livendive

So I'm reading this article on CNN about a winter storm moving from the mid-west towards New England. One thing it mentioned was that the snow was welcome in some places, such as the Paoli Peaks Ski Resort in Indiana. That kind of caught my eye, as I've never really thought about going boarding in Indiana...so I went and found their web page. Oh my god! 300 vertical feet??! And the lift tickets are $40!! BWA HA HA!! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Your beer is safe, that is not actually what she said. Google might help you find the facts. from here So she was talking to her audience, and she did refer to them as stupider than her, but that's not what she said? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

And IMO the company had the right since they were a health care company and had offered assistance to quit and gave the employees plenty of notice. Of course they had the right. Similarly, 100% of their employees had the right to find other jobs because they didn't want to work for a company that extended it's reach that far into their private lives. Basically, the company threw it out there to see if they could get away with it. The workforce said yes. Other employers took note. It was the same with drug tests, credit checks, etc. Employers have the right to establish just about any requirements they want, and if employees accept them, they stick. If the workforce quits and nobody applies for the vacant positions, they don't. The workforce in America is pretty tame. We need jobs in order to buy all the things we want and our employers use that to their advantage. They can afford to sit idle for longer than we can, so that's just how things will be. Exception: Some employers want their employees to actually like working for them and will make concessions to attract and retain good people, for example those companies that allow employees to bring their dogs into work with them. If such companies ever establish a significant advantage over their competitors as a result of providing such a working environment, you can bet their competitors will take steps to follow suit. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It's the same way in Washington, and for the most part I like it that way. I agree with you. And if an employer doesn't like the workforce they have remaining when the employees who didn't like the rules found other jobs, they can change the rules. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

There was a company last year who told all employees that they had until the end of the year to quit smoking tobacco or be terminated. Last I checked tobacco was legal. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Apparently Ann said yesterday that her audience is even stupider than her. I'll admit that the agreement means I owe beer, but doesn't she too? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It's a tasteless joke thread. What did you expect, knock-knock jokes? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Nonsense. There will be enough quality canidates that will submit to them since they have nothing to hide. You are tying to make it seem that only "bad" canidates submit to drug tests....That is a position you can not back. I'm not trying to make it seem that way at all. What I said was what I meant. If enough quality candidates (undefined, could be 80% of quality candidates) refuse to submit to such testing (for privacy reasons, not because they have something to hide), employers will change their hiring practices. The current status quo only exists because the workforce considers it acceptable. If enough of the workforce decides it's unacceptable, the status quo will change. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Pre 9/11, it's likely nobody would have had to die. Blues, Dave And you know this because... A.) You're an air marshall who was only trained to shoot to kill AFTER 9/11 B.) No one bombed or hijacked a plane pre-9/11, so there would not have been a quick and deadly response to this "joke" C.) You're pulling this out of your butt (not trying to offend, but that was a bogus statement) Pre 9/11 there were what, 35 air marshalls in the entire country? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

As far as I know Lodi still doesn't use radios. Train the students better? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Pre 9/11, it's likely nobody would have had to die. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

People stayed home from work because it's 23 degrees outside? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I'd say most were honestly frustrated and wanted help, but there were definitely some who were zero fun to help, who treated it like their education was your responsibility, not their's. The best one I remember was a guy in his 40's who was trying to be a high school football/conditioning coach or some such thing. The school wouldn't let him work there without at least some basic skills, and he understood why but could just barely do arithmetic or tell the difference between a sentence and a fragment. I ended up spending a bunch of time with him outside of the program just because he seemed so motivated. His excitement and interest were pretty infectious, and he did end up passing the competency test on his next attempt.

I did some tutoring while in school. Sometimes it was really rewarding and other times it sucked. It seemed the determining factor was whether the student honestly wanted to learn the material. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Ministry? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

That depends on what she looks like. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Cowboy Junkies 50 cent Prince Seal Dead Kennedys Hole Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It turns out he's not a dumbass, but was infact bipolar. He was off his medication because it was checked in his bagage, which of course he couldn't get to. Irony. It's kind of like Iron. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-ap-airplane-shooting,0,572760.story?coll=chi-newsbreaking-hed _Am Of course....it's the cops fault he wasn't on his medication or that he couldn't get to it. Unbelievable! I must have missed it. Where did AndyMan place blame? It seems to me that he simply related sad circumstances that factored into the situation. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

We didn't have air marshalls before 9-11? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

A gay man is feeling pretty lonely one night and heads down to the local "alternate lifestyle" establishment for drinks and a hope of getting lucky. As expected on a Tuesday night though, the place is dead. He gives up on the idea at around 11 and starts walking home. He passes a dark-ish alley and notices a shabbily dressed man sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall. He thinks, "Hey, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take", turns around, and approaches the man. He notices the sour smell of cheap fortified wine as he walks up to the guy and thinks he's found his "in." "Mister, I'll buy you two bottles of whatever wine you want if I can have anal sex with you," he says. The bum thinks about it and responds in a thick, somewhat slurred voice "Wellll, I spose that'd be ok, if'n we can go get it first". "Fine" says the gay man and off they go to the liquor store. Walking back from the liquor store, the wino guzzles one bottle of Thunderbird in preparation for what's in his immediate future. Finding a dark corner, he commits to the task by dropping his pants and bending over. Figuring any old ride is better than a walk, the gay man steps up, slathers some spit on himself as lube, and slides into the awaiting orifice. He starts the usual process of penetrate, withdraw...in, out...and suddenly notices a foul odor. He grabs the mans hips and, without stopping, backs him up far enough to see what's going on in the glow of the streetlights. He sees something VERY dark, the smell is worse, and he realizes with horror that his entire crotch is covered with warm, runny feces. "WHAT THE HELL?!" he yells, pulling out and backing away, gagging. The bum looks innocently back over his shoulder, bats his eyes, and asks "Whatthss wrong? Did I cum to sthoon?" Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Most. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I've got a simple answer. I don't give my phone number out to anyone. Whenever it rings, I *know* it's a telemarketer and I only answer if I feel like having some fun with the poor sap on the other end of the line. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It does appear to be authentic (minus the ellipse at the start). http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/2005/pinter-lecture.html Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

One need not be a pothead to see the problems with the "war on drugs." I'm certainly not. Anyhow, drugs are only illegal because theocrats think they should be able to force others to bow to their moral standards, and the socialist leanings of society think others need to be protected from themselves (though nobody wants such laws to protect them from themself). I don't care whether an employee of mine smokes pot, snorts coke, or shoots heroin on his own time, as long as he's clear-headed and productive on my time. Actually, I can see valid reasons why employers might not hire smokers...unproductive smoke breaks and cheaper health insurance. I'd bet there's an even bigger correlation between sick days taken per year by parents and expecting parents versus non-parents. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Exactly. If enough quality candidates refuse to work for companies with such hiring criteria, they will have to either change the way they do business or settle for lower quality employees. If it affects their bottom line, you can bet they'll change. Candidates don't *have* to submit to such checks, and employers don't *have* to demand them. Society deems whether they are acceptable. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)