, and even if we pulled out completely and promised never again to interfere they'd probably still come gunning for us. The mid term future (10 to 20 years?) has the potential to be pretty darn bleak. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I'm not knowledgeable enough on all the Presidents and their particulars to say he is the worst ever. I'd say, like any large lumbering organization, the largest single force driving our governments activities is momentum. From that perspective he represents a continuing failure of the US to act as a responsible global citizen, much less a global leader. We've become the same kind of bullying dominant force as every other state that has ever ascended to the throne of most powerful nation. He is strongly disliked by so many because he happens to be the current figurehead at the top of our bureacracy. Not too mention that no one person is going to be able to impart that kind of change in the short term of a presidency. Not that he has the ability to change that momentum. We've had our chance and failed. Our credibility is totally shot, only the blind or masochistic would risk throwing in with us and any attempt we made to create some sort of new world order. We've fucked over too many people to deserve to be trusted. i'm convinced that Ghandi himself coule be reincarnated and become our next president and people would still not trust us. Next person to get the job, . . . GOOD LUCK. Makes me wonder why anybody would want the job. Of course it also gives rise to the perception that most intelligent people know this, and that the only reason someone would take the job is to play the same old game of politics for personal benefit. I think the more interesting question is Who's Next? What country will be next at getting a chance to be world leader without becoming world bully? Is such a thing even possible? Many would say the inherent flaw of capitalism is that there is no incentive to be that way. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Gotta agree with Idrankwhat. The guy may be an asshole and a murderous dictator; but there's plenty of those around against whom we take no action and pay little heed. But he's got oil, lives in our hemisphere, and refuses to play by our rules; and that makes him a target. Again, it's all about the oil. All the other flotsam, from both sides, is just smoke and mirrors, positioning and manipulation. lt's about cash baby. Been that way since corporations became more powerful (economically) than governments. He's pretty much like Noriega, except he doesn't want to be told how to run his country. He will get taken out if he keeps this up (they have tried at least once already), just like Allende, Noriega, and a couple others from the region who's names escape me right now. Our government and the corporations that support it do not like to put up with this kind of behavior in our own hemisphere. It's bad business, and this all all about business. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Yep, some public schools are slowly but surely migrating to the lowest common denominator. Their curiculum will eventually include nothing controversial, nothing that could in any way be considered offensive, nothing that anybody will fail (for those that even allow the word fail anymore), and so on and and so forth. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Old books (especially related to my interests in astronomy, stamps & postal history, physics, atlases, etc.) & magazines (I have nearly every National Geographic from about the mid-40's), stamps, LP's (I've got a bunch of very unique promotional stuff from DJ days), a couple dozen old cameras, 1000's of old matchbooks (stored in old mason jars to reduce fire hazard), wine corks from many many memorable events (hundreds of them in a huge fancy green-glass urn, and a few other tidbits. I am the packrat extraordinaire. It's fall and time for the biannual purge. My biggest collection blunder - giving away my sack of baseball cards to a friends little brother. I had damn near every card from about a 5 year stretch (early to late 60's), and multiples of most. That was back when it was actuially a challenge to get full sets, and they were worth something. I've seen many of the cards in shops at several hundreds of $, some over $1000. DOH! " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Yes. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Y'know, I love skydiving as much as anyone elese on the board, but this bullshit of "you should have more jumps than posts" is a crock of shit. Visit this site on a weekend...for the most part it's a ghost town. I'll bet 90 or 95% of my posts are from work. During lunch of course, . . . yeah, that's it. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Coma for *some* people starts at .4, and some of the other 50% are still up walking around with an amazing tolerance at 0.5. It is amazing what some people can take. My previously mentioned mother-in-law was very drunk every single day by 4 PM, head down on the table by 9 or 10 - every night. When she came to the hospital to see her newly born grandchild she could only stay 15 minutes. It's as long as she could stand to not have a drink in her hand. I think that kind of slow pickling is very different than the drain-a-bottle poisoning. A good liver can probably stretch the slow pickling out for a long time. A massive dose that kills you isn't so much a matter of overwhelming your liver as it is just plain poisoning. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I was browsing in one of the big electronics stores and was amazed that some of the monitors were set up to stretch or compress the picture, so the screen was full, but all the people were a little fatter or skinnier than they should be. It was very annoying to watch. I asked The Guy "Who could stand to watch that?" He said some people want the screen filled even at the cost of distortion. Strange. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Thats not true. We have flown quite a few different inflatables, some better than others. If you don't want it to spin out of control you need some good "jumpmasters" and it will work. It takes some practice too. Can't comment on the porter thing, but we have taken a plethora of different inflatables out of a pac750 So how about a big inner tube? Is it more or less stable than a raft? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Ran into a few that were hanging around the lodge doing lodge stuff. They seemed like your average rreserve, conservative, suit-wearing business types. Nice enough. But I suspect they are planning world domination, mostly because they are reserve, conservative, suit-wearing business types. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

So we're on the road yesterday afternoon. Just as we drive by a herd of cattle, a bull jumps up and mounts a cow. My 6 year old says "Did you see those cows wrestling?" I dryly reply that it looked like they were having fun. Two miles later we drive by a pack of llamas. A neighbor had told them (the kids) that they keep the males and females in different pastures. The 9 year old asks how they can tell the difference and the younger one shouts out "The boy llamas have a penis!" What a hoot. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I can still see you. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Because if they do that, you're not seeing the whole movie. Think about it. If you proportionally increase the size of the video to match the 4:3 aspect ratio of a traditional television, the end result will be wider than the screen. Thusly, they CHOP OFF part of the movie. http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/release/video/f20020925/img/69817_bg.jpg See what I mean? This is why most movie enthusiasts (and creators) abhor the existence of full screen. My father works in the industry and claims he'll disown me if I ever knowingly buy a fullscreen DVD I think he was kidding. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

What he said. Good debates, on controversial, sometimes very tough topics. Does get a little fiesty sometimes, but I think it is more out of passion than any genuine dislike for other posters. Even after a pointed debate most of the folks there come back civil to start on the next topic. There's also some really good humor and irony mixed in there. Yeah, a few who like to argue a little much, but that happens when you are being wide open on subjects like war, class division, poverty, dirty politics, terrorism, economics, religion, world peace, utopian ideals, the purpose of life and the reason for existence. But I could see people of certain mannerisms not liking it. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Amen to that. I've never ate their new stuff. I quit eating there long before that. The stuff just doesn't even taste good. It's just salted goo. I can't figure out how adults can like it, even though I once did. I think it appeals to kids, then you get hooked and it just becomes a bad habit. The addiction can be beaten. Then you go back and try one and, OH MY GOD - it really does taste horrible. EDIT: Kind of like watching a rerun of Gilligan's Island. You sit there thinking anybody who thinks this is funny needs serious help. We actually used to laugh at it because we thought it was funny. Now we laugh at it because it is soooooo stupid. Same with fast food. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Shouldn't this be merged with the fast food restaurant poll? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley