micro

Well, the peanut gallery has officially arrived. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I hate them too. Too much artificial fanfare. Too much of the same old shit, worn out traditions that no one really gives any thought to. Getting together w/ family that I'd really rather not see (some of them anyway) during ANY time of the year. Why see them during the holidays? They invariably become MORE of the irritating f*cks they already are. People get all happy and chipper and giddy and it is just so offputting. I'd rather it just be a quiet, pensive time w/ the people I care the most for, truly giving thanks and truly celebrating the purpose each holiday and learning more about those outside of our own tradition (like exploring the jewish ones for example and exposing our kids to them to give them a more rounded, cultured existence). I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

She only gets 2 to 6. Is it enough? Can the judge/did the judge consider the long term effects of such abuse on the kids? Good thing I'm no judge... http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/09/14/food.abuse.ap/index.html I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I don't think Bounty Hunters can carry guns in general, regardless of if you have a criminal history or not. They are not police officers. He served time for accessory to murder. He watched his friend kill someone. Not true... I've seen plenty of bounty hunters carry guns. Depends on the state laws. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I think we have an algebraic equation in the making just from the cocktail figures in this thread! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Kenz, it was so very nice to meet you this week! It was great fun, lots of laughs, stimulating conversation,and wonderful company. Muenkel, TWO TONS of fun??? Val, I was just tickled to know I was "pumping" in your footsteps." Oh and BTW, the condom store WAS Kenz's idea! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

then at least brush your hair, will ya? I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

OMG!!! Those hummingbirds are SO gonna burn in H-E-double hockeysticks!!! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

The 7E7 has gone into production, the first one has anyway, and it's now designated the 787. It would make sense to have a custom transport for flying in the really big parts. Don't know if they still do, but they used to hire a Russian Antonov jet to fly in engines for the 777 (those engines are as big around as the body of a 737). Airbus also has a huge customized monster plane for ferrying A380 parts around Europe. But this is not a passenger plane. Boeing's basically given up on super jumbos. They won't design anything big enough to replace or surpass the size of the 747 and have only offered warmed over extended models that nobody was interested in. Instead, Boeing is concentrating on long range planes that can carry a medium load of passengers, like 260 or so, from almost anywhere to almost anywhere else in the world non-stop. That's what the 787 is all about and it's picked up a lot of orders. But it's still sad to see Boeing give away the lead to another company. But that's what's happened to Boeing, all the visionaries are long gone and have been replaced by bean counters who want to build Toyotas with wings. I don't know that your critique of Boeings business strategy is correct. While Airbus has taken the Bigger-Is-Better route, they've also ran into a fair bit of trouble recently w/ the A-380 as well. They've had some cancelled orders and there are going to be a helluva lot of airport infrastructre changes in order to get that beast serviceable, at least in the US. I think Boeings move is far more practicle, esp. if the 787 can be produced faster in larger numbers, which will (hopefully) decentralize a little more from the bigger hubs, which the larger Airbus cannot do. In todays economy, I think the 787 is going to be more successful, at least in the long run. The spotlight right now is on the A380, IMO, just b/c it's so BIG and Airbus got it flying so quickly. I think it's faddish though and the world economy is still too volatile to support such a craft esp. w/ terrorisms threats still looming. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I was supposed to be flying... somewhere that day... didn't get anywhere... I've flown on just about every anniversary since... I'll be flying on this anniversary too, from St. Louis to Philadelphia. If you haven't seen Oli Stone's movie World Trade Center yet, you're missing out on something very special and tastefully done. Maybe this anniversary is a good day to see it. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

With regards to your first question, that can quite handily be dealt w/ by applying hte principle of the double effect. (I haven't the time to list it here... google it if you like) That is why I disagree w/ your first statement in this post above. (I haven't the time b/c I have to pack for a trip that will last all week, I have to leave at 4 am... I really shouldn't be on here at all, but you all are like crack to me!!!) As for your second statement, fetal viability (the ability to live outside of the mothers womb) has changed w/ advances in medical technology. What is viable today will be antiquated in 10 years time. What then? Again, according to SCOTUS, viability doesn't event matter. You can kill your baby right up to and including during delivery. Change your mind during the last trimester, do what the new england girl did, take a pistol to your abdomen and shoot your baby to death. She lived, the baby did not. She went on trial for murder or homicide, I don't remember which, and a slick atty got her off b/c she was only giving herself AN ABORTION even though she testified she was intending to kill her baby. Also, Partial birth abortions are real and do occur. Life SHOULD enter into the equation for you, b/c if it IS in fact human life, it is wrong to kill it. Alright, enough for me... gotta go pack... sorry to stir the shitpot ladies, know you have all my respect, even when I may sound like a twat on here...

