Misternatural

I spend the day screwing around with mundane errands and I come back to this? Well I'll just blather on then: And now a word about conspiracy theory; Conspiracies are very difficult to propagate in this day and age because of the well informed and connected whistle blowers that populate the internet and elsewhere. I mean for the love of crap, GW bush can't even sustain more than a few moments of cooperation in his own cabinet. And the days of the Nazi party are thankfully gone. Everyone today seems to have their own opinion and agenda, just look at Washington, it's a wonder anything gets done. Corporations on the other hand are a different story. They are primarily geared for one thing, profit.Hey thats fine, gotta make money in this world. But, In a corporation the conspiracy IS to do whats best for the corporation (and stock holders)or go bankrupt, and if you work at one you either have to conspire or get fired. A corproration is one big throbbing conspiracy shrouded in secrecy. I know this because I trade stocks and NOBODY knows what the hell these companies are up to until the quarterly earnings report comes out. Roche labs and their Tamiflu marketing strategy is worth keeping an eye on as this bird flu story unfolds. I am not trying to single out the Swiss, but lets face it, they are not known for their altruistic involvement in world affairs. just an aside: type in GW bush and do a spell check, its funny. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Alright you bassssserds I get it. FINE. I am the nut on the street corner preaching to himself. Very funny. but imagine what it will be like when people around you are gasping fish mouthed for their last breaths while a vehicle festooned with dudes in rediculous orange biosuits are going down the street blairing "Bring out your dead!" "Oh look at me, I'm making people happy,My name is Homer Simson & I live in a gumdrop house on lolly pop lane....Oh and by the way,I'm being sarchastic!" Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Those clicky's are excellent resources. I especially like the schematic of the reaction system. nice detail. Anyway to answer the question, No, Americans are not generally fond of diesels for autos. Rudolf Diesel invented his compression ignition engine so named to run on peanut oil and showed it to the world at the 1900 Paris exposition....Then Standard Oil came along and that was the end of veg. fuel. here is a synopsis: stone age-bronze age-iron age-oil age.....its almost over people, time to move along! I realize that biofuels are a bit "communistic" for most Americans to grasp, but right now our Govt does not have an effective "plan B" We are either going to eventually have to bomb and steal oil from other nations or we can change. For those that are interested here is one list of the ingredients for biodiesel: vegetable oil,methanol, lye. Here's another one: vegetable oil,ethanol(grain alcohol),potassium hydroxide( a lye substitute) The result: Biodeisel(transesterified fatty acid=diesel or home heating oil), and Glycerine (an ingredient in facial soaps) The ingredients for Ethanol fuel? sugar, water, yeast. & a BATF permit. You can make this stuff in your garage if you want. But it will soon be available (And safer) from your local entrepreneur.... and thats patriotic! Rudolf Diesel finally vindicated 100 years later! My suggestion, ask around, Google biofuels, convert your cars (yes you can still burn gas)and find out who's got the nards to sell this stuff in your community. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Ok I'll go first, Roche labs is based in Switzerland and is traded on the swiss stock exchange.It is likely that it is a component of some mutual funds including yours and mine. however it is not something you find on E trade. Anyway,according to the Roche website the pandemic stockpile of Tamiflu is now available to the WHO. thats the good news. The bad news is that if people start to take this drug for preventative measures then the bird flu virus can mutate sooner to a resistant form, very bad. From my view as an investor in general stock prices are reactive to speculation with regard to future earning performance when something like Tamiflu and its connection to a pandemic hit the news. That already happened. After the initial buzz has died it is up to the quarterly earnings of a company to further drive up the price. Roche is currently trading at 188 to 209 per share, thats pretty high.relative to the S&P 500. Most of that is due to the speculation about Tamiflu Where am I going with this? why is the company touting Tamiflu as a preventative drug when that could make it obsolete when the big bird hits the fan. There is something sinister about a stock price connected to a deadly pandemic. hey I'm just sayin' Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

I am trying to start an alternative fuel program where I live, it is actually not that difficult. Small producers of biofuels are cropping up all over the country, yes, it's home brew but it works. Don't get caught up in the mentality that only ADM and Exxon have the ability to make this stuff.Currently there is a way to convert just about every car on the road to an alternative fuel. For example in order to burn biodiesel(B 20 or B100)which is simply trans esterified cooking oil from a chemical reaction which separates out glycerine, in a diesel vehicle, some changes need to be made to the fuel system ie. the rubber parts changed to a metnanol resistant compound. These parts are becoming more available over the internet. Some diesels can be converted to run on pure vegetable oil by simply pre heating the oil. It's here people,now, and gas cars can be converted to burn ethanol almost as easily. Of course there is a caviat, do we grow food or fuel? somethings gotta give. Unfortunately that leads to a discussion of population dynamics. I say let gas go up to $10 a gallon - for now we don't need your stinkin oil! Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

I just finished reading the product information PDF for Tamiflu courtesy of Roche labs (available on the Tamiflu website). Therein is a section on virus resistance mutation. Afterwards is a recommendation for preventative dosage(prophylaxis). My question is; Is it wize for a population to be taking one of the only widely available drugs which can reduce the incidence of mortality for avian flu while increasing the likelihood of of a resistant form of the virus to this drug by "preventative" use? I mean, yeah, more short term sales of Tamiflu but at what cost?... rule: You have to say if you are a stock holder if you answer this. disclaimer: I am not an MD so caviat emptor no lo contendre spritus sancti,amen. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Thats hilarious. Well at least he wasn't tapping lines for the Govt. BTW I am NOT making an NSA joke here, (the last time I did that my phone was mysteriously disconnected for a few days.) Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Really? the guy tapped into the neighbor phone?...now thats creative. I have been in the construction biz involving various trades for over 20 years and have seen a lot of strange artifacts(and animals) in crawl spaces, but you can imagine my reaction when I was confronted by people's "you know what" floating around down there. Needless to say I made a hasty retreat. Even if you get a buddy who is a contractor to take a look at the place, it's worth it. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Normally I don't discuss my work with anyone but my client but this is worth mentioning on the internet; This week I was in a basement with a client discussing the plumbing when we noticed an "odor". I suspected that it was a leaking waste vent pipe. Not quite, on further investigation I found in the depths of the crawl space that the main septic line had broken off and RAW SEWAGE was pooling under the dining room EEEEEEEWWWW! The home owner(seller) was "shocked",& the Realtor said " well that's a glitch"..... yikes-the moral of the story;get a home inspection! After dinner mint anyone? Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

I'm just kiddin' around, long winded or not actually I am impressed by the insight and careful wording I find in some of these debates. I am lucky if I manage to string a few sentences together and get my point across. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Holy shmoly, do either of you actually have a job? Where do you find the time for all of this pondering and pontificating? I do not have much work this time of the year I admit it. So I will expound on the subject if I may since my frikken taxes are done, but I digress. Scepticism is the buffer which prevents speculation from becoming immutable fact. Not to say that global warming is based purely on speculation as it for the most part is data based. Of course how you process and present any data can lead to more speculation hence a counteractive wave of scepticism. You see, it is a cycle just like climate change. Since this is an experiment on a global scale the only way to prove or disprove this hypothesis is by actually changing the variables and note the results. For example. We humans begin a policy of developing alternative energy sources (non fossil fuel) and continue that for the next 10 years... and see what happens.What is the harm in trying the experiment, will the economy collapse, No I don't think so. Will global warfare get worse? probably quite the opposite. Of course that is part of the experiment too. The great thing is that it can be done on an individual scale. Maybe get some biodiesel or E 85 the next time you are at the pump. Drive less and spend more time with your kids at home. You know stuff like that. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

QuoteThe only thing I resent in this is the 'sprout eatin'. My apologies, that was a bit extreme. SC Skydivers shall one day rule the world!!! uh, in a planktonic sort of way. At least we can conquer the bonfireites while they cajole and pretend to enjoy life...look at them over there, happily discussing their titties and beer... it all a lie! A life without guns and politically charged religious issues?? Bah! thats no life for a skydiver. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

QuoteSpeaker's Corner sucks. And to think I used to enjoy this place. I have changed my address to Bonfire. Silliness is much better. Why you hippy huggin',gun toting,republicratic,brainscan preventing,intlligencia promotin',empire building,oil addicted,sprout eatin',emaciated,fat cat,fucker, you! Where else can a person waste valuable time arguing minutia and insulting strangers on such a large scale. Why, if only we could harness this power....then what! MWAAHAHAHAHAHHHHAaahhh h h h wheeze,cough. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

It grouped about 9" off in 25 yds. Yeah Tauruses don't suck, I was actually impressed with the fit of the machining on the frame, much like a Smith. The bugger was nice and heavy, had a ported muzzel and kicked up not more than 3". Anyway, I do try to work on smooth slow trigger pull a lot, the goal is being pleasantly surprised by the bang. "All gun related disputes shall herein be settled with a pistol duel" Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

I practice a few times a month and figured it might be a parallax issue with left or right eye dominance. I happen to shoot right handed with right eye dominance. Maybe the dude was left eye dominant, but parallax could not account for it being that far off. The family just recently found the gun, in any case there was no hostility just a small group of people watching which makes the ol' marksmans pride kick in, not a big deal. it's a nice handgun, and I was respectful though I did offer to sight it in for them. BTW an heirloom is anything that is passed down from generation to generation, even though it was new it still qualifies. My thinking is a gun that is shooting off target for whatever reason should be locked in the gun cabinet until properly sighted in. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

This was the situation this past weekend; I was invited to a friends house, after laughing about old times I was handed a family heirloom taurus "raging bull" handgun (the father's, now deceased) and we all walked outside for some target shooting. I noticed that my grouping was tight but off target to the left, do I hand the gun back and say " WTF who sighted this thing in?" or do I move the aiming point to the right and continue. I wanted to get a screw driver and start fiddling with the sight. WW you do? Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Reunion update; Holy crowsfeet,it was tough to recognise some people, others look like they were in a time capsule. My crew partied for 26 hour straight, no sleep. I drove back in a slight hase (not drunk) but just very spent from laughing for hours on end till my eyes watered and beer sprayed out my nose. Only 2 (two) attractive single women there out 100 peeps,one of them was VERY sensuous but I watched her work the whole room in the same manner. Everything is cool on the home front, My GF made me a nice dinner and let me sleep the weekend off in peace, no questions. She is taking a huge exam this morning. Final thoughts: 20 + year reunions are MASSIVE FUN, nobody cares about your looks or money,as long as you chip in for all of the beer, food, and "shwag". Don't bring your S.O. they will not have as much fun and you can delve into the dirty but hilarious dark secrets that you forgot about(but will surely be reminded of) without getting in trouble. A picture of your kids and spouse or whatever will do. Watching your friends deal with room service for the whole crew after being stoned all night is priceless. Those of you that wrote that the issue was school stress and pre reunion uncertainty win a beer when I see ya. Thanks to all of you for playing! now back to the speakers corner for more chest beating. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Who the hell invented the adult internship anyway;No money for lots of thankless work all while getting your intelligence insulted?...Whats not to like? I mean, I think I am lucky the woman doesn't drive home and try to chop off my dink at the end of the day....another reason to keep my pants on this weekend, fer shur. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

This is an interesting discussion to say the least, nothing like airing out your personal life on the internet because ya just cant trust the locals with this stuff. Not to mention, you partisan nutty people make me smile. good advice, Gratzie! Human relationships can be tricky mind bending struggles mixed with sex and intrigue. I should clarify some things: We are 40 ish. (its a college reunion) and when you are at this stage in life being a couple is more about toughing it out against the odds, shaking your fist at the neighbors shouting "is that all you got?", thinking before you say something that will cost ya, and enjoying life when you have the chance. it's more practical and less about being crazy in love, as for sex... its good when you can get it. I don't recommend getting a masters at this point unless you've got a war chest of gold and lots of time, internships are a bitch....the other day I made a little joke about it & I got hit with a baking pan! I can't wait for her to get her degree so we can get back to "normal". In the meantime think I'll keep my skydiving helmet nearby, and my pants up when I'm on "Vacation". Besides,reunions are all about "Yeah I'm doin' better that you" anyway. "Pilot chute??! don't bother with that, its just for decoration." Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Ok, all good info so far ....I will add the questions - What would each of you do in this situation? and have you been there yourself? Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Ok, my girlfriend called me from work just now and said : "if you want to have sex with someone at your 20th college reunion that would be fine....I'm focused on getting my masters right now and you do what you have to do, what ever happens happens." WTF does that mean? Background info: together for three years. its a getaway weekend reunion at a hotel resort. Yeah, we joke around about hooking up and its funny but...serious??!! She's not screwing around so why should I. We have conflicting schedules that weekend and she can't go to my reunion. yes things have been rough lately because of her schoolwork and life in general. I don't even know if I will be attraced to anyone there and even if I am how is that going to play out when I get back? Holy shit Batgirl what a predicament! Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Yes,all very practical advice. heres an alternative: Get to know some really old people with lots of money,you'll be surprised to find out that some of them would rather give a kind stranger their big bucks than leave it to their ungreatful kids who never visit..... Hey I'm just sayin. Your gonna have to serve somebody...Bob Dylan Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Here are some whines I am familiar with: I want to go to Florida this year. I'm cold, turn up the heat. Are you ever going to paint the living room? Why did you have to mention that to my mother? So what if things get broken, my sisters kids are not a menace. Now as for wines...a friend of mine flys the good stuff in from Europe on air force C 5 missions, hehehehe my tax dollars at work! Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

yep, at my DZ a student was doing an aff with one instructor and went into spin cycle mode, well the instuctor was able to grab her by the foot which stopped the spin but her shoe came off in his hand. He looked at the shoe, looked at her, did a double take and decided to chuck the shoe over his shoulder. who knows where it landed but it must be wierd seeing a shoe fall out of the sky. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415

Just to be clear, this was a theoretical question. I am in no way proposing that this be tried. I can imagine the difficulty and danger involved in such a stunt as I have flown in a PPS and have been approached by the pilots to see if I would like to jump out of one. The concept was inspired by the achivements of certain pioneers of the sport who dared to do things like freefall with cars, catch planes in freefall, fly a canopy relative to a wing suit and the like. It would have to be first determined if a skydiving canopy would even be able to fly relative to a PPS, what safety equipment would need to be retrofitted, wake turbulence, approach, etc. I don't condone this activity but at least we can discuss it in theory. Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415