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1 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 12:43:26pm

Stylin’ rag in his guitar there >>

Does it serve some purpose other than ‘utter coolness’?

2 First As Tragedy, Then As Farce  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 12:52:01pm

I wish Michael Hedges wuz still around to appreciate his profound influence on acoustic guitarists.

3 Randall Gross  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 12:57:03pm

That right hand thumbnail is like a concealed weapon, he could slice open someone’s jugular vein with that thing….

/I had an IBEW friend with a thumbnail like that — he’d used it for yrs to strip sheathing from telephone wires.

4 First As Tragedy, Then As Farce  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 12:58:42pm

Leo Kottke - I Yell at Traffic

5 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 12:59:27pm

OTish:

New York Times/CBS News Poll: National Survey of Tea Party Supporters

This is the poll the NYT cites as demonstrating that “Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated”.

6 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:07:21pm

Instapundit’s feelings are hurt…..


Maybe Clinton should watch what he says, when it comes to branding large numbers of nonviolent Americans as terrorists. But this statement serves as a useful reminder to those who have come to think of Clinton as some sort of cuddly, not-so-bad figure. He was a demagogue who would say whatever he thought might work when he was President, and he still is.


Whhaaaaa!

7 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:16:05pm

This past week has been Experimental Meal Week in the beekiller household. Last night’s meal was the worst. Last night was the straw that broke the experimental camel’s back. “Arabic Rice” read the recipe.
The recipe sounded different. Ground beef, garlic powder, allspice, cinnamon, rice, beef bouillon and water. Simple, yet different. It wasn’t until I started making it that I realized something was horribly wrong.

THREE TABLESPOONS of garlic powder.

I love me some garlic. But three tablespoons in any dish and you’re asking for trouble.

THREE TABLESPOONS of cinnamon.

I don’t know about you. But when I eat my hamburger, I don’t normally coat it in cinnamon.

TWO TABLESPOONS of allspice.

It stunk the house up like an camel’s ass. We sat down to eat it. We both took a bite. And then we put the entire skillet full of Arabic rice and the contents of our bowls in the garbage disposal. My GOD that was some nasty shit. At least I know what to expect when I bite into a taco. I know it won’t taste like I’m tonguing a burro’s ass, that’s for sure.

8 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:16:29pm

oops, wrong thread!

9 First As Tragedy, Then As Farce  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:16:50pm

Adrian Legg, doing his damnedest to make sure I never have sex again as long as I live.

10 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:18:42pm

re: #8 beekiller

oops, wrong thread!

There’s a right thread for that?!?

/my condolences to your tongue

11 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:20:19pm

re: #10 wrenchwench

There’s a right thread for that?!?

/my condolences to your tongue

I have two browsers open and that comment was intended for a forum I post at. I’m an idiot.

12 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:20:40pm

The voices in Crazy Pam’s head are talking again….
Obama Drafting Classified Guidelines to Hold Terrorism Suspects Indefinitely Without Trial

This country is at war.

Is everyone in a coma? Seriously. Yes, they will cloak it in their fancy Orwellian double mind fuck, but the bottom line is they will use it as they see fit. They will sell it.

According to Homeland Security, vets, tea partiers, patriots and free speech advocates are the true terrorists. And the turncoat Gates at the Department of Defense submitted his Fort Hood recommendation yesterday, wherein he commends the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and America’s Security Affairs — the DoD leader for the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force program.

So who are they going to hold indefinably in say, 2010? Think about it. If you put jihadists in senior level positions in homeland security, who will they as the enemy? Do you really believe that if our constitutional protections and our rights are good for Khalid Sheik Muhammad and his killers, that detainee rules won’t apply to Obama’s paranoid perceived “enemies of his state?”

13 Four More Tears  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:21:15pm

re: #11 beekiller

I have two browsers open and that comment was intended for a forum I post at. I’m an idiot.

Okay, that’s actually funny. It didn’t exactly stand out from other foodie posts around here, though.

14 Four More Tears  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:22:48pm

re: #12 Killgore Trout

The voices in Crazy Pam’s head are talking again…
Obama Drafting Classified Guidelines to Hold Terrorism Suspects Indefinitely Without Trial

Ummm, yeah, why do people think we libs were against such sweeping executive power in the first place???

15 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:22:57pm

re: #7 beekiller

Sound like it might not have been a very good recipe but keep trying. You might just find some new flavors that you like.

16 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:24:23pm

re: #13 JasonA

Okay, that’s actually funny. It didn’t exactly stand out from other foodie posts around here, though.

hee. At least I didn’t post my intended reply to Charles thanking him for exposing us to music we haven’t heard of on my forum.

17 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:32:56pm

re: #7 beekiller

Two serious notes (now that I have the snark out of the way):

1.) Any recipe that calls for powdered garlic is questionable. Fresh garlic is not difficult.

2.) You need a compost pile. Yeah, you’re probably urban apartment dwellers or something, but more folks should compost their (non-meat) kitchen errors.

18 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:33:34pm

I went to Wal mart. Cost me $100. Got chlorine for the pool, new work shoes, 2 pairs of work shorts, 4 work shirts, and Twizzlers. Also got stuff for work and I will get 20 bucks back. I should have mentioned that first. I’ll sneak in the Twizzlers. Heh.

19 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:36:53pm

re: #17 wrenchwench

Minced garlic (also a good thing) is better than powered. Usually stored in olive oil. (also good)

20 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:38:13pm

re: #17 wrenchwench

Two serious notes (now that I have the snark out of the way):

1.) Any recipe that calls for powdered garlic is questionable. Fresh garlic is not difficult.

2.) You need a compost pile. Yeah, you’re probably urban apartment dwellers or something, but more folks should compost their (non-meat) kitchen errors.

As you know, I love your snark dearly.

1.) I’m new to cooking and will store this in my noggin forever.

2.) We actually live in a house and have a little bit of land to play with. I’m going to take your suggestion for a compost pile seriously. You aren’t the first to suggest this and we need to quit being so lazy.

21 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:41:55pm

re: #20 beekiller

I’m pretty religious about my composting. I keep a small bucket on the kitchen counter for scraps. If it’s too rainy or dark out I’ll just postpone taking the scraps to the compost bin until morning. I also compost a lot of paper (Newspapers, boxes, phone books, etc). It’s a little extra effort but if I didn’t carry them out to the compost pile I’d have to carry them out to the curb on garbage day.

22 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:45:44pm

re: #21 Killgore Trout

Do you use composted paper in your garden? It’s not too acidic, or polluted with ink or something?

We use a coffee can with a lid for kitchen compostables. Doesn’t have to go out until it’s full.

23 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:47:42pm

re: #21 Killgore Trout

I’m pretty religious about my composting. I keep a small bucket on the kitchen counter for scraps. If it’s too rainy or dark out I’ll just postpone taking the scraps to the compost bin until morning. I also compost a lot of paper (Newspapers, boxes, phone books, etc). It’s a little extra effort but if I didn’t carry them out to the compost pile I’d have to carry them out to the curb on garbage day.

I’m going to do this.

24 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:49:12pm

People actually keep food to throw out? Sorry if I am lost here.

25 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:50:40pm

re: #24 Cannadian Club Akbar

People actually keep food to throw out? Sorry if I am lost here.

It’s fun to take a vegetable you grew in the garden, harvest it, eat some of it, take the rest back out to the garden and make it into a new vegetable.

26 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:52:18pm

re: #25 wrenchwench

It’s fun to take a vegetable you grew in the garden, harvest it, eat some of it, take the rest back out to the garden and make it into a new vegetable.

“fun”?

27 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:52:26pm

re: #25 wrenchwench

It’s fun to take a vegetable you grew in the garden, harvest it, eat some of it, take the rest back out to the garden and make it into a new vegetable.

I get that. I was under the impression people didn’t all the eat food and had to put it in some way to recycle.

28 Jadespring  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:53:17pm

re: #22 wrenchwench

Do you use composted paper in your garden? It’s not too acidic, or polluted with ink or something?

We use a coffee can with a lid for kitchen compostables. Doesn’t have to go out until it’s full.

I used a plastic bucket with a lid for the longest time until I found this really nice looking white porcelain compost container with a charcoal filter in it’s lid. It was on sale for half price so I had an excuse to buy it.

29 Jadespring  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:54:07pm

re: #26 Aceofwhat?

“fun”?

Yes it’s fun! :D

30 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:54:18pm

re: #22 wrenchwench

Do you use composted paper in your garden? It’s not too acidic, or polluted with ink or something?

We use a coffee can with a lid for kitchen compostables. Doesn’t have to go out until it’s full.

Most paper is ok, just avoid glossy stuff. Newspapers and phone books have to use biodegradable (usually soy based) inks these days. Plain brown cardboard is great for compost.
I don’t compost my junkmail, I don’t know if that’s safe or not.

31 stonemason  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:56:20pm

re: #20 beekiller

As you know, I love your snark dearly.

1.) I’m new to cooking and will store this in my noggin forever.

2.) We actually live in a house and have a little bit of land to play with. I’m going to take your suggestion for a compost pile seriously. You aren’t the first to suggest this and we need to quit being so lazy.

The disposal also ‘wastes’ about 200 gallons of water per month…learned that on Science Friday yesterday!

32 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:56:35pm

re: #29 Jadespring

Yes it’s fun! :D

Ever heard of Earth box?

33 Jadespring  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:57:19pm

re: #30 Killgore Trout

Most paper is ok, just avoid glossy stuff. Newspapers and phone books have to use biodegradable (usually soy based) inks these days. Plain brown cardboard is great for compost.
I don’t compost my junkmail, I don’t know if that’s safe or not.

I used cardboard to kill weeds and grass. Last year I expanded an ornamental garden out front. Instead of digging the grass out I just plunked down cardboard, covered in with topsoil, planted it and bingo a new and easy grass free garden.

34 Jadespring  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 1:57:54pm

re: #32 Cannadian Club Akbar

Ever heard of Earth box?

Yep. Those things are great if you have a small space or don’t want to do anything to major.

35 Spare O'Lake  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:00:31pm

re: #33 Jadespring

I used cardboard to kill weeds and grass. Last year I expanded an ornamental garden out front. Instead of digging the grass out I just plunked down cardboard, covered in with topsoil, planted it and bingo a new and easy grass free garden.

How long does it take to grow a cardboard box?

36 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:00:46pm

re: #29 Jadespring

Yes it’s fun! :D

yech. tennis is fun. skiing is fun. gardening is landscaping…

37 sagehen  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:00:50pm

are you sure it wasn’t teaspoons? I always mix up those abbreviations.

38 sagehen  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:02:00pm

re: #37 sagehen

that was a reply to re: #7 beekiller

39 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:02:44pm

re: #27 Cannadian Club Akbar

I get that. I was under the impression people didn’t all the eat food and had to put it in some way to recycle.

You went for that noon beer, didn’t you. :)

40 Dancing along the light of day  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:02:50pm

re: #7 beekiller

You can buy the LGF cookbook, it has Lizard tested recipes in it.
Easier to eat the results.
Linkage
lgfcookbook.blogspot.com

41 Jadespring  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:02:56pm

re: #35 Spare O’Lake

How long does it take to grow a cardboard box?

Mmm about 70 days give or take a few.

42 Spare O'Lake  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:04:59pm

re: #7 beekiller

Hahahahahahaha…upding for “tonguing a burro’s ass”.

43 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:05:37pm

re: #37 sagehen

are you sure it wasn’t teaspoons? I always mix up those abbreviations.

We suspect it was since my grandmother-in-law gave me the recipe(written by her on a recipe card) and she doesn’t speak English very well.

44 Spare O'Lake  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:09:12pm

re: #43 beekiller

We suspect it was since my grandmother-in-law gave me the recipe(written by her on a recipe card) and she doesn’t speak English very well.

Why oh why is it always the darn in-laws?

45 Dancing along the light of day  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:10:02pm

re: #40 Floral Giraffe

DISCLAIMER
It’s not an official endorsed LGF cookbook. It’s something that some nice Lizards collected from other Lizards. 1/2 the sale price goes LGF and 1/2 to Wounded Warriors IIRC.

46 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:10:53pm

re: #39 wrenchwench

You went for that noon beer, didn’t you. :)

I actually got cut off from a beer fest while drinking Non beer. No shit.

47 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:11:17pm

For beginning gardeners (and composters): the Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening

For beginning cooks: the Joy of Cooking

48 Spare O'Lake  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:11:41pm

re: #22 wrenchwench

Do you use composted paper in your garden? It’s not too acidic, or polluted with ink or something?

We use a coffee can with a lid for kitchen compostables. Doesn’t have to go out until it’s full.

I got a nasty hornet’s nest in my composter last summer. Ended up nuking the sucker.

49 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:12:30pm
50 Spare O'Lake  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:12:37pm

re: #46 Cannadian Club Akbar

I actually got cut off from a beer fest while drinking Non beer. No shit.

Now that’s getting kicked when you’re down!

51 Jadespring  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:12:43pm

re: #32 Cannadian Club Akbar

Ever heard of Earth box?

Oh and if you don’t want to pay the big bucks for it you can make the same thing out of those big plastic tubs that you can get for 5 bucks, some PVC pipe and few other things. You can find plans for DIY versions if you look on the internet.

I’m trying out some DIY versions of that topsy turvy tomato hanger that’s advertised on TV. I’m making them out of the buckets that cat litter comes in. With three cats I have tons of them hanging around.

52 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:13:50pm

re: #46 Cannadian Club Akbar

I actually got cut off from a beer fest while drinking Non beer. No shit.

They thought you had too much? Would they let you switch to beer?

53 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:13:59pm

re: #44 Spare O’Lake

Why oh why is it always the darn in-laws?

Don’t get me started….laughing. Oh the funny stories I could tell that would get me in trouble.

54 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:14:24pm

re: #50 Spare O’Lake

Now that’s getting kicked when you’re down!

I had 15. All the pee with none of the beer.:)

55 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:16:59pm

re: #51 Jadespring

I’m making them out of the buckets that cat litter comes in. With three cats I have tons of them hanging around.

Those buckets are great! It’s nice that they include some litter with them!

56 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:20:11pm

re: #7 beekiller

This past week has been Experimental Meal Week in the beekiller household. Last night’s meal was the worst.

You got to be willing/able to throw it away if you want to experiment. I’ve had some really bad ones and some really good ones too but you just have to try.

William

57 Political Atheist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:21:40pm

Uh oh. LA Times has an update on the white supremacist rally at City Hall. Not good. latimesblogs.latimes.com

58 SanFranciscoZionist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:24:30pm

re: #5 Slumbering Behemoth

OTish:

New York Times/CBS News Poll: National Survey of Tea Party Supporters

This is the poll the NYT cites as demonstrating that “Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated”.

Those numbers about describe the people I’ve been seeing in news coverage.

59 SanFranciscoZionist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:25:44pm

re: #7 beekiller

This past week has been Experimental Meal Week in the beekiller household. Last night’s meal was the worst. Last night was the straw that broke the experimental camel’s back. “Arabic Rice” read the recipe.
The recipe sounded different. Ground beef, garlic powder, allspice, cinnamon, rice, beef bouillon and water. Simple, yet different. It wasn’t until I started making it that I realized something was horribly wrong.

THREE TABLESPOONS of garlic powder.

I love me some garlic. But three tablespoons in any dish and you’re asking for trouble.

THREE TABLESPOONS of cinnamon.

I don’t know about you. But when I eat my hamburger, I don’t normally coat it in cinnamon.

TWO TABLESPOONS of allspice.

It stunk the house up like an camel’s ass. We sat down to eat it. We both took a bite. And then we put the entire skillet full of Arabic rice and the contents of our bowls in the garbage disposal. My GOD that was some nasty shit. At least I know what to expect when I bite into a taco. I know it won’t taste like I’m tonguing a burro’s ass, that’s for sure.

Cinnamon can actually be awesome on beef, but that does sound like overdoing it.

Whence came this recipe?

60 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:26:58pm

I bought what I thought were shorts from Wat mart. Guess they are swimming trunks. But I got scissors.

61 SanFranciscoZionist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:28:14pm

re: #14 JasonA

Ummm, yeah, why do people think we libs were against such sweeping executive power in the first place???

“Dad, you always taught me to question authority.”

“Yes, but I didn’t mean me! I mean Nixon!”

Interesting how sweeping executive power can be absolutely essential in one administration, and terrifying the next.

62 David IV of Georgia  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:28:25pm

re: #7 beekiller

re: #56 wlewisiii

My favorite experiment is to use normal pancake mix cooked the normal way—with the sparing addition of a random mix of savory spices. They taste great with butