Southern_Man

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Everything posted by Southern_Man

  1. Southern_Man
    You should ignore the calorie burn number. It is based on some sort of set formula with no accounting for individual variation. You can get an estimate of that off of the web anyway that is just as good for anything you would want to use it for. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  2. Southern_Man
    I'd be inclined to pay more if "she" didn't talk to me. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  3. Southern_Man
    I just got my license. I want to jump w/ other people to improve my skills and have fun. To do that, I am going to do a couple of things: 1. Be honest w/ everybody about my experience so they know what they are getting into (I guess we are relatively a smaller DZ, so I think most people know that already). 2. Start small and build. I've only done one jump w/ somebody since getting my license. It was a 2 way and we worked on simple turns. It was good, successful and confidence building. I plan to stick w/ that kind of dive for a while. Given that, if somebody told me I messed up his/her jump, I don't think I'd be inclined to jump w/ that person again. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  4. Southern_Man
    There are Mormon churches in California, too. Would you silence them as well? "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  5. Southern_Man
    Or maybe they simply can't compete with a monopoly. You keep going back to this monopoly idea. Who had a monopoly on ideas? I look at the political landscape and see a huge host of different advocacy organizations who are advocating different positions. Some of those positions are diametrically oppossed to each other. You would really want to shut down the opportunity for people to come together voluntarily and pool their money to speak for gun control or against gun control? For abortion or against abortion? Seems like people have ample opportunities to fund speech on a wide variety of issues. I just don't see that we should be limiting speech. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  6. Southern_Man
    Plenty of ideas? Yes. Plenty of well funded people interested in financing different ideas? No. Not unless they are forced to. Newton's first law applies. If your ideas can't garner funding, maybe they aren't very attractive ideas? "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  7. Southern_Man
    Nope, haven't subscribed to one in years. I get almost all my news online and don't have time to read enough of the paper every day to make it worthwhile. I also don't need the paper piling up. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  8. Southern_Man
    Which is highly unlikely when the marketplace is unregulated to the level that monopolies are allowed to flourish. An unchecked free market is dangerous. Are the market force purists here in America willing to allow another country to win? Just curious. Honestly I'm not sure what you are talking about? Do you really think the marketplace of ideas is in danger of being monopolized? Seems there are plenty of ideas out there and plenty of different people willing to fund them. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  9. Southern_Man
    Government already pays for rehab. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  10. Southern_Man
    That presupposes you have the financial wherewithal to enable you to compete. Removing corporate restrictions moves this far, FAR in their favor. One way to counter the influence of large groups is to counter-organize into your own large groups. That's what the NRA, Sierra Club, just about all focused lobbying organizations are. Banning speech by all of them and only allowing protection to individuals is only going to allow very rich invidiuals to have a voice. I don't think that is healthy either. Either that or there will be very selective enforcement on what is considered political speech that violates the protocols. If your ideas are powerful enough and enough people believe in them you can gain the financial wherewithal to compete. If you can't compete, maybe you need better ideas. People vote with their dollars. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  11. Southern_Man
    This decision is leans far more towards keeping with judicial precendent than it does judicial activism. Money as speech and a wary eye towards limitations on political speech are well established (although not 100% absolutes). It does clash w/ another proclaimed conservative value, deference of the courts to the leigslature. Sometimes those core values come into conflict, can't have everything. I'm personally in favor of this decision but I tend to be pretty close to an absolutist on free speech issues. Seems that airing issue advocacy ads is also part of free association (in coming together as advocacy organizations like the Sierra Club and NRA) and petitioning the government for a redress of grievances (although this is indirect). If you do not like the decision, well the answer to wrong headed speech is more speech. Let the ideas clash in the marketplace. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  12. Southern_Man
    You can become an anarchist if you want to. I looked into it for a while, but they didn't have much of a softball league. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  13. Southern_Man
    Still a problem. A simple mechanical problem w/ floor mats and pedals should not take this long to fix and would be unlikely to affect this many disparate models (they are not all using the same pedal assembly, but they are all using the same software): http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-toyota-sales27-2010jan27,0,6537444.story?page=1 From the Article: For safety experts, the continuing escalation of the acceleration problem is deeply worrying. "What I smell is desperation from a company that is trying to get a situation under control that already is out of control," said Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, an auto safety consulting firm. He and other experts believe that while stuck pedals and floor mats may cause some incidents of unintended acceleration, the majority of the cases are linked to the computer-driven electronic throttle systems used on all Toyota and Lexus vehicles. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  14. Southern_Man
    I have absolutely no faith in our courts or system fo justice. It is not just or fair. I would try to do everything I could not to serve. I've spent a lot of time in court rooms w/ different jobs over the years. The kinds of things that get handed out would make your head spin. Most of the barking dog type stuff doesn't get a jury, though, at least not in Virginia. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  15. Southern_Man
    Why in the world would anybody pay to watch bad basketball? "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  16. Southern_Man
    I've been to Haiti, not sure why anybody would want to vacation there, earthquake or not. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  17. Southern_Man
    I believe federal employees now pay into Social Security. Anyway, my father is a recently retired fed and he had the choice to convert or not a few years before he retried (chose not to) but my understanding from him was that all future employees had to. Also, minister's can exempt themselves from Social Security contributions. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  18. Southern_Man
    I have the same breakfast about 90% of the time. Bowl of oatmeal w/ some kind of fruit added (blueberries currently) and a hard boiled egg for protein. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  19. Southern_Man
    First jumps were out of the Otter, just like all my other jumps so far. At some point it will be fun to jump other places and out of other aircraft. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  20. Southern_Man
    I finished my A on Saturday, too. Now it's time to buy a rig. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  21. Southern_Man
    The more people argue about semantics and the meaning of a word the more convinced I am that my answer is the right one. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  22. Southern_Man
    Enjoying a Hop Head red Ale from a brewery in San Diego. This is a new one on me but pretty good. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  23. Southern_Man
    Plus, the parts of the Dominican that are nearest to the border are mountainous villages, not major population centers. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  24. Southern_Man
    I'm confused on the current status. I thought the lawsuit had just been suspended, not dismissed, due to the Strong bankruptcy filing. Has it been suspended or dismissed? "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"
  25. Southern_Man
    Charities are required to file tax forms with disclosures of such things as administrative overhead. They will send those to prospective donors who ask (most will, if they won't then don't donate w/ them). Also, there are places on the net (Guidestar is one w/ a good reputation) which will allow you to research charitable organizations. unfortunately even charities have a hard time monitoring what happens to their funds in foreign lands. Even if they pass the Guidestar test the funds may still disappear or be misappropriated at the local level. There is, also unfortunately, a ton of corruption in Haitian society which makes this task even more complex. "What if there were no hypothetical questions?"