Two questions: 1: Is Jay's life sacred to you? 2: When does a fetus have a sufficiently developed nervous system to feel pain? I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I'm not sure what you mean by "unbaby" other than it's not a baby at that time, which it isn't. I agree with you. I don't believe abortion is the right choice in most situations, and I would never have one myself except to save my own life (and in that case, I'd call it self defense). However, I recognize that it isn't my right to make that decision for someone else, because I don't walk in their shoes and I don't live their life. They could be facing medical or emotional difficulties that I'm unaware of, and it simply isn't my place to make a decision like that for them. If you disagree, you can talk to your child about why, about what makes people choose abortion, and why you disagree with those choices. You can also use the opportunity to tell your daughter that if she becomes pregnant that you will do everything you can to support her, won't be angry, will be disappointed, but really, truly want her to come talk to you before making any decisions. Same conversation for a son regarding a girlfriend. Society is always going to behave in ways you don't agree with, simply because people don't agree with you. I think the main difference between us is that I want to allow other people to make their own choices, while you want to decide for them along the lines of what your faith teaches. I don't have any problem at all with you allowing your faith to guide your life, or about you teaching your faith to others. I don't like it when you presume to make choices for other people. It is your place to teach. It is not your place to force. I like some of the things you have to say... however, when we see things like raunchy bill boards, TV shows that are approaching soft-core porn (and are essentially already there) in prime time TV, the choices have been forced upon us. Our society is NOT a safe place to raise kids anymore, at least not according to people w/ traditional judeo-christian values. modern clothing styles that leave nothing to the imagination that really leave young women, barely teenagers, dressing like hookers, magazine covers like cosmo at the grocery store proclaim all sorts of raunchiness about the most sacred act two humans can engage in, glorified violence on TV and in the movies, the list could go on and on. These are the kinds of things we want to raise our kids in. And this isn't the kinds of culture this country USED to be! The media used to be cleaner. What Windcatcher is, in part, trying to say I think, is that exposure to some of those things, is, we believe, harmful, esp. to young people. Our desire to see them OUT of society is for the GOOD of society, not to ramrod our beliefs down anyone elses throats. But since we get the kind of shit we do, like how "negative" the Christian ethos is, well, then families like mine do what we just did... We buy a farm and move to the country. Where we won't see that filthy shit anyway. the people are friendly, they don't swear nearly as bad (which is good for me, since I tend to swear like a sailor and need to work on that), we don't even HAVE billboards, I don't get TV reception, so no problem there, our kids are more involved in activities esp. involving nature and animals and they sure as hell aren't exposed to the level of violence and danger that the swill-filled cities are. People CAN make their own choices... and they do... too often however, it's to wade around in a mire of muck. (I'm certainly not saying that of you, Nightingale, not at all... I've always found you to be very thoughtful, respectful, highly intelligent and well versed.) I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

When? When it passes outside of a woman's womb into the free air? When it passes into the variable stage of "viability," Which in and of itself is a rather nebulous term since, according to SCOTUS, a mother is still allowed to kill her child AFTER viability for basically any reason (since "health" of the mother is so broadly defined)? When it can feel pain? When it's heart beats? When brain waves are detected? When it first "looks" like a human? What really defines a human? The pro-abortion debate has made what defines a human subjective. And therein lies the heart of the problem w/ that side. What their argument comes down to is this... no one has the right to tell a woman what to do w/ her body... but if it's a baby, i.e. another human being, it's NOT her own body! She's supporting another human and to terminate that pregnancy is to kill that other human. So, that begs the question, when is the "embryo" human? To that, almost every pro-choice person I've ever talked to has said this... You, as a pro-lifer cannot prove to me that human life begins at conception. To that, my answer has always been, I don't believe that to be true, I think it can be proven, but for the sake of forgoing a protracted argument, you can't prove it doesn't. That then leaves us at an impass. If it's unprovable that life does begin or doesn't begin at conception, that leaves the ramifications for a mistake VERY high! If it DOES begin at conception, and you abort, you're taking a human life. The only logical thing to do in a situation like this is to assume that it CAN be human, ergo you MAY be killing a human. "Oh, but it's so small... it doesn't look human... it hasn't had a life yet... it won't feel anything... it's gonna really fuck up my life..." "It is a poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." A great saint of a woman said that, whom I met once in Gallup New Mexico. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

In one sentence it's a child. The next sentence it's an embryo. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I think I got it in a Discovery Store in an airport somewhere, but here is their website... http://www.klutz.com/ I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

they have a groovy skydiving demo team. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

And from Micro: Thanks so much, you two. It's gonna be hard, but hey, it's gotta get done, and it's not forever. So I can stick it out and get it done... And yeah, it's pretty badass. 'Specially because I'm old and grey already, and gonna be older and greyer by the time this is over. They're going to make me dissect a cat in Anatomy (yes, I got in...cool professor, but tough). That's going to be one of the toughest things I ever do... Ciels- Michele Glad you got in to Anat. WHen I was in that class back in '90, the cat I got when I was 5 years old was 16. He was a perfectly marked silver tabby and weighed about 30 lbs. He was huge. Well, wouldn't you know it, in Anatomy the time came to start dissecting cats. And my assigned cat was, you guessed it, a silver tabby... The week we were to start cutting, I get a tear stained letter from my mom... My cat had died the week before. Those next few weeks were tough. But I did it, know why? 'Cause I'm BADASS! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Is that from a VIDEO GAME? I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Quick! Someone give it emergency gastric bypass surgery before it kills itself! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

That is one of the most BADASS things so far in this thread!!! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Being Brit is it's own punishment And being french is considered to be a birth defect. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I dunno, but I'm cryin! And the Belugas are laughin! http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1044972&WxsIERv=Nveohf%20N300O4-608FG%20Fhcre%20Genafcbegre&Wm=0&WdsYXMg=Hagvgyrq%20%28Nveohf%20Vaqhfgevr%29&QtODMg=Gbhybhfr%20-%20Oyntanp%20%28GYF%20%2F%20YSOB%29&ERDLTkt=Senapr&ktODMp=Qrprzore%207%2C%202005&BP=0&WNEb25u=%D3fpne%20Ynobeqn%20F%E1apurm%20-%20Vorevna%20Fcbggref&xsIERvdWdsY=S-TFGP&MgTUQtODMgKE=Oryhtn%20%233%20gnxvat%20bss%20sebz%20EJL%2032Y%2C%20va%20n%20grzcbenel%20nyy-juvgr%20cnvag%20fpurzr%20orsber%20nccylvat%20gur%20arj%20Nveohf%20yvirel.%20OGJ%2C%20jung%20n%20avpr%20yvtug%21%20%5BQ70%20%2B%20Avxxbe%2080-200%20RQ%20%28A%29%5D&YXMgTUQtODMgKERD=4906&NEb25uZWxs=2006-05-14%2000%3A30%3A30&ODJ9dvCE=3&O89Dcjdg=765&static=yes&width=1152&height=780&sok=JURER%20%20%28ZNGPU%20%28nvepensg%2Cnveyvar%2Ccynpr%2Ccubgb_qngr%2Cpbhagel%2Cerznex%2Ccubgbtencure%2Crznvy%2Clrne%2Cert%2Cnvepensg_trarevp%2Cpa%2Cpbqr%29%20NTNVAFG%20%28%27%2B%22oryhtn%22%27%20VA%20OBBYRNA%20ZBQR%29%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20cubgb_vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=4&prev_id=1053455&next_id=1040405&size=L I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Shpelcome! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

OMG, This is the fugliest thing I've ever seen... form follows function and all that I guess, but shit... this is just... eew. I guess Boeing finally felt the need to try and compete w/ Airbus' product? http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1106601&WxsIERv=Obrvat%20747-4W6%2FYPS&Wm=0&WdsYXMg=Hagvgyrq%20%28Obrvat%29&QtODMg=Gnvcrv%20-%20Puvnat%20Xnv%20Furx%20Vagreangvbany%20%28GCR%20%2F%20EPGC%29&ERDLTkt=Gnvjna&ktODMp=Frcgrzore%209%2C%202006&BP=0&WNEb25u=F.Y.%20Gfnv&xsIERvdWdsY=A747OP&MgTUQtODMgKE=Tbbq%20Yhpx%21%21%20Whfg%20srj%20zvahgrf%20ntb%2C%20gur%20tvnag%20syvtug%20zbafgre%20bs%20Obrvat%20747%20snzvyl-%20Obrvat%20747YPS%20yrnir%20gur%20rnegu%20naq%20syl%20ba%20gur%20fxl%21%20Vg%A1%A6f%20uvf%20svefg%20bssvpvny%20syvtug%20nsgre%20unf%20orra%20guebhtu%20ercrngrqyl%20znal%20gvzrf%20gur%20cebwrpg%20qrynl.%20Guebhtu%20gur%203T%20uvtu-grpu%2C%20V%20pna%20funer%20gurfr%20cvpgherf%20gb%20lbh%20ba%20erny-gvzr.%20%5BAvxba%20Q2k%5D&YXMgTUQtODMgKERD=3163&NEb25uZWxs=2006-09-09%2006%3A38%3A08&ODJ9dvCE=&O89Dcjdg=25879%2F904&static=yes&width=1000&height=679&sok=JURER%20%20%28qngrfgnzc%20%3E%20qngr_fho%28ABJ%28%29%2C%20VAGREINY%2024%20UBHE%29%29%20%20BEQRE%20OL%20ivrjf%20qrfp&photo_nr=2&prev_id=1106351&next_id=1106419&size=L I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...