AlexCrowley

Rubbish. Illegal simply means 'cant be taxed'. It's enterprising telesales. Where's the difference between being promised a cut of $25M if you send $13,000 and paying an HMO several hundred dollars per month for medical insurance only to be denied coverage when you need expensive surgery to live? But you can tax HMOs and the money stays in the country and is taxed. This is a thread hijack, nobody move! TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

I think its a good indicator of exact how far we've come since we lived in caves. With the exception of nike trainers, skydiving and Phil Collins I'd say not very far at all. Scratch just below the surface and we're still pack animals that react with fear and aggression for survival. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

come on now... those bloody Nigerians have got more computers and e-mail accounts than I have! Thats because of the charity group "AOL CDs To Nigeria" that was set up by Michael Moore, Keanu Reeves and Yanni. And dont you be picking on hard working enterprising Nigerians who have the backbone and courage to spread capitalism to a backward country. That people are greedy and stupid deserves no protection whatsoever, if someones stupid enough to send money to these hardworking Nigerians they have no one to blame but themselves. This is capitalism at its best! TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Yeah that would be the attack I was talking about, Newbie. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

I dunno, I really dont find it that bad, the only time I run into that sort of BS is online. Most people simply dont know because they've never considered it, and if some politician said something they'd get attacked by a small but vocal minority who'd come up with some reason it was totally anti-american. Which is pretty damn funny if you consider the principles the country was founded on (but not as funny as those apologists who claim that it's foundations are not based on liberal philosophies). TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Yeah, I can imagine the chaos if they raised ga..................never mind. I heard that their psyops team were secluded in a bunker somewhere drawing mustaches and groucho glasses on pictures of the current administration for dispersal on the ground. The incredible psychological toll would be unmeasurable. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

As someone above mentioned, it's the ratio of the raise that has people talking. In the last 12 months the price has almost doubled, so your dream came true. In addition there are major worries with the cost of heating oil (especially in the North East and other areas where it's below freezing a lot of the winter time), electricity etc. Gas prices are the first and most visible sign of the problem, it's the larger ramifications that give real pause for thought. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Someone should do a feasibility study on aerosol pork missiles. Im sure the US has some chemical warfare delivery systems somewhere that could simply spray pork fat across multiple city blocks. This could also be installed into personal grenades, and crowd control water cannons could be modified quite easily. By reducing the loss of life there would be far more people to help with reconstruction. In addition a WPD (Weapon of Pork Dispersal) would be less costly than having to keep shooting off those really expensive missiles. Bombing people tends to upset them, to break their spirit you need to attack their psyche directly. Victory is assured! TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

The downside to your argument is the fact that you'd have to rearchitect most of the inhabited areas of the US to make a meaningful reduction in travel. Or heavily invest in public transportation which is a HUGE NO NO because that would be socialist or liberal or some bullshit about taxes increasing. Nope Newbie, while I understand and empathize it's simply because of British blood, the American within feels an urge to insult you, your country and your ancestry....or something stupid like that. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

"benefits of US Military"? Someone in the UK please give the laundry list, I"ll start: Helped maintain burgeoning cottage industry of prostitution in the small towns around the US bases. Increased consumption of decent beer increases local economy. Unfortunately this is greatly offset by the damage caused by drunken 19 year old Americans puking on front lawns around the town. ...........................anyone one else got some? TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

I'm not sure it is beginning to happen. Right now we're in the 'lets bitch about it' phase. Domestically we're being told "High gas prices are nothing to moan about when you relate it to the tragedy" rather than any meaningful discussion about beating the hell out of car manufacturers into giving decent, reliable and economical alternatives. I think that you're correct that it will be a force change, unfortunately. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

you're one of them hippies, arent you. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Well, I didnt realize that Badger had moved from the US, so he's well aware of the differences, unlike most people in the UK who might not understand that most USians dont have much of a choice as far as the mileage travelled by an average person. Of course better gas mileage is a good idea. You'd be an idiot to say different. Do people NEED big trucks? do people NEED sports cars? Do people NEED anything more than a working public transportation system. Talking about what would be nice (moving closer to work, buying a new car) does not address the reality - which is that there's a lot of cars on the road, Americans drive about 3x the mileage (based on my limited experience) than the British, and that gas prices are incredibly high now. Suggestions like move somewhere closer to work (or work closer to home) are unrealistic in the short term. Sell your gas guzzler and buy a more economical car? Thats GREAT! except that the gas guzzler you bought 3 years ago is now so devalued that the trade in isnt enough to put a deposit on the now overpriced little car. Even if these ideas were feasible, it still doesnt take into account that oil consumption is out of control, as China and other developing countries continue to increase consumption the prices can only get higher as we hit the mythical 'peak oil'. What really angers me is that the Peak Oil "prophets" were completely ignored for years as being naysayers and spreading lies and rumors and that supply would match demand. In less than 12 months it's turned 180 degrees and there's a panic on oil futures. Just because Exxon et al suddenly realized they'd completely fucked up their reserve calculations, bringing home the point that oil is a limited resource that we've been happily using up. The current run seems as much a speculative bubble as the whole intarweb stuff of the 90s, but it still illustrates the scary reality that everything is tied to oil and it's availability. There needs to be a huge philosophical shift within the US (and other developed countries) away from fossil fuels and towards more useful alternatives (I just starting to look at the veg oil alternatives). I'm not sure that can happen while the world places such an emphasis on oil as a key to financial markets. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

