peregrinerose

That's one damn funny looking horse with serious issues if he has a split foot! Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

There is a very big difference between not believing in a religion and being anti religion. I don't believe in them, but I'm not against it at all. Believe in whatever the fuck you want to as long as it doesn't directly harm me or my family, because then I'll kick your ass Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I agree with a lot of the others, it really depends how obsessive you are about skydiving and how much you define yourself as 'skydiver'. If it consumes you and it is your first priority, not much luck with a whuffo. If it is just one facet of your life that you balance with a lot of other things that you love, I don't see why it would be a problem. My husband jumped as long as I knew him. I didn't. He had his jumping, I had horseback riding, we were both happy. Neither of us let our solo hobbies interfere with our time together, we are each other's first priority, and always will be. Of course, a month ago, I decided to start on AFF, and loved it. My husband was on my jump load, it was his last jump before his A, and mine was my first AFF, so it was a great experience for both of us. It's one more thing for us to share, but even if I never set foot in a jump plane we'd be just as happy. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I can only say that in the same situation, the gold wouldn't mean much to me knowing that I wasn't the rightful winner. My conscience is sometimes overactive, but in this case would force me to give the gold the the true champion. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Nothing in the Bible that I am aware of, but Catholic doctrine states that the 'bread' must be wheat based. The family had gotten her a rice based host and was later told that the communion was invalid simply due to the type of grain the host was made from. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I wasn't disputing that the candidates are a big part of the problem with this. Hell, if it wasn't for them constantly yammering on the past, it would have fallen out of the news ages ago. I don't give a flying rat's ass about 30 years ago, I want to see concrete plans for what they will do in the future. Of course, neither candidate excels at 'concreteness' Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I disagree. What happened or was done 30 years ago doesn't matter much. No one is the same person they are now as 30 years ago, values and morality grow and change with time as people mature, for better or for worse. It is better to evaluate a person's behavior in the more recent past than dredge up 30 year old possibilities that are sketchy on both sides as to what actually happened. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

No. For those with alcohol intolerances of any kind, a slightly fermented grape juice is involved, with a very very tiny percent of alcohol, so low that it isn't technically considered wine, but enough that it makes the priests happy. Catholicism is also a bit weird about communion in other ways, like refusing to give communion to the rainbow clad individuals on the gay/lesbian pride day, and not wanting to give communion to John Kerry simply because he is pro-choice. This to me is idiocy to, for if they refuse communion to everyone they deem a 'sinner', then no one would be eligable for the sacriment at all. I had a discussion about all this with a friend who brought up a good point. In the Catholic (as well as many other churches, Christian and non), a lot of things are done in the name of God... refusing communion being what God wants, etc. She feels that this is directly against the 'Thou shalt not take God's name in vain' commandment. She interprets it not so much as saying 'Oh God' too much, but as using God's name to further a cause, or politics of a particular religion, or holy war, etc. Doing something in the name of God that isn't spelled out directly in the Bible. Many religions do this on a daily basis. Thought it was an interesting way to look at things. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Pet peeve of mine... there's no such thing as 'legally blind without glasses'. Since I work with people who ARE legally blind, that phrase just drives me batty

This doesn't sound like a closed marriage, it sounds like an incredibly insecure woman and a marriage full of crappy communication. My marriage is definitely closed... but we aren't dead or blind. Yes, both of us notice other people that are cute, but neither of us is interested in anyone but the other. Sex is great, incredibly open communication, we can tell each other anything. Maybe because we got married later than most people do that we managed to find one another. Neither of us wants to change the other, for all our bizarre little quirks. Open marriage or closed, the bottom line is that the success or failure is entirely dependent upon the two people in the relationship and the dynamic between them. Is marriage natural? I don't know. I do know that I had a very wandering eye during my first marriage, and wanted to cheat. I also know that there have been absolutely no issues along those lines in my marriage now. It is good beyond words, why would either of us need anything else? Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Maybe I'm not explaining myself well. Development is a slow process, a slow timeline. Things grow and change (from a developmental process) at different rates, heart before lungs, before eyes, etc. There is no split second where all these things come together. From very early there are shared biological functions with the rest of humanity... respiration, heart beat, metabolism, growth, learning, all occur very early prenatally. At 6 weeks or so (give or take) the heart is beating. Central nervous system is functional at that point, there is movement. Hearing, proprioception, and touch are being learned. Again, at what single second does it change from human to not human. At what point can you say, this is a human and 1/2 a second ago it was not? DNA is what defines us as human and sets the roadmap for life development. That genetic code is present at birth and throught life, even after birth and into adulthood different genes are expressed. This is a continual process since conception, not something that turns off at birth. Look at genetic diseases like retinitis pigmentosa, very clearly genetic but the genes are not expressed until later in life (late teens onward). So even as infants, even adults, we are still just beginning our potential, have not reached the end of the developmental line. It is a continual timeline, not a timeline with a gap in it where 'humanity' begins. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

A corpse also has no POTENTIAL for life, but a fetus does. Big difference there. In your other post you said that there is a time when embryo becomes human. Yet you could not define that exact split second moment. Because there is no precice instant where it switches from non human to human, one millisecond, and you really can't be a hemihuman (notice that I like my new word?). With the lack of defining that exact moment, one has no ethical choice but to play it safe rather than abort a human, or a soul, or spirit, etc (damnit Paj, it's like I'm hearing your evoice in my head, stop it!) Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Does this mean I have to change my mind??? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You're close. In PA if you are stopped for suspicion of DUI and you refuse the blood/breath test, your license is automatically suspended for one year, even if you are later found not guilty of the charges. How do I know this? It was on the test I took yesterday to wipe a couple points off my license (and I got that one right!) Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Exactly at what moment is the prenatal kid 'human' ? If it is not considered human at conception, then there must be one exact moment that it suddenly humanifies, where a millisecond before this moment, it is not human, and a millisecond after, it is. There's no 1/2 way point on this, there is no hemihuman entity. There is absolutely no evidence no concrete definition of when this moment occurs, and in the absense of defining that moment, one ethically should err conservatively rather than destroy a life force. Good quote, but I also don't believe in the concept of soul exactly. I do believe in sentience, in spirit, in life force, or whatever you want to call it, perhaps soul is the same thing, I don't know. How can that spirit or consciousness at one moment be absent and the next there? At what point does consciousness occur? This goes along the lines of what was said above. I don't like the concept of bumping off a life force (whether considered an independent life or not) in the interests of convenience. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Agreed, he did do the right thing. Docs must have at least verbal permission to do anything to a patient, we can't force any testing to be done (although we'd like to sometimes...) Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

***Evolutionary physiology is gross? It's just fact. Think about it: What purpose does the shape serve? Why do we have to go at it for a while? Unless you believe in Creationism, you have to acknowledge that we're like this for a reason that can be explained in evolutionary terms. *** What purpose does the shape serve? Well it feels pretty damn good to the female of the species. If we like it, we'll do it again, which means more sperm deposits and more chance of producing new members of the species. If it was not nearly so much fun, there'd be a whole lot more headaches among females. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'm definitely NOT an adrenaline junky. Most of my hobbies are active and challenging... hiking, horseback riding, off road jeeping, now this. I don't ever get an adrenaline rush with jumping, even during my first jump. I just love the challenge, the sense of flying, and the total peace and quiet of being under canopy. It is one of the few moments of my life where I'm not thinking a bazillion miles a second about work, my mental to do list, and everything else. I'm mentally quiet, paying attention only to my skydive. That all by itself is extremely relaxing. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Well said. Though I have to disagree about the involvement of God and prefer 'sentience' to 'soul', but I absolutely agree with the point of this post. In the absense of scientific (or religious or whatever) evidence to pinpoint this exact moment, it is best to be conservative. Damnit Paj, quit making me agree with you! Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Again, this is based on the type of pill, most do not have this affect. It is typically the higher dose of hormone pills that can do this (which is why am after works) and most docs prescribe as low a dose as possible due to side effects like stroke/death (this would be bad). It's like saying seizure meds affect birth control. True, but only certain seizure meds with only certain versions of the pill, it's a liver metabolism thing. Sweeping generalizations are really only 1/4-1/2 true. Please don't make me regurgitate my pharmacology classes either Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Nope, not true. Daily pill (vast majority of forms) prevent ovulation to begin with so no fertilized egg can occur. It is things like Depo shots that prevent implantation rather than preventing ovulation. This is why I'm on the pill and not the far more convenient Depo. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Woooohooo!! Not guilty here Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'm all for this too. As a whopping 4 jump wonder, it's intimidating to be verbal in any of the other forums, though I do read and learn a lot. If I have questions I have the sense to ask my instructors, that is what they are there for and they can give pointers that no internet person can. But to be able to hear from other students would be informative and rewarding. Just have a disclaimer at the start of the forum that basically states that it is for support, not question/answer sessions or for advice, that is the role of in-person instructors. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I agree. My rott/lab mutt was 2+ when I adopted him. He's now 4-5ish. I can't leave the house with him on walks because he's extremely protective of me with strangers. If I let someone in the house, he's great, because he knows I accept them though, and he's incredible with kids. A 2 year old wrapped herself around him at the vet's office and he just sat there and let her do whatever she wanted. With grownups he bounces like a basketball all over the place. He was housetrained in 2 days (was kept outside before humane league, has scars around his neck from old collar) and understands everything I have to say. He's fine with me being gone all day, only needs to go out once every 12-14 hours. And I have him trained to sit on my feet in the winter to keep them warm. Life gets no better

We're the same way, both call each other 'hun' all the time, so it is weird saying or hearing one of us call the other by name. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda