I hate to be un-PC, but she is gorgeous as well as talented.

re: #1 reflections of a raging redneck

She's exotically pretty, in a way that avant garde fashionistas like.

As mentioned last night, I'm currently digging around the Villa-Lobos catalog to see what I fancy (at least for now.) Last night I posted a link to the very rarely heard but beautiful "Naufrágio de Kleônicos".

At that same recording session (conducted by Silvio Barbato, who died in that mysterious plane crash in the Atlantic, from Brazil, a few years ago) Villa-Lobos' "Elegie" for cello and orchestra was performed. Composed in 1916, listed as W108 in the Appleby catalog, but given the designation "opus 87" previously, it is found on a couple of albums at Amazon, but still few are probably familiar with it.

Anyway, I find it to be an exceedingly lovely early 20th century piece.

So here it is, Barbato conducting Villa-Lobos' Elegie :

cool video.. Makes you wonder how all the random themes are supposed to tie together. I think the short answer is they don't.

Annoying Fake baby is still annoying.

However, it cries less than the Princess did at the same age.

Seriously, Annoying Fake baby is all of the negatives of a baby, and none of the positives, being a chunk of lifeless plastic. It's crying right now.

I think it's programmed to fuss all evening, because that's what real babies often do.

Looks like my laptop is overheating. I haven't heard the fan spin up all night.
BBL

Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall

re: #3 freetoken

Really nice... I'm sitting here listening, thinking it sounds like the score to some old movie or musical my family might have watched on TV waay back in the day..

Apros of nothing, this was my reaction to the news that a company hired by the RNC is being investigated for voter registration 'irregularities':

"And then did Tyolous say to the people to the Low Plains, seek not the wickedness amonst your neighbours, lest it find purchase in your own house".

(Bonus marks to anyone who gets that).

PS: I wonder if the GOP will use this a part of the push for voter ID? If it doesn't fit the classic definition of chutzpah, it comes pretty darn close.

re: #9 Mich-again

Quite a bit of movie music has been influenced by the more serious composers of the early 20th century - some even directly wrote soundtracks for movies, e.g. Shostakovich.

The early 20th century composers like Debussy, Villa-Lobos, etc., wrote luxuriant music, "full figured" melodies, etc. Some 20th century composers were very experimental of course and their music has had a hard time finding an audience, but I think most music used in films have their roots directly in the very end of the Romantic period and the early transition in the 20th century to what I guess we can call post-modern music.

For those who haven't caught it yet, tonight's edition of Dr. Who appears to be a major turning point in the 2005-era of the series. Some good videography, too.

Ryan Lindsey - Introspective Personality

re: #11 freetoken

but I think most music used in films have their roots directly in the very end of the Romantic period and the early transition in the 20th century to what I guess we can call post-modern music.

Its the right mix of instruments to go anywhere..

Regina Spektor - "On The Radio"

The skin is starting to slip off the frame.

[Link: www.guardian.co.uk...]

Interesting pic.

re: #16 darthstar

The skin is starting to slip off the frame.

[Link: www.guardian.co.uk...]

Interesting pic.

So....

Get working on a new "Downfall" spoof?
/

re: #16 darthstar

The skin is starting to slip off the frame.

[Link: www.guardian.co.uk...]

Interesting pic.

Really gotta love the delicious irony of this whole election. It was the GOP's to lose and they're doing so in spectacular fashion. Their insistence on no compromises and on a "conservative" ticket has ensured that they are simply so repugnant, people who might have voted for Romney simply out of disapproval of how the economy's being handled are voting for Obama out of fear of the GOP retaking the White House.

re: #18 Targetpractice

Really gotta love the delicious irony of this whole election. It was the GOP's to lose and they're doing so in spectacular fashion. Their insistence on no compromises and on a "conservative" ticket has ensured that they are simply so repugnant, people who might have voted for Romney simply out of disapproval of how the economy's being handled are voting for Obama out of fear of the GOP retaking the White House.

But Rush says the most conservative candidate will always win.

re: #19 Kragar

But Rush says the most conservative candidate will always win.

[Embedded content]

That's because Rush and ever other conservative "leader" still seems to think it's 1980 and the key to winning any election is comparing the Democrat to Jimmy Carter.

Friedman: Romney's still living in 1989

For the first time in a long, long time, a Democrat is running for president and has the clear advantage on national security policy. That is not "how things are supposed to be," and Republicans sound apoplectic about it. But there is a reason President Barack Obama is leading on national security, and it was apparent in his U.N. speech last week, which showed a president who understands that we really do live in a more complex world today — and that saying so is not a cop-out. It's a road map. Mitt Romney, given his international business background, should understand this, but he acts instead as if he learned his foreign policy at the International House of Pancakes, where the menu and architecture rarely change.

Rather than really thinking afresh about the world, Romney has chosen instead to go with the same old GOP bacon and eggs — that the Democrats are toothless wimps who won't stand up to our foes or for our values, that the Republicans are tough and that it is 1989 all over again. That is, the U.S. stands astride the globe with unrivaled power to bend the world our way, and the only thing missing is a president with "will." The only thing missing is a president who is ready to simultaneously confront Russia, bash China, tell Iraqis we're not leaving their country, snub the Muslim world by outsourcing our Arab-Israel policy to the prime minister of Israel, green light Israel to bomb Iran — and raise the defense budget while cutting taxes and eliminating the deficit.

It's all "attitude" — without a hint at how we could possibly do all these contradictory things at once, or the simplest acknowledgment that two wars and a giant tax cut under former President George W. Bush has limited our ability to do even half of them.

re: #21 Kragar

Friedman: Romney's still living in 1989

Think that's most apparent with the current crisis, with Obama voicing condemnation of the video as well as of the attacks, while Romney stamps his foot and demands that "something be done." Problem is that he can't say what that "something" is, because we all know the default GOP answer: Send in troops and start cracking skulls. And that's not only financially ruinous, but would have sent exactly the wrong signal.

re: #11 freetoken

Quite a bit of movie music has been influenced by the more serious composers of the early 20th century - some even directly wrote soundtracks for movies, e.g. Shostakovich.

The early 20th century composers like Debussy, Villa-Lobos, etc., wrote luxuriant music, "full figured" melodies, etc. Some 20th century composers were very experimental of course and their music has had a hard time finding an audience, but I think most music used in films have their roots directly in the very end of the Romantic period and the early transition in the 20th century to what I guess we can call post-modern music.

"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Phillip Glass."

re: #21 Kragar

Mitt Romney, given his international business background, should understand this, but he acts instead as if he learned his foreign policy at the International House of Pancakes, where the menu and architecture rarely change.

Now that's an illustrative metaphor!

re: #23 Decatur Deb

"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
Phillip Glass.

"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Interrupting cow."
"Interrupt-"
"MOOOO!"

re: #24 freetoken

Now that's an illustrative metaphor!

And now I want some pancakes...

Wait! WE BOUGHT PIE! BRB!

re: #21 Kragar

Friedman: Romney's still living in 1989

In other words, Romney's a Republican.

The GOP ran out of ideas when the Soviet Union collapsed and they show no signs of trying to find their way in this new world.

re: #26 Kragar

And now I want some pancakes...

Wait! WE BOUGHT PIE! BRB!

...he's not coming back, is he?

re: #20 Targetpractice

That's because Rush and ever other conservative "leader" still seems to think it's 1980 and the key to winning any election is comparing the Democrat to Jimmy Carter.

Which is stupid, since for anyone under 45, Jimmy Carter left office when they were in grade school and he's mostly been the ex-POTUS who did all those Habitat For Humanity commercials, or they know him from history class in school.

re: #28 Targetpractice

...he's not coming back, is he?

re: #27 Lidane

In other words, Romney's a Republican.

The GOP ran out of ideas when the Soviet Union collapsed and they show no signs of trying to find their way in this new world.

They keep forever trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle that was Reagan. After Watergate and Ford, the GOP struck gold and mined it for all it was worth. If the Cold War had kept on, they probably would have won '92 just by scaring people with tales of "Clinton the Draft Dodger" and graving mutterings about how America couldn't afford another Carter in the long fight with the Soviets.

re: #10 Kruk

Apros of nothing, this was my reaction to the news that a company hired by the RNC is being investigated for voter registration 'irregularities':

"And then did Tyolous say to the people to the Low Plains, seek not the wickedness amonst your neighbours, lest it find purchase in your own house".

(Bonus marks to anyone who gets that).

PS: I wonder if the GOP will use this a part of the push for voter ID? If it doesn't fit the classic definition of chutzpah, it comes pretty darn close.

This month Florida GOTV is my hobby. I'm not sure how much of the TPGOP ground game in FL was shut down, or how long it will take them to kludge together a replacement for the contract, But the Romney folks lost 2,000 to 6,000 footsoldiers for at least a critical weekend. That's the price of putting a lot of eggs in one mercenary basket. They should have contracted with Peggy from Siberia.

Our guys on the ground in NW FL were cautiously encouraged.

re: #23 Decatur Deb

Heh, just for you:

re: #28 Targetpractice

...he's not coming back, is he?

He'll be a heavier thinker if he does.

re: #34 Decatur Deb

He'll be a heavier thinker if he does.

Now I've got this image of The Thinker, instead of resting his other hand against his knee, he's got it upturned, a plate with a piece of pie in it holding his gaze.

re: #34 Decatur Deb

He'll be a heavier thinker if he does.

No, I had a lot of fiber yesterday and had some oily food today. Its all cleared out now.

re: #33 freetoken

Heh, just for you:

[Embedded content]

That's amazing with the stop-action film, and pretty horrible without it.

re: #35 Targetpractice

Now I've got this image of The Thinker, instead of resting his other hand against his knee, he's got it upturned, a plate with a piece of pie in it holding his gaze.

"Aristotle Contemplating a Big Mac"

Image: michael-crawford-aristotle-with-a-bust-of-homer-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg

Sign #47 that I'm bored and/or tired: I've started contemplating questions at random. Case in point: "Why don't rifles in futuristic combat video games come with slings?"

re: #39 Targetpractice

Sign #47 that I'm bored and/or tired: I've started contemplating questions at random. Case in point: "Why don't rifles in futuristic combat video games come with slings?"

Magnets.

re: #40 Kragar

Magnets.

It works, but the controlling mechanism to make it so that it can differentiate a soldier "unslinging it" and a random tug would be difficult. Then again, I guess that's where the ultra-sophisticated computers come in.

Child molester declares the election is over; Romney and GOP lost

Klayman: Life after Romney and the Republicans

The economy is in shambles, war is about to break out in the oil-rich Middle East, our "commander in chief," Barack Hussein Obama, is AWOL and instead appears mainly on television shows like "The View" — rather than honestly addressing the recent attack that killed an ambassador and three other Americans in Libya, or meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other world leaders at the United Nations' General Assembly this last week over Iran's nuclear threats. And through it all, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his party continue to sink like a rock in the political polls.

We could belabor the reasons for this crash and burn, but it would take up an entire tome well beyond the word limit of this column — so just stick a fork into Romney and his hapless and disingenuous band of Republican phonies; they are cooked not just with regard to the November elections, but perhaps for all time. If they cannot politically defeat the "mullah in chief" and his incompetent and corrupt socialist, Jew-, Christian- and white-hating comrades (even classless leftist singer Madonna proudly acknowledged this week that Obama is a "black Muslim"), then what is left of the Grand Old Party? Zip!

re: #41 Targetpractice

It works, but the controlling mechanism to make it so that it can differentiate a soldier "unslinging it" and a random tug would be difficult. Then again, I guess that's where the ultra-sophisticated computers come in.

They put sensors in the grip, so it only unlocks when a hand grabs it.

re: #43 Kragar

They put sensors in the grip, so it only unlocks when a hand grabs it.

Are you thinking this up or reading it from a manual?

re: #42 Kragar

Child molester declares the election is over; Romney and GOP lost

Klayman: Life after Romney and the Republicans

Creepy shithead sez what?

re: #44 Targetpractice

Are you thinking this up or reading it from a manual?

I've pondered this before.

The metalstorm project designed electrically fired pistol which only activated if the user was wearing a coded bracelet. If anyone else picked up the gun, it wouldn't fire.

re: #42 Kragar

Child molester declares the election is over; Romney and GOP lost

Klayman: Life after Romney and the Republicans

Mein Gott, the concentrated derp in that article is downright carcinogenic. Seriously, trying to indict Obama, Clinton, and other administration officials for crimes and then "trying them absentia"? Where are the guys in the white coats when you need them?

re: #46 Kragar

I've pondered this before.

The metalstorm project designed electrically fired pistol which only activated if the user was wearing a coded bracelet. If anyone else picked up the gun, it wouldn't fire.

So build something to "unlock" the gun into the soldier's gloves/gauntlets. I could see that. An ID system sorta butts up against the need for soldiers on the battlefield to be able to pick up their comrades weapons if need be.

re: #47 Targetpractice

On Oct. 31, 2012, I will be in Ocala, Fla., presenting evidence to a citizens grand jury, chosen in the ordinary course without regard to politics and biases, seeking the indictment of the likes of President Barack Hussein Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others who have betrayed and terrorized the nation and violated the rule of criminal law. With regard to Obama, not only has he defrauded the American people by being elected president despite his not being a natural born citizen, but he also has compromised, in treasonous fashion, our national security. Once indicted, we will then seek to try him for these crimes. If he refuses to appear at trial, which he surely will, the people will try him in abstentia.

In effect, along with a coterie of other patriots, we will make Ocala in 2012 what Philadelphia was to the colonies in 1776. Please join us in the noble cause, as We the People have been abandoned and scorned by our so-called leaders for far too long. See [Link: www.citizensgrandjury.com....] Now it is our time to risk our fortunes, sacred honor and lives to preserve the nation, using the rights that our Founding Fathers bequeathed to us: the citizens grand jury.

Allegations uncovered that right wing pundit Larry Klayman sexually abused his own children

I'm guessing these claims won't be discussed.

re: #47 Targetpractice

Mein Gott, if the concentrated derp in that article is downright carcinogenic. Seriously, trying to indict Obama, Clinton, and other administration officials for crimes and then "trying them absentia"? Where are the guys in the white coats when you need them?

He's not raving in a vacuum. The 'citizens grand jury' crap is an element of the sovereign citizen bullshit. They are too trigger-happy to be dismissed as simple loons.

Here's the money quote from a couple layers down in his website pile:

However, if the courts refuse and the executive branch does not carry out its duties by, for instance, arresting the criminally accused, Americans do have a right to make “citizens arrests,” hold trials and legally mete out punishment in their own right. Indeed, this is what occurred in the western part of the United States, in particular, during our early years as a nation – before there was a developed federal court system and executive branch.

re: #49 Kragar

Allegations uncovered that right wing pundit Larry Klayman sexually abused his own children

I'm guessing these claims won't be discussed.

I've noticed that bullshit artists tend to respond to allegations such as these in one of two ways: Suddenly making themselves scarce or just yelling louder in the hopes that people won't notice they've started sweating like a pig.

re: #48 Targetpractice

So build something to "unlock" the gun into the soldier's gloves/gauntlets. I could see that. An ID system sorta butts up against the need for soldiers on the battlefield to be able to pick up their comrades weapons if need be.

Not really, if you encode one for all soldiers in a given unit or theater of operation, cycle the codes like crypto codes every few days.

re: #16 darthstar

The skin is starting to slip off the frame.

[Link: www.guardian.co.uk...]

Interesting pic.

Indeed. Looks like a man being pulled (or thrown) out of the air-lock....

re: #52 Kragar

Not really, if you encode one for all soldiers in a given unit or theater of operation, cycle the codes like crypto codes every few days.

What I was thinking of was more like a Judge's sidearm, a DNA scanner or similar system that would make a weapon exclusive to a single soldier.

re: #54 Targetpractice

What I was thinking of was more like a Judge's sidearm, a DNA scanner or similar system that would make a weapon exclusive to a single soldier.

But then you run into the issue you mentioned. What if a soldier needs to pick up a comrades weapon to use?

re: #55 Kragar

But then you run into the issue you mentioned. What if a soldier needs to pick up a comrades weapon to use?

Hence why I said something like that wouldn't work. Perhaps a sort of IFF unit built into the armor, in the gloves/gauntlets, that can be recoded every so many days.

re: #56 Targetpractice

Hence why I said something like that wouldn't work. Perhaps a sort of IFF unit built into the armor, in the gloves/gauntlets, that can be recoded every so many days.

Or go the 40k route.

Genetically modify your soldiers to a degree that the recoil from the rifle would disable an unmodified human.

re: #55 Kragar

But then you run into the issue you mentioned. What if a soldier needs to pick up a comrades weapon to use?

Well, if the instructions are in Demotic, he's in luck:

Demotic Egyptian dictionary completed

re: #57 Kragar

Or go the 40k route.

Genetically modify your soldiers to a degree that the recoil from the rifle would disable an unmodified human.

Or the SPARTAN approach, namely genetically and mechanically augment them to the point where they're already a one-man arm, then stuff them into a 7" tall walking tank.

re: #59 Targetpractice

Or the SPARTAN approach, namely genetically and mechanically augment them to the point where they're already a one-man arm, then stuff them into a 7" tall walking tank.

Image: terminator.jpg

You were saying?

re: #59 Targetpractice

Or the SPARTAN approach, namely genetically and mechanically augment them to the point where they're already a one-man arm, then stuff them into a 7" tall walking tank.

Image: terminator.jpg

You were saying?

re: #22 Targetpractice

Think that's most apparent with the current crisis, with Obama voicing condemnation of the video as well as of the attacks, while Romney stamps his foot and demands that "something be done." Problem is that he can't say what that "something" is, because we all know the default GOP answer: Send in troops and start cracking skulls. And that's not only financially ruinous, but would have sent exactly the wrong signal.

My favorite part of Obama's UN speech was:

Here in the United States, countless publications provoke offense. Like me, the majority of Americans are Christian, and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most sacred beliefs. As president of our country, and commander in chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.

Americans have fought and died around the globe to protect the right of all people to express their views -- even views that we profoundly disagree with. We do so not because we support hateful speech, but because our founders understood that without such protections, the capacity of each individual to express their own views and practice their own faith may be threatened.

We do so because in a diverse society, efforts to restrict speech can quickly become a tool to silence critics and oppress minorities. We do so because, given the power of faith in our lives, and the passion that religious differences can inflame, the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech -- the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy, and lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect.

re: #52 Kragar

Not really, if you encode one for all soldiers in a given unit or theater of operation, cycle the codes like crypto codes every few days.

And hope the enemy never compromises your system and suddenly locks all your soldiers out the morning they start an offensive.

Hmmm, things going screwy?

re: #63 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

And hope the enemy never compromises your system and suddenly locks all your soldiers out the morning they start an offensive.

Yeah, that's the drawback to the idea. Sometimes, the simplest approach is the best. Probably why, even in games that take place centuries from now, projectile weapons have their place. I mean they've been around in one form or another for centuries so far, why get rid of what works?

re: #52 Kragar

Not really, if you encode one for all soldiers in a given unit or theater of operation, cycle the codes like crypto codes every few days.

And hope the enemy doesn't spoof your system and lock your soldiers out while they go on the offensive.

Gordon Dickson's Dorsai novels had infantry fairly simply armed - using rifles that were essentially spring-loaded flechette guns since more complex weaponry was getting spoofed (though I am not sure how once does that to stuff like gunpowder/chemical explosive based ammo.) And a main character surmised that they would eventually end up back to hand-held metal blades eventually.

Though I note that I have seen a number of SF futuristic military books that seem to gotten lost in their story telling and forgotten about a lot of things related to modern military concepts like fire support, heavy weapons, and artillery. Or at least brought out some half-ass hand waving reasons for not including them.

re: #65 Targetpractice

Yeah, that's the drawback to the idea. Sometimes, the simplest approach is the best. Probably why, even in games that take place centuries from now, projectile weapons have their place. I mean they've been around in one form or another for centuries so far, why get rid of what works?

The violent application of physical force always has a place.

re: #64 Kragar

Hmmm, things going screwy?

Had a hung hamsterwheel--reboot cleared it.

re: #66 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

And hope the enemy doesn't spoof your system and lock your soldiers out while they go on the offensive.

Gordon Dickson's Dorsai novels had infantry fairly simply armed - using rifles that were essentially spring-loaded flechette guns since more complex weaponry was getting spoofed (though I am not sure how once does that to stuff like gunpowder/chemical explosive based ammo.) And a main character surmised that they would eventually end up back to hand-held metal blades eventually.

Though I note that I have seen a number of SF futuristic military books that seem to gotten lost in their story telling and forgotten about a lot of things related to modern military concepts like fire support, heavy weapons, and artillery. Or at least brought out some half-ass hand waving reasons for not including them.

You mean like how in the Starship Troopers movies combat had done away completely with things like close air or armored support or tactical advances in favor of a tightly grouped cluster gaggle-fucking their way across the battlefield, firing from the hip?

re: #65 Targetpractice

Yeah, that's the drawback to the idea. Sometimes, the simplest approach is the best. Probably why, even in games that take place centuries from now, projectile weapons have their place. I mean they've been around in one form or another for centuries so far, why get rid of what works?

Apologies for the partial double-post.

I think I have seen some essays espousing that we will probably never get rid of projectile weapons using chemical propulsion; e.g. "guns". It's a compact energy storage method, it's fairly stable for storage, it will work in a vacuum or underwater (given that the rest of the weapon takes the environment into account properly), and it is fairly cheap to produce. Most indications are that energy and laser weapons are simply going to be too bulky, fragile, complex, etc. to fully replace guns. Barring a SF-like hand wave allowing very compact storage of lots of energy in man portable or small vehicle way.

re: #69 Kragar

You mean like how in the Starship Troopers movies combat had done away completely with things like close air or armored support or tactical advances in favor of a tightly grouped cluster gaggle-fucking their way across the battlefield, firing from the hip?

Movies based off a book series for being one of the first to include the concept of powered armor and man-portable nukes?

re: #70 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

Apologies for the partial double-post.

I think I have seen some essays espousing that we will probably never get rid of projectile weapons using chemical propulsion; e.g. "guns". It's a compact energy storage method, it's fairly stable for storage, it will work in a vacuum or underwater (given that the rest of the weapon takes the environment into account properly), and it is fairly cheap to produce. Most indications are that energy and laser weapons are simply going to be too bulky, fragile, complex, etc. to fully replace guns. Barring a SF-like hand wave allowing very compact storage of lots of energy in man portable or small vehicle way.

Well, that's the funny thing, the concept of a man-portable energy weapon is already pretty well fleshed-out. It's just the damned energy storage problem that probably won't be solved for a good while. Short of discovering unobtainium under a rock somewhere.

re: #71 Targetpractice

Movies based off a book series for being one of the first to include the concept of powered armor and man-portable nukes?

The book started off with a platoon being dropped from orbit, establishing a 50 mile long skirmish line, laying waste to everything thing in their path for 500 miles, then evacing all in about 30 minutes.

Hollywood turned it into BMX armor and impractically oversized rifles.

re: #69 Kragar

You mean like how in the Starship Troopers movies combat had done away completely with things like close air or armored support or tactical advances in favor of a tightly grouped cluster gaggle-fucking their way across the battlefield, firing from the hip?

Not even considering that one since it was so bad I saw reviews of the movie in war game magazines touting it as an example of doing everything totally wrong.

One in particular I saw was space mercenary companies being hired out that were essentially just light infantry. (I think the hand wave for not being heavier units was low cargo capacities and getting them landed.) They had hand weapons (rifles) and light MGs I think. Which let them do infantry combat and allow the main character to do some heroic things.

My sense of disbelief went since even this set-up would require fairly heavy logistics support since it would eat ammo. And if you had enough support to keep up with WW2 equivalent ammo usage you would be able to add support for light/pack artillery, or at least mortars. Not a mention as I recall. I figure it didn't fit what the author wanted to do, so it was ignored.

re: #73 Kragar

The book started off with a platoon being dropped from orbit, establishing a 50 mile long skirmish line, laying waste to everything thing in their path for 500 miles, then evacing all in about 30 minutes.

Hollywood turned it into BMX armor and impractically oversized rifles.

You know their thinking, if you can't see the good-looking star inside the armor, then you can't sell the love story. Oh wait, Iron Man does it and it totally works. Hmm...

re: #72 Targetpractice

Well, that's the funny thing, the concept of a man-portable energy weapon is already pretty well fleshed-out. It's just the damned energy storage problem that probably won't be solved for a good while. Short of discovering unobtainium under a rock somewhere.

I pissed off a Trekkie friend of mine who is an engineer by asking him how everyone else survived when a phaser was used to disintegrate someone/something. A bunch of energy is transferred into a object, and it just doesn't disappear - the energy is released into the environment, and if you vaporized someone their bits are going to cool down and condense as well.

re: #76 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

You'd at least expect some thunder.

That'd make the scene more exciting, too.

re: #74 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

Not even considering that one since it was so bad I saw reviews of the movie in war game magazines touting it as an example of doing everything totally wrong.

One in particular I saw was space mercenary companies being hired out that were essentially just light infantry. (I think the hand wave for not being heavier units was low cargo capacities and getting them landed.) They had hand weapons (rifles) and light MGs I think. Which let them do infantry combat and allow the main character to do some heroic things.

My sense of disbelief went since even this set-up would require fairly heavy logistics support since it would eat ammo. And if you had enough support to keep up with WW2 equivalent ammo usage you would be able to add support for light/pack artillery, or at least mortars. Not a mention as I recall. I figure it didn't fit what the author wanted to do, so it was ignored.

40k addressed this with the Lasrifle, the standard weapon of choice for nonmodified humans. The basic energy cell for the rifles can be recharged off of any standard power source in a matter of minutes. In the field, the cells can be charged off of solar power in a few hours, or in an emergency, by exposing them to direct heat, such as a campfire, though this tends to cause them to break down sooner. As for explosives, refinements in technology means the average grenade is about the size of a pill bottle, with most of the mass being the fragmenting shell, not the explosive charge. This refinement in explosive means a regular infantry man can carry more munitions, as they are smaller and lighter than current versions.

Does it bother anyone that when one compares gold and platinum prices:

[Link: charts.kitco.com...]

One gets the impression that something fundamental happened in the 2008 "Great Recession"?

Looking at US Vehicle Miles data:
[Link: www.advisorperspectives.com...]

it looks like lifestyle in these United States has fundamentally altered.

Do you think the coming "debate" this week could even approach to cogently addressing these issues?

re: #78 Kragar

40k addressed this with the Lasrifle, the standard weapon of choice for nonmodified humans. The basic energy cell for the rifles can be recharged off of any standard power source in a matter of minutes. In the field, the cells can be charged off of solar power in a few hours, or in an emergency, by exposing them to direct heat, such as a campfire, though this tends to cause them to break down sooner. As for explosives, refinements in technology means the average grenade is about the size of a pill bottle, with most of the mass being the fragmenting shell, not the explosive charge. This refinement in explosive means a regular infantry man can carry more munitions, as they are smaller and lighter than current versions.

The energy cells are the hand wave. How many watts of energy are being crammed into them?

I believe the big one in Drake's Hammer's Slammers universe was a "plasma" ammo that was essentially energy weapon charges in a plastic case.

re: #80 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

The energy cells are the hand wave. How many watts of energy are being crammed into them?

That is a question only the Tech-Priests of Mars can answer. Any thought of a layman attempting to contemplate the answer is sacrilege.

re: #81 Kragar

That is a question only the Tech-Priests of Mars can answer. Any thought of a layman attempting to contemplate the answer is sacrilege.

Hand Wave required in order to increase dakka quotient of the universe. Understood.

re: #76 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

I pissed off a Trekkie friend of mine who is an engineer by asking him how everyone else survived when a phaser was used to disintegrate someone/something. A bunch of energy is transferred into a object, and it just doesn't disappear - the energy is released into the environment, and if you vaporized someone their bits are going to cool down and condense as well.

Part of what causes Trekkie meltdowns is that the way Paramount has ham-fistedly handled the canon means trying to explain how half the tech works means working with whatever half-assed explanation the writers came up with in one episode or another. Like how Starfleet went from phase pistols to laser pistols to phasers.

Morning, all

re: #79 freetoken

Does it bother anyone that when one compares gold and platinum prices:

[Link: charts.kitco.com...]

One gets the impression that something fundamental happened in the 2008 "Great Recession"?

Looking at US Vehicle Miles data:
[Link: www.advisorperspectives.com...]

it looks like lifestyle in these United States has fundamentally altered.

Do you think the coming "debate" this week could even approach to cogently addressing these issues?

One thing I think happened is that people are traveling less for "minor" vacations. Going up to a cabin for a week, getting out of the city for a few days, etc. where one would drive rather than fly to get somewhere.

In the last few years I have been doing small trips into areas I don't otherwise visit - New York State in the general Albany area and along the upper Hudson Valley; going through the Catskills or Poconos, and so forth. Places that people from NYC or Philadelphia would visit for weekends. And the small businesses in these areas took a beating and haven't recovered.

I drove a section of US-20 west of Albany around Memorial Day when I visited Cooperstown. Built up as typical for the old US routes - little towns and in between are basically stretches of small businesses. In that section a lot of antique stores for instance. A lot of places were boarded up and closed - shops, gas stations, restaurants. Partially dependent on tourists and travelers and that part of the business simply dried up I think.

Skin tags.

Seriously, what the fuck is up with those things?

Another example of a Villa-Lobos work being reinvented. He wrote a major work for orchestra and voices called "Floresta do Amazonas",

a small portion of which was pulled out as a stand alone song that has become well known

Here's the pulled out part in the orchestral setting:

Here's a common sounding version of just the song:

However, artists like to keep varying things, and here is someone who does her own spin on it and working with a saxophonist, giving it a bit of a night-club feel:

It goes on - this song has been redone many times (google it.)

re: #86 Kragar

Skin tags.

Seriously, what the fuck is up with those things?

They're not cancer, so that's nice.

Well, that was a rather nice assault to my mind. Fark sent me first to the American Thinker, then to RCP to have my brain further bashed in by VDH. And I'm left to wonder which was the more delusional.

re: #52 Kragar

Not really, if you encode one for all soldiers in a given unit or theater of operation, cycle the codes like crypto codes every few days.

There is, however, the issue of EMP and the question of if the the electronics can be hardened sufficiently, as well as the threat of broadbeam jamming in the case of RFID. There is also the issue of cost, as you need to design a new and more expensive rifle to handle the tech.

re: #88 Obdicut

They're not cancer, so that's nice.

They are annoying and I will not stand for them.

re: #90 Dark_Falcon

There is, however, the issue of EMP and the question of if the the electronics can be hardened sufficiently, as well as the threat of broadbeam jamming in the case of RFID. There is also the issue of cost, as you need to design a new and more expensive rifle to handle the tech.

Easier solution.

Bio-engineered warrior beasts who read their user's dna.

re: #89 Targetpractice

Well, that was a rather nice assault to my mind. Fark sent me first to the American Thinker, then to RCP to have my brain further bashed in by VDH. And I'm left to wonder which was the more delusional.

What's wrong with Hanson?

re: #92 Kragar

Easier solution.

Bio-engineered warrior beasts who read their user's dna.

[DF turns his head towards Kragar and arches a eyebrow]

re: #94 Dark_Falcon

[DF turns his head towards Kragar and arches a eyebrow]

Fleshborer

The Fleshborer contains a compact brood nest where Borer Beetles lay their eggs, which hatch and mature, sustained by the weapon for future use as ammunition. The weapon is connected directly with the creature using it and apparently runs off of the creature's bodily functions[Needs Citation].

The beetles move very little until the weapon is triggered by a massive electro-chemical shock which drives the beetle into sudden frenzied action [2]. Using their powerful flea-like legs they launch themselves out of the weapon at tremendous speed. On striking they expend their life energy in a matter of seconds, boring frenziedly through the target's armour, flesh and bone. If however the beetle fails to find a target, or hits something that even in its frenzied state it cannot bore through, it quickly dies regardless.[1a]

Murdoch and his various allies are definitely finding an audience, as always... Here's some "letters" to the editor the Las Vegas Review-Journal just published:

National media have elected Obama

The news coverage of this presidential race by the three major TV networks demonstrates how desperate they are to make sure Mitt Romney does not get elected.

[... ABC, CBS and NBC ... ] evening news broadcasts with a minimum of 10 minutes showing, by the way in which they were covering the story, how Romney has essentially killed his chances for election with the statements he made about 47 percent of Americans not paying taxes. [...]

This same coverage was continued, again for a minimum of 10 minutes each, on the morning shows of the three major networks the next day.

Our ambassador is murdered along with three other Americans. The Middle East is on fire with anti-American demonstrations. France has temporarily closed embassies in 20 countries over publication of more Muhammad cartoons. Our flag is being burned and President Barack Obama refuses to meet with the prime minister of Israel - one of our strongest allies in the region. All of these stories are not reported or are under-reported because they are just "bumps in the road," because Mr. Obama has decreed it to be so, and the media quickly agree.

Today, we have all of the networks broadcasting new polls that show Mr. Obama winning all of the battleground states and essentially saying that the race is over. Ohio is gone, Florida is gone, etc. These polls are so heavily over-sampled with Democrats and under-sampled with Republicans and independents that they are a joke, but they provide the narrative the national media want to portray on this race.

The truth is that if Mr. Obama had the large leads being reported by these phony polls, [...]
BARRY PEREA

LAS VEGAS

PHONEY POLLS!
BUMP IN THE ROAD!!
ANTI-ISRAEL!!
MUSLIMS!!!!!!!!!!

Next one:

Building a welfare state

To the editor:

I decided to do some further research on why that 47 percent will vote for Obama. [some crazy numbers] The analysis can be found at zerohedge.com.

If a welfare recipient decides to earn some extra money, [various scenarios proclaiming welfare recipients are financially better off not to find a job.]

In essence, the Obama-Reid-Pelosi socialists have successfully built a welfare state that imprisons 47 percent of Americans.

WARREN WILLIS SR.

LAS VEGAS

PELOSI!!

SOCIALISTS!!

re: #93 Dark_Falcon

What's wrong with Hanson?

He seems to be one in the growing camp of poll doubters, who are convinced that Obama's poll numbers are either artificially pumped up or illusory. Didn't come out and say it, at least in the article I read, but I saw the general theme in both articles. Namely that Obama's lead is just like Carter's, Romney is gonna pull a Reagan in the debates and win over the fence-sitters, and the election simply isn't in doubt.

I seriously am beginning to wonder if these folks stop and think about what all this ego-stroking is gonna do for their enthusiasm. There's a point where it actually becomes counter-productive, when telling folks that the election's in the bag and Romney has no reason to sweat convinces conservatives to stay home because "there's no way Obama can win!"

re: #96 freetoken

Mr. Perea has at a point, even though he's not entirely right: If this was a president less liked by the media, we'd see a wave of stories of how "overseas disasters have turned the tide of the election and exposed the president's failures". Instead we see the media going after Romney.

Mr. Willis may have a good argument, in logic at least, about how welfare can trap its recipients bind them to the party that favors said welfare. do you know if his numbers are accurate?

Sean Penn is NOT going to be pleased!!!
[Link: www.telegraph.co.uk...]

Venezuela's marathon man looks to run down Chavez
Henrique Capriles, an opposition leader who runs marathons in his spare time, hopes to give Hugo Chavez a close race in elections next weekend, reports Philip Sherwell.

re: #97 Targetpractice

He seems to be one in the growing camp of poll doubters, who are convinced that Obama's poll numbers are either artificially pumped up or illusory. Didn't come out and say it, at least in the article I read, but I saw the general theme in both articles. Namely that Obama's lead is just like Carter's, Romney is gonna pull a Reagan in the debates and win over the fence-sitters, and the election simply isn't in doubt.

I seriously am beginning to wonder if these folks stop and think about what all this ego-stroking is gonna do for their enthusiasm. There's a point where it actually becomes counter-productive, when telling folks that the election's in the bag and Romney has no reason to sweat convinces conservatives to stay home because "there's no way Obama can win!"

Your reference is to this article, I presume. I'd agree its not one of Hanson's best. Mitt Romney isn't Ronald Reagan and hasn't shown Reagan's ability to connect with the public, Some of that, IMO, stems from the fact that, unlike Reagan, Romney faces a restive party base that really would have preferred someone else as the nominee.

Morning Honcos.

re: #101 Cannadian Club Akbar

Morning Honcos.

there goes the neighborhood

re: #100 Dark_Falcon

Your reference is to this article, I presume. I'd agree its not one of Hanson's best. Mitt Romney isn't Ronald Reagan and hasn't shown Reagan's ability to connect with the public, Some of that, IMO, stems from the fact that, unlike Reagan, Romney faces a restive party base that really would have preferred someone else as the nominee.

Indeed, that's the article I speak of. And you can see why I say that, while he's not coming out and saying it, he's heavily implying that there's no need to worry because something will knock Obama off his lead and help Romney win.

re: #103 Targetpractice

Indeed, that's the article I speak of. And you can see why I say that, while he's not coming out and saying it, he's heavily implying that there's no need to worry because something will knock Obama off his lead and help Romney win.

I still think Mitt can use the debates for good effect, but he's going to have to use them to make the case for himself, as Rich Lowry, Newt Gingrich, and Charles Krauthammer have all urged him to do in the past few days. He needs to take the time and effort to explain why he would be a better president than Barack Obama.

re: #104 Dark_Falcon

I still think Mitt can use the debates for good effect, but he's going to have to use them to make the case for himself, as Rich Lowry, Newt Gingrich, and Charles Krauthammer have all urged him to do in the past few days. He needs to take the time and effort to explain why he would be a better president than Barack Obama.

And like I said before, the time for that came and went. The RNC was supposed to be the big event where he stands up and tells America what he plans to do and how he plans to do it. The debates are where you're supposed to defend that stuff while knocking the other guy around, not giving him massive opening by laying out your plans for him to poke holes in.

re: #105 Targetpractice

And like I said before, the time for that came and went. The RNC was supposed to be the big event where he stands up and tells America what he plans to do and how he plans to do it. The debates are where you're supposed to defend that stuff while knocking the other guy around, not giving him massive opening by laying out your plans for him to poke holes in.

The convention might have been the best time, but the debates are still a decent time. And its a thing that has to be done, regardless of whether its the right time.

re: #106 Dark_Falcon

The convention might have been the best time, but the debates are still a decent time. And its a thing that has to be done, regardless of whether its the right time.

It's a thing that carries a risk that has no guarantee of reward. His campaign's kept everything under wraps, with both the candidate and his VP saying at least once that they can't tell folks because it might make some voters change their minds. Laying it all out in the debates not only gives Obama the opening, it also leaves him choosing between playing to the base or to indies. Sorry, but he can't please them both.

Based on what they've done so far, the Romney campaign can only reinvent itself 6 or 7 times before the election, but I feel confident they're going to give it their pest shot all 6 or 7 times.

And with that, I'm going to bed.

re: #107 Targetpractice

It's a thing that carries a risk that has no guarantee of reward. His campaign's kept everything under wraps, with both the candidate and his VP saying at least once that they can't tell folks because it might make some voters change their minds. Laying it all out in the debates not only gives Obama the opening, it also leaves him choosing between playing to the base or to indies. Sorry, but he can't please them both.

Many things are risks without certain reward. But who would know that better than a venture capitalist?

"He who will not risk cannot win." - Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson

re: #109 Dark_Falcon

Many things are risks without certain reward. But who would know that better than a venture capitalist?

"He who will not risk cannot win." - Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson

"If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever." - Thomas Aquinas

Now, seriously, bed.

re: #109 Dark_Falcon

Many things are risks without certain reward. But who would know that better than a venture capitalist?

"He who will not risk cannot win." - Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson

Seriously, where to start? The tax plan no economist has been able to make work? The on again, off again relationship he has with Medicare and vouchers? His pounding the bully pulpit to be tougher on countries he's got investments in? His abandonment of the one major accomplishment of his political career?

Hell, I could write the script for Obama's response to any plan Romney lays out in one question: "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

re: #111 Targetpractice

Seriously, where to start? The tax plan no economist has been able to make work? The on again, off again relationship he has with Medicare and vouchers? His pounding the bully pulpit to be tougher on countries he's got investments in? His abandonment of the one major accomplishment of his political career?

Hell, I could write the script for Obama's response to any plan Romney lays out in one question: "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

And Romney could say, "Well, I'm telling you now". Remember, most of the voting public has an attention span of a ferret on a double espresso. Like I've said before, some will choose based on the last political commercial they heard on the radio before voting.

re: #112 Cannadian Club Akbar

And Romney could say, "Well, I'm telling you now". Remember, most of the voting public has an attention span of a ferret on a double espresso. Like I've said before, some will choose based on the last political commercial they heard on the radio before voting.

hell,, some will choose based on the last lawn sign they see before entering the polling station!

re: #112 Cannadian Club Akbar

And Romney could say, "Well, I'm telling you now". Remember, most of the voting public has an attention span of a ferret on a double espresso. Like I've said before, some will choose based on the last political commercial they heard on the radio before voting.

"And what will you be telling us tomorrow?" Romney can't run away from being a flip-flopper, not when he's got a long list of statements that he walked back, some not even within 24 hours of making them. And whether his supporters acknowledge it or not, "47%" is still out there, despite his attempts to play it down or suggest that his words "weren't elegant."

re: #114 Targetpractice

"And what will you be telling us tomorrow?" Romney can't run away from being a flip-flopper, not when he's got a long list of statements that he walked back, some not even within 24 hours of making them. And whether his supporters acknowledge it or not, "47%" is still out there, despite his attempts to play it down or suggest that his were "weren't elegant."

The debates, which I won't watch, should be interesting. Romney is very plastic and Obama isn't quick on his feet.

re: #115 Cannadian Club Akbar

The debates, which I won't watch, should be interesting. Romney is very plastic and Obama isn't quick on his feet.

Did you happen to watch the unscripted session he had with the house Republicans on health care?

He's quick on his feet.

re: #116 Obdicut

Did you happen to watch the unscripted session he had with the house Republicans on health care?

He's quick on his feet.

Indeed, the man is able to hold his own.

Is it me or is this garbage?

My Take: 'I'm spiritual but not religious' is a cop-out
By Alan Miller, Special to CNN

re: #118 Gus

I say garbage. You can be spiritual and not follow a deity.

re: #119 Cannadian Club Akbar

I say garbage. You can be spiritual and not follow a deity.

Fucking hippies!!!
/

re: #117 Targetpractice

Indeed, the man is able to hold his own.

Against Romney maybe. If it were Newt Gingrich debating Obama, then I think Obama would lose. But he is going to be debating Romney, who may have Newt's advice but lacks the other man's debate sense.

Newt knows that, though, hence his advice to Romney: Be assertive, make your case, and don't back down when Obama counter attacks. It's designed to have Romney make a case and then survive. Then you use that experience to prepare the next debate. But sitting presidents typically aren't at their best in the first debate, so Romney should be able to make the strategy work if he wants to do so.

re: #121 Dark_Falcon

Against Romney maybe. If it were Newt Gingrich debating Obama, then I think Obama would lose. But he is going to be debating Romney, who may have Newt's advice but lacks the other man's debate sense.

Newt knows that, though, hence his advice to Romney: Be assertive, make your case, and don't back down when Obama counter attacks. It's designed to have Romney make a case and then survive. Then you use that experience to prepare the next debate. But sitting presidents typically aren't at their best in the first debate, so Romney should be able to make the strategy work if he wants to do so.

Do you think that Romney ever takes anyone else's advice? It seems to me that either he doesn't or he has surrounded himself with clueless buffoons as advisers.

re: #119 Cannadian Club Akbar

I say garbage. You can be spiritual and not follow a deity.

6th grade level. It stems from some faker "battle of ideas" thing this bozo helps put together. I don't know if he wrote this but this is also pretty stupid...

I'm so spiritual

‘I’m not religious – I’m spiritual,’ is an increasingly common sentiment on both sides of the Atlantic. But what does it mean? Is self-styled ‘spirituality’ simply a different form of religion, or does it represent a fundamental departure, even a threat to traditional religion?

...

Are authors like Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens right to argue religious Americans have been duped somehow into adopting irrational beliefs? Or is it the New Atheists who are to be pitied for their lack of belief in anything beyond themselves? Some argue there is a psychological, biological and emotional drive to feel some kind of resonance with something like the divine. Some have even suggested environmentalism is a new form of secular religion, and psychotherapy is an attempt to handle sin and confession in a scientific way. Others see both the decline of religious faith and its apparent revival (in the form of Islam as well as some types of Christianity) as a reflection of broader ideological developments in recent history, in particular a loss of faith in human progress. So is the rise of ‘spiritual’ sentiment just another expression of our religious nature as human beings, or is it something new? And is it to be welcomed as life-affirming, or challenged as a new form of superstition?

Or is it the New Atheists who are to be pitied for their lack of belief in anything beyond themselves?

What?

re: #121 Dark_Falcon

Against Romney maybe. If it were Newt Gingrich debating Obama, then I think Obama would lose. But he is going to be debating Romney, who may have Newt's advice but lacks the other man's debate sense.

Newt knows that, though, hence his advice to Romney: Be assertive, make your case, and don't back down when Obama counter attacks. It's designed to have Romney make a case and then survive. Then you use that experience to prepare the next debate. But sitting presidents typically aren't at their best in the first debate, so Romney should be able to make the strategy work if he wants to do so.

That's just it, Obama's got the advantage that this isn't a make-or-break debate for him. He just has to avoid letting Romney get under his skin or lead him into a gaffe. For Romney, it's his last big chance at a breakout. If he can't put a serious dent in the Obama mystique on the first night, then the donors are gonna bail. And with them goes any chance he had at regaining the momentum via carpet bombing ads into the final weeks.

re: #119 Cannadian Club Akbar

I say garbage. You can be spiritual and not follow a deity.

he's just praying that the girls with the bikinis come his way

re: #125 sattv4u2

he's just praying that the girls with the bikinis come his way

Probably.

Image: large.gif

re: #126 Gus

Probably.

Image: large.gif

Disappointed, not what I was expecting.

re: #123 Gus

6th grade level. It stems from some faker "battle of ideas" thing this bozo helps puts together. I don't know if he wrote this but this is also pretty stupid...

I'm so spiritual

Or is it the New Atheists who are to be pitied for their lack of belief in anything beyond themselves?

What?

Sorry Gus, if you don't understand, I can't explain it to you.
///

re: #127 ozbloke

Disappointed, not what I was expecting.

You were expecting a dork but instead got a super dork?

re: #129 Cannadian Club Akbar

You were expecting a dork but instead got a super dork?