9 weeks: one jump per week (and two weekends grounded due to weather) at a small cessna DZ where AFF students were the lowest priority. I'm split on if that was annoying or not. On the one hand I didnt know there were large DZs with big planes where I could have done AFF in two days. On the other I spent 3 or 4 days a week at a DZ where, because it was small, you got to know everyone really well, I had solid friendships with the instructors who would sit and talk for hours on weather holds. We had time to do multiple dirt dives. I think it's one of the reasons I didnt have to redo any jumps. Well, that and knowing that blowing a level meant not being able to finish:) TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Are they showing commercials in the effected areas? TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

I'm originally from the UK and relocated to the US 10 years ago. There's a big difference between UK travel and US travel. In the US things are not set up in the same way. Many towns do not have a commercial town center the same way a town in the UK is set up. It is often necessary to drive a great deal more than the average UK driver would. I live in New England where a commute of an hour is considered average. I drive 25 miles each way to work. It's 30 miles to the school, and 100 miles to the dropzone. In addition, public transport SUCKS! In the UK it's pretty easy to find a bus or train to anywhere - it's nothing like that here in the US, especially on a local level, unless you live in a major city with an underground system. Cheap gas in the US has led to a society that is based around driving places, the hike in gas prices will have significantly greater impact on US society than an equal rise in UK prices, IMHO. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

How odd, I thought it was just me that interpreted it that way too. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Flying Spaghetti Monster is getting larger and larger. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

what he said :) Kallend, as I mention in my PM to you, I find hand writing things counterproductive. Do you allow your students to type during exams? (some schools forbid it , except as an accomodation to a disability). Seems that the main trust of your original post wasnt about learning disabilities at all but to do with stupid academic bureaucrats. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Yes, communication is important, clarity is important. Being semi-literate would appear to be a major issue for any role that requires a modicum of communication. Where is the different between communication and comunication. In the technology space this is usually handled by never allowing the engineers to write any documentation, instead we hand it off to the documentation specialist, who takes all the badly spelled words, shitty grammar and incomplete thoughts and cobbles it into a readable and correct set of instructions. This is true not only for customers materials but internal documentation. Any documentation that I prepare is proof read, spell checked and edited for brevity before general consumption. My ability to spell anything other than the right syntax to make my systems do what i tell them really doesnt enter in to it. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Yes, I think I just said that myself. And all your examples require those key skills to perform them. I didnt realize that your class was just 'Engineers building stuff that might kill people if it isnt done properly'. I thought it might have been Physics, and while I haven't gone to physicistzone.com to check their incident reports I'm going to make an assumption that pursuing the study of a physical sciences in a classroom has not caused too many fatalities over the last 12 months. By your reckoning I should be asking people if they "want fries with that". edited: I just found your attitude on this case to be short sighted and ignorant. In this particular case: the girl cannot spell, as someone with a disability she will be able to have her employer provide methods to neutralize this problem. In my case I get very minor allowances that allow my employer to gain far more in measurable terms than it will ever cost them. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

I think the choice is obvious, but not so much different than if you used me as #1 and the #2 in your example :) In general I was thinking about a more even playing field. Sure, jump numbers are important on a macro scale, 100 jumps vs 10000 is going to be noticable. But change your #1 to a guy with 3000 jumps over 10 years who recently travelled to various Dzs to study with specialists in disciplines to increase his knowledge. And #2 keeps his numbers and years but sticks to his DZ and does whatever course is required to keep his ratings and no more. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

Bringing God back into mathematics TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

"this means that if a person cannot perform up to standard, regardless of the cause, that person should not be allowed to continue. " In certain roles that makes sense, sure, if you can't lift something over 20lbs dont become a furniture delivery guy. In some senses it's shooting yourself in the foot. When the standard is simply from a 'tradition' that has no bearing on the real subject then it makes little sense to rigorously enforce it if it's counter productive. No one is getting the answers, only more time to retrieve them from their minds and place them on paper. It's not as if the person asked for the text book, or a lower score to count as a pass mark. Why persecute someone for their brain's inability to react like a 'normal' person? As someone said: spelling counts for an english major, to an english major spelling is INFORMATION. which is the whole point of testing anyway, to see if the information was retained - hopefully for future use. Perhaps a decent illustration: I have certain issues with perceiving time. Because of this deadlines were missed while I was taking my mock exams. I was pretty much kicked out of school for failing to turn in certain paperwork that I thought i'd done. A month or so after leaving I was approached by a student also in my class, not only had they found the 'missing' paperwork, it turned out that I had scored the highest on those papers. Out of 600 students I was the only B grade and the only one out of 600 who passed those exams - which were designed to be failed. Which is why I find the concept of having to meet certain rigid, yet unnecessary, standards counter productive, and destructive to both the person with the disability, their potential, and to business as a whole. We tend to forget that the some of the greatest minds had little or no formal schooling in those disciplines in which they are remembered. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

See I kinda disagree, but it is a matter of definition. You can KNOW how to do something, but not be able to do it....I have tons of AFF level 1's that KNOW that have to arch and to pull, but they don't do it. EXPERIENCE in my not so humble opinion requires doing it, not just knowing it. I apologize, I didnt mean they dont have physical experience doing it. Only the difference between someone who performs the same movements on each canopy ride and the person who bugs the hell out of everyone to get new information and then actively practices those things and constantly improves. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.