I was hoping for the bikini pics.

re: #130 ozbloke

I was hoping for the bikini pics.

[Link: www.bikiniweatherpictures.com...]

re: #124 Targetpractice

That's just it, Obama's got the advantage that this isn't a make-or-break debate for him. He just has to avoid letting Romney get under his skin or lead him into a gaffe. For Romney, it's his last big chance at a breakout. If he can't put a serious dent in the Obama mystique on the first night, then the donors are gonna bail. And with them goes any chance he had at regaining the momentum via carpet bombing ads into the final weeks.

Romney has to stand firm and make his case. He doesn't have to dent Obama directly, just present himself as the credible alternative to Obama.

re: #132 Dark_Falcon

Romney has to stand firm and make his case. He doesn't have to dent Obama directly, just present himself as the credible alternative to Obama.

And what case can he make? How does he explain plans that should have been blocks of time at the convention in span of 1 minute apiece? People want details, details he's refused to talk about in public, details that can be dissected and analyzed. Like I said above, no economist has been able to go over the proclamations he's made on the campaign trail about what he's going to do to the tax code and come up with a viable plan. Yet he's supposed to lay it all out in a minute?

Ryan is being led around like a horse this morning on Fox. Even used the word stagflation. All that's old is new again.

re: #134 Shropshire_Slasher

Ryan is being led around like a horse this morning on Fox. Even used the word stagflation. All that's old is new again.

I suppose the fact that inflation is very low at the moment doesn't affect Fox or Ryan's narrative at all.

re: #132 Dark_Falcon

Then why the hell hasn't he done that in the,what,almost 2 yrs of this campaign? I'd LOVE it if he would have laid out why he's the sensible and principled alternative to Obama. He hasn't,if anything he's come off like a smarmy used car salesman. If I was a dyed in the wool conservative I'd be extraordinarily pissed at my party right now.

Most of the country is not far right,no matter how much the right wing thinks so. Most of us are someplace in the middle of the road.Taking that even further,if you sat down with most people of all political stripes and just named solid policy(like making public education better for their kids,making sure families could survive on a 40-50 hour workweek,making sure the infrastructure works,that college or trade school won't break the bank,etc),without attaching party or ideology to it,most people would agree on that stuff. Cutting waste in government(redundant programs,defense waste and fraud,etc.)would be another area most of us could agree needs work. The GOP isn't proposing anything concrete except fewer taxes and being stingy and mean with their cuts. It has to stop for the good of the country. If the GOP wants to GOVERN,then they need to tell us how. Period. They aren't.

re: #135 Obdicut

For now, however, I've been worried about massive inflation since 9-12-2001. Only thing that went up was house prices, beer, and oil.

Mornin' everyone. Happy Sunday.

re: #137 Shropshire_Slasher

For now, however, I've been worried about massive inflation since 9-12-2001. Only thing that went up was house prices, beer, and oil.

I'm sorry, I really don't understand why you're worried about massive inflation? The house prices were obviously an over-evaluation, so that's no indicator of any fundamental reason for inflation.

re: #132 Dark_Falcon

Romney has to stand firm and make his case. He doesn't have to dent Obama directly, just present himself as the credible alternative to Obama.

And that's exactly what he won't be able to do because he'll no more have a real credible plan than he'll release his older tax returns. He isn't not telling details of his "plans" because he's been saving them for the debates, DF, he's not telling them because he hasn't got a clue. And his problem all along has been that the more people see of him the less they like him - this is going to be his biggest audience yet and, I'd bet, he'll drop 5% to 10% afterwards.

He's like a Democratic dream of a Republican candidate - the weaknesses of Mondale, Kerry, & Gore rolled up into a single candidate - arrogant, clueless, flip flopper, questionable honesty, etc.

Now I've been voting Democratic (despite their center- right tendencies) all my life and I've seen them snatch defeat from the jaws of victory more than once. But this time the only solid base Mittens has is the racist right. The religious right doesn't like or trust him and the fiscal right is marginalized by the TPer's who don't think he's conservative enough. He's on a track to ensure Obama's re-election and I can't help but remember Napoleon's maxim: Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. Obama will smile and hand Mittens more than enough rope.

re: #132 Dark_Falcon

Romney has to stand firm and make his case. He doesn't have to dent Obama directly, just present himself as the credible alternative to Obama.

You'll be saying this on November 5. He's got to stand firm and make his case, but time is getting short. Yeah. He's got three days to define his case, memorize it, and then hope he can articulate it in 90 second pitches while also pulling some 300 zingers out of his quiver to shoot at Obama. Which do you think he'll rely on in the debate? Zingers or policy details?

re: #139 Obdicut

And gold. I have been worried, but that worry has been proven to be unwarranted. With money so cheap to borrow, we have not had inflation.

Assholes ---->

Only 41% of Denver Public Schools students are proficient in math. It's time to #breakthemonopoly bit.ly/SchMg5

— U.S. Chamber's ICW (@USChamberICW) September 28, 2012

re: #143 Gus

Assholes ---->

[Embedded content]

In a related story, 5/4ths of people don't understand fractions.
///

re: #144 Cannadian Club Akbar

In a related story, 5/4ths of people don't understand fractions.
///

Would that be future people?

There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who do not.

;P

re: #142 Shropshire_Slasher

And gold. I have been worried, but that worry has been proven to be unwarranted. With money so cheap to borrow, we have not had inflation.

What I'm asking is why you are worried about it at all. There's nothing about the current situation that would appear to lead to inflation, unless the Fed stupidly kept the interest rates low once the economy takes off again.

re: #141 darthstar

You'll be saying this on November 5. He's got to stand firm and make his case, but time is getting short. Yeah. He's got three days to define his case, memorize it, and then hope he can articulate it in 90 second pitches while also pulling some 300 zingers out of his quiver to shoot at Obama. Which do you think he'll rely on in the debate? Zingers or policy details?

He needs policy, at least firm outlines of it. He can decline to provide some details but he needs to ad at least a few. Zingers are useful mostly as a repost, in reply to mistakes made by Obama. But it is folly to count on your opponent fouling up, so he cannot rely on them. He needs to make his case.

re: #146 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who do not.

;P

I saw that on a t shirt.

re: #143 Gus

Assholes ---->

[Embedded content]

Wanting better schools makes someone an asshole?

re: #150 Dark_Falcon

Wanting better schools makes someone an asshole?

Better schools? You mean privatizing schools. They're assholes.

re: #147 Obdicut

I was worried about it because I believe history repeats itself. I remember when my parents bought their house in 1969 for $24,000. I remember people in the late 70's with double digit variable mortgage rates. All that's old is new again. (I can't wait for the eighties hair to be popular again!)

re: #151 Gus

Better schools? You mean privatizing schools. They're assholes.

Check out their page. They want students to learn, which in a great many cases they are not doing.

re: #140 William Barnett-Lewis

This:

And that's exactly what he won't be able to do because he'll no more have a real credible plan than he'll release his older tax returns. He isn't not telling details of his "plans" because he's been saving them for the debates, DF, he's not telling them because he hasn't got a clue.

I knew Romney wasn't working on any kind of post election plan months ago. He's always avoided making any details available for what he'd do as President...probably because he doesn't actually want the job all that much. This is just an acquisition he's been working on, and he figured someone else would do the grunt work if he got it. (The same thing happened with Romneycare. He had an 85% Democratic legislature that wrote the bill he signed.)

And this:

Obama will smile and hand Mittens more than enough rope.

re: #150 Dark_Falcon

Wanting better schools makes someone an asshole?

Those who talk about destroying public education are looking to line their pockets, DF, not improve education. There are real & needed reforms needed. The problem is that people like the Club For Decay don't want to have to pay for it.

re: #152 Shropshire_Slasher

I was worried about it because I believe history repeats itself. I remember when my parents bought their house in 1969 for $24,000. I remember people in the late 70's with double digit variable mortgage rates. All that's old is new again. (I can't wait for the eighties hair to be popular again!)

There is a local band that does covers from the 80's hair bands called "The Reagan Years". Nothing to do with politics.

Is our children learning?

re: #153 Dark_Falcon

Check out their page. They want students to learn, which in a great many cases they are not doing.

Margaret Spellings
President

Margaret Spellings (born November 30, 1957) was the Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009 under the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush and previously served as White House Domestic Policy Adviser to President George W. Bush.

She was one of the principal proponents of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act that aimed at reforming primary and secondary education. In 2005, she convened a Commission on the Future of Higher Education to recommend reform at the post-secondary level. Since leaving this role, Spellings has founded Margaret Spellings & Company, an education consulting firm in Washington, D.C., and is a senior adviser to the Boston Consulting Group...

and on that note, the long quiet drive home beckons

re: #156 Cannadian Club Akbar
Mucky Pup, Reagan Knew

Gotta go. I have a sunday school class to teach and then we're having our Parish's 100th anniversary party. 1892 Prayer Book Eucharist today too - that should be good for the historian in me.

BBL to argue some more. Have fun in the meantime!

re: #152 Shropshire_Slasher

History tends to repeat itself when the same conditions arise: The same conditions have not arisen.

The biggest problem we have is that, although inflation is low, wages are not increasing, as the richest of the rich accrue more and more of the income in the US and the disparity in wealth increases and increases. That, unfortunately, is a very very bad sign for the continuing health of our country economically, socially, and politically. Nations can't really survive that disparity and remain first-world nations.

re: #148 Dark_Falcon

He needs policy, at least firm outlines of it.

"The devil is in the details, but the angel is in the policy." That was his response to Scott Pelley on 60 Minutes when asked what his policy would look like. Magic fairy dust. If I was Pelley, I would have thanked Romney for his time right then and spent the rest of the hour showing pictures of kittens found on the web.

re: #161 William Barnett-Lewis

Gotta go. I have a sunday school class to teach and then we're having our Parish's 100th anniversary party. 1892 Prayer Book Eucharist today too - that should be good for the historian in me.

BBL to argue some more. Have fun in the meantime!

Great you teach--then you can use Stephen Colbert's "Greatest Line of All Time".

re: #153 Dark_Falcon

If you could see what was done to the Math classes here in GA,you would freak out. It was done at the urging of a private company owned by the politically connected who made money off of the new textbooks and the classes given to teachers so they could teach it. Instead of Gen Math,Alg I,Alg II,Geometry etc being taught separately so that one could build on the other,they were all taught simultaneously. It was/is a clusterfuck. Half the kids failed. Kids who previously liked school grew to hate it because school then became totally about Math and nothing else. I live with one of those kids.

Anyone who says that private charter schools and vouchers are the answer is just looking to suck money out of the system. It pisses me off when parents,instead of fighting and insisting that money,time and energy get spent on their current school,opt out and go charter. Which by the way have been proven not to be any better than public school in many cases. People stupidly think that if you spend more and have a nicer building that means the school is better. NO. The answer is not to spend less on public education,the answer is to spend it better and smarter and stop making the teachers the villains. Schools shouldn't be about becoming profit centers,they are a long term investment with payoffs way down the road that aren't all financial.

I just tried to go to the Margaret Spellings and Company website and Avast just blocked a dangerous virus. Hurray for Avast!

re: #166 Sionainn

I just tried to go to the Margaret Spellings and Company website and Avast just blocked a dangerous virus. Hurray for Avast!

Which page was that?

"Budget wonk" Ryan gets 1-on-1 Sunday show intvw on Gop-friendly Fox, but says he can't explain tax plan. Too difficult. What a wonk, eh?

— David Waldman (@KagroX) September 30, 2012

Ryan tells Chris Wallace he doesn't have the time to tell him how much the Romney tax plan will cost and how they will pay for it.

— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) September 30, 2012

re: #167 Gus

Which page was that?

I googled Margaret Spellings and Company and the first thing that came up was the link to the site. I clicked on that and got the warning from Avast.

re: #168 darthstar

[Embedded content]

But I'm sure Mitt will have plenty of time to tell us during the debates./

Yeah, the president should be awake 24/7. RT @goangelo: Here comes LazyObamaTakesANap-Gate: twitpic.com/azm047"

— Danielle Blake (@DCPlod) September 30, 2012

re: #170 Sionainn

But I'm sure Mitt will have plenty of time to tell us during the debates./

We have a plan! My plan is good. Obama's plan is bad. Big government. What else can I say? I've already explained my plan. And that it's good.

re: #171 Gus

Were they deprived of proper nutrition as children or just hit in the head repeatedly? Jesus.

re: #171 Gus

I don't like her. Fucking Redskins fan. (Bucs/Redskins today at 4:25)

re: #172 darthstar

We have a plan! My plan is good. Obama's plan is bad. Big government. What else can I say? I've already explained my plan. And that it's good.

And I know how to get this economy moving....blah, blah, blah.

Chris Christy is on Meet the Press. He's saying what needs to be done, and I know Mitt Romney has heard him on this matter. Now, will Mitt Romney listen? Will he learn from those who have won tough debates?

Tennessee...this week's Ohio.

Romney 42 Obama 41 in Tennessee?RT "@dw1776: Vanderbilt poll: Obama closes gap with Romney tnne.ws/J5WsRL via @tennessean"

— LiberalPhenom (@LiberalPhenom) September 30, 2012

re: #171 Gus

The napping habits of 8 famous men.

Winston Churchill

“Nature has not intended mankind to work from eight in the morning until midnight without that refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it only lasts twenty minutes, is sufficient to renew all the vital forces.”

Churchill’s afternoon nap was a non-negotiable part of his relaxed approach to his daily routine. Churchill would start his day at 8 am by eating breakfast, answering letters, and dictating to his secretaries, all of which was conducted while still in bed. This bout of work was followed by a bath, a long lunch, and plenty of sipping on watered-down whisky. After lunch it was time to paint or play cards with his wife, Clementine. Then it was nap time. Churchill would take off his clothes and climb into bed for up to two hours of solid napping. At 6:30 he would rise, take another bath, and enjoy a long dinner. He finally got down to business at 11 pm and would work for several hours before going to bed and repeating the cycle over again. An unapologetic night owl, Churchill felt that his naps helped him get twice as much done each day (which makes one wonder just how little he would have worked without it!)

Nap were so sacrosanct to Churchill that he kept a bed in the Houses of Parliament and believed that napping was the key to his success in leading the country through the Battle of Britain.

re: #174 Cannadian Club Akbar

I don't like her. Fucking Redskins fan. (Bucs/Redskins today at 4:25)

Don't get too worked, it's not like the Bucs are going to play the Falcons or Saints.

re: #176 Dark_Falcon

Chris Christy is on Meet the Press. He's saying what needs to be done, and I know Mitt Romney has heard him on this matter. Now, will Mitt Romney listen? Will he learn from those who have won tough debates?

Christie knows what needs to be done. Romney's heard him. Do it. Do it.

What, pray tell, did Christie say needs to be done?

David Gregory did ask a direct question about Romney's "47%" line's doing political damage, so it hasn't been a softball interview.

re: #179 Dark_Falcon

Don't get too worked, it's not like the Bucs are going to play the Falcons or Saints.

They'll have a spy on RG3. Like they did with Cam Newton, who is a crybaby.

re: #182 Cannadian Club Akbar

They'll have a spy on RG3. Like they did with Cam Newton, who is a crybaby.

RG3?

re: #183 Dark_Falcon

RG3?

The Skins QB. Robert Griffin III.

Some people practice zingers for months. Some people pack a bowl, pour some whisky, log onto twitter, and let it happen.

— Bearded Stoner (@beardedstoner) September 30, 2012

re: #182 Cannadian Club Akbar

This is also for you:

Dead Ball Fouls
Five lessons from the NFL referee lockout.

By Daniel Foster

re: #185 darthstar

[Embedded content]

Doesn't work for Mitt: Observant Mormons don't drink alcohol.

BBL,the doggie walk and bath awaits...

Gotta clean house and do laundry before leaving to wait in line for hours to see President Obama for 15 minutes. Should be fun since I found people to go with me...my aunt and uncle who I haven't seen since the Rally to Restore Sanity in D.C. Sad because we live in the same city. LOL.

re: #187 Dark_Falcon

Doesn't work for Mitt: Observant Mormons don't drink alcohol.

That's not the point...though it could be part of Mitt's problem. He's never had his inhibitions loosened. He doesn't know how to be spontaneous.

Shit, after 7am already. Need to run my dogs, pack the car for tri-practice, and get my ass moving.

Laterz.

re: #182 Cannadian Club Akbar

They'll have a spy on RG3. Like they did with Cam Newton, who is a crybaby.

re: #184 Cannadian Club Akbar

The Skins QB. Robert Griffin III.

I see. I hope they're ready, but if they contained Newton they should be. Fast QBs like him are not really the threat they are often made out to be. As the Bears have proved over the decades, high-quality linebackers and a good secondary can deal with a QB who is an effective runner.

Fun page from the Chamber of Commerce website:

Life Sciences Educator Awards
The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce a call for nominations for the 4th Annual Life Sciences Awards. The Life Science Awards total approximately $95,000 for the following:

One $25,000 award to a prominent American scientist, with an additional $25,000 funds for research;
three $10,000 awards to high school educators;
and three $5,000 awards to high school students who are judged to exemplify excellence in life sciences.
Award winners will be honored at an event to be held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday, July 11, 2011. The nomination deadline is Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

Remind me again why we should listen to folks who haven't updated their web content in a year and a half?

re: #192 Dark_Falcon

Other than the slugfest with the Giants (600+ yards of offense for them), the Bucs D has been good this year. But we lost our best D lineman to an ACL injury.

re: #190 darthstar

That's not the point...though it could be part of Mitt's problem. He's never had his inhibitions loosened. He doesn't know how to be spontaneous.

Spontaneity is often not a skill learned by the children of people that are in the public eye as much as George Romney often was. Since spontaneity involves occasionally looking foolish or at least silly, the son of such an notable man generally cannot risk it, because his father's enemies will seize upon him looking silly and use that as a weapon against his father.

re: #194 Cannadian Club Akbar

Other than the slugfest with the Giants (600+ yards of offense for them), the Bucs D has been good this year. But we lost our best D lineman to an ACL injury.

Hopefully the Bucs can push past that loss. The Giants will have their chance tonight, when they take on the Eagles in the City of Brotherly Love.

re: #196 Dark_Falcon

Hopefully the Bucs can push past that loss. The Giants will have their chance tonight, when they take on the Eagles in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Giants are the team to beat right about now.

re: #197 Cannadian Club Akbar

The Giants are the team to beat right about now.

As a die-hard Patriots fan, after seeing them seriously fuck up the past two weeks, I don't expect a third Super Bowl rematch.

re: #198 BongCrodny

As a die-hard Patriots fan, after seeing them seriously fuck up the past two weeks, I don't expect a third Super Bowl rematch.

The Pats have issues but Bellichek (sp?) is a great coach. He gets shit done.

As for NFC North:

At noon the Vikings clash with the Lions in Detroit. Will Matt Stafford lead the Lions to even out with the Vikings at 2-2 or will Minnesota's Adrian Peterson lead offense, aided by a defense of growing power, knock Detroit into a 1-3 hole? My pick: Toss Up.

Later in the afternoon the Packers face the Saints. The Saints defense is still weak and Aaron Rodgers still leads a dynamic offense that can tear even an excellent defense apart. This game's no toss-up, I'm picking the Packers to win it.

The Bears do not play till tomorrow, when they'll visit Jerry Jones Stadium and the Cowboys. The Bears should win, but only if the offense does its job. Tony Romo has a formidable crew with him on offense for Dallas, so the Bears cannot expect their own defense to win the game. My pick is Chicago, but not as firmly as Green Bay over New Orleans.

"Victor Cruz is a lot more of a slot receiver; the big boys play on the outside," White said. Cruz's response: Kiss the ring, trick.
[Link: www.nfl.com...]

Good fun right there.

re: #200 Dark_Falcon

Is Peterson holding on to the ball this year?

re: #197 Cannadian Club Akbar

The Giants are the team to beat right about now.

They have excellent players and coaches, and both the coaching staff and the QB know how to get the best out of their team. Eli Manning has become a major force multiplier in that regard.

re: #202 Cannadian Club Akbar

Is Peterson holding on to the ball this year?

Yes, he is.

re: #203 Dark_Falcon

They have excellent players and coaches, and both the coaching staff and the QB know how to get the best out of their team. Eli Manning has become a major force multiplier in that regard.

If Eli stays on his current path, he'll go down as one of the best QB's. And yes, better than Peyton.

Off to the kitchen. Making a stuffed pumpkin for dinner and need to go start doing prep work. (Sharpens knife.)

re: #206 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

Off to the kitchen. Making a stuffed pumpkin for dinner and need to go start doing prep work. (Sharpens knife.)

Just be ready for Feline Overlord Commentary and Demands. ;)

re: #207 Dark_Falcon

Just be ready for Feline Overlord Commentary and Demands. ;)

Expected. Part of the prep is cooking a pound of bacon.

HIC is currently sleeping on the couch after being stressed from the demands of a light nap.

HIC = His Imperial Crankiness

Chris Economaki interview Ayrton Senna and Barrie Gill interview Nigel Mansell

Chris Economaki, Rumbling Voice of Auto Racing, Dies at 91

re: #208 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

Expected. Part of the prep is cooking a pound of bacon.

HIC is currently sleeping on the couch after being stressed from the demands of a light nap.

HIC = His Imperial Crankiness

Siamese cats look elegant and they move with grace, but they are loud and they don't stand for being ignored.

Crap. My work shirt has a few wrinkles in it. I have no iron or dryer.

BBL

re: #211 Cannadian Club Akbar

Crap. My work shirt has a few wrinkles in it. I have no iron or dryer.

hang it up n the bathroom and turn on the shower for bit. The steam should do the trick.

re: #213 Killgore Trout

hang it up n the bathroom and turn on the shower for bit. The steam should do the trick.

Thought about that. My friend also has a blow dryer (not sure why) that I can take to it.

re: #210 Dark_Falcon

Siamese cats look elegant and they move with grace, but they are loud and they don't stand for being ignored.

This one is also pretty much deaf. He can't hear himself, but makes sure everyone else can. :/

re: #155 William Barnett-Lewis

Those who talk about destroying public education are looking to line their pockets, DF, not improve education. There are real & needed reforms needed. The problem is that people like the Club For Decay don't want to have to pay for it.

Yeah, they like to say, "You just want to throw more money at the education problem". But they also like spouting how we have the best military in the world but don't like to acknowledge it is that way because we spend tons more money on it than any other nation on the face of the planet. When you give something all the possible tools and equipment it needs to succeed you invariably get better results. Buy that carpenter a hammer so he can quit trying to drive that nail with a rock.

Syrian conflict: Your pictures of Aleppo's souk
I just kind of assumed it was an open air market. Didn't realize what a cool structure it was.

Drive-by image drop...

Image: 422774_427681647267823_1110189673_n.jpg

Go Vikings!

Worky!! Go Bucs!!

re: #218 darthstar

Drive-by image drop...

Image: 422774_427681647267823_1110189673_n.jpg

Go Vikings!

If Mitt met Thor he and his buddies would attempt to give him a haircut.

re: #217 Killgore Trout

Syrian conflict: Your pictures of Aleppo's souk
I just kind of assumed it was an open air market. Didn't realize what a cool structure it was.

Very much the Covered (Grand) Bazaar in Istanbul.

Image: The-Grand-Bazaar-of-Istanbul-6.jpg

re: #181 Dark_Falcon

David Gregory did ask a direct question about Romney's "47%" line's doing political damage, so it hasn't been a softball interview.

Hardball would be asking him why HE feels that way. Fuck political consequences, why does he personally feel that way.

Heck with this. I have THREE sons at home now. They are going through the freezer and taking out everything!

I have already made a blueberry pie and prepped an apple strudel.

FUCK THIS SHIT. They can do the rest of the cooking.

I sent my daughters-in-law to get their nails done.

re: #223 Sheila Broflovski

Heck with this. I have THREE sons at home now. They are going through the freezer and taking out everything!

I have already made a blueberry pie and prepped an apple strudel.

FUCK THIS SHIT. They can do the rest of the cooking.

I sent my daughters-in-law to get their nails done.

Enjoy Sukkot, and yes, let the boys cook.

"Trango Towers"

Here's the trail.

I did all of my work this morning. I am going to kick back and watch PBS/Create TV this afternoon.

It just doesn't get much better than this. twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/st...

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) September 30, 2012

re: #228 Gus

Upding for the Star Trek references. :)

Why is my #Republican husband voting for Pres. Barack Obama? jacksonville.com/opinion/column... via @jaxdotcom #rationalthinking #Obama2012

— Julie Delegal (@julieinjax) September 30, 2012

"Rugged individualism" is "nothing but a political banner to cover up greed" -George Romney (Mitt's dad): ow.ly/e3gKf

— Alfie Kohn (@alfiekohn) September 30, 2012

Man accused of sexually abusing daughter tells story of 6 years lost in Duval jail

Seven assistant state attorneys prosecuted him. Seven public attorneys defended him. And six judges presided over his case in a six-year span.

All that to have a jury of six find Jerry Tippins not guilty in about an hour.

Tippins was accused of sexually abusing his then-2-year-old daughter in June 2006, an accusation he described as ludicrous during a phone interview with the Times-Union Tuesday...

Was watching old campaign ads last night (bit.ly/kO9ik). One thing that stood out: how little Romney has run on his bio.

— Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight) September 30, 2012

Romney a HUGE outlier in terms of not talking about accomplishments in elected office. Has talked about his biz record less and less also.

— Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight) September 30, 2012

Great video --very uplifting.

We are living in the Brave New World --some people fear it, others look to the future with wonder.

How is everyone?

re: #233 Lidane

[Embedded content]

Yeah, but just wait until you see his zingers by golly. It'll be the turning point in this campaign.

//

re: #223 Sheila Broflovski

Heck with this. I have THREE sons at home now. They are going through the freezer and taking out everything!

I have already made a blueberry pie and prepped an apple strudel.

FUCK THIS SHIT. They can do the rest of the cooking.

I sent my daughters-in-law to get their nails done.

YOu are such a riot!!! You found what is probably the most diplomatic way to tell your DIL's "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, I want my boys all to myself."

teehee

ahhhh, bbl

re: #150 Dark_Falcon

Wanting better schools makes someone an asshole?

You've been duped by a fallacy.

Chris Wallace to Paul Ryan: "Why are you and Mitt Romney losing?"huff.to/V2a4Yp

— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) September 30, 2012

It's Pie Day!

We have Blueberry Pie and Apple Strudel

Crap. Just found out my ex-gf's niece died in Africa in December of last year. Was just looking around old names since my ex doesn't want to talk with me for whatever reason.

re: #234 ggt

Great video --very uplifting.

We are living in the Brave New World --some people fear it, others look to the future with wonder.

How is everyone?

Sitting back and watching football while petting the Feline Overlord.

Stuffed pumpkin is prepped and "resting" in the fridge for a little bit. Pumpkin seeds are currently roasting in the oven. Recipe is for a 3-4 lb pumpkin and this sucker weighed 8lbs. So essentially tripled the stuffing ingredients and am crossing my fingers that it cooks out well.

23 years old. Mozambique. Peace Corps. I remember her when she was just a toddler. Haven't seen anything of her since me and her aunt split up.

re: #243 Gus

23 years old. Mozambique. Peace Corps. I remember her when she was just a toddler. Haven't seen anything of her since me and her aunt split up.

Sorry to hear about that.

re: #243 Gus

{{{Gus}}}

re: #244 Mocking Jay

Sorry to hear about that.

It sucks. She and a bunch of other got a ride from some unlicensed driver. They were thrown from the vehicle and another young woman died and others were injured. The driver ran off.

Granddaughter was keeping up Englewood family’s volunteerism legacy

Who could have seen this coming?

Santorum urges entire Republican Party to support Todd Akin

BBL and be safe.

re: #246 Gus

It sucks. She and a bunch of other got a ride from some unlicensed driver. They were thrown from the vehicle and another young woman died and others were injured. The driver ran off.

Wow.

re: #248 bratwurst

Who could have seen this coming?

Santorum urges entire Republican Party to support Todd Akin

My surprise, let me show you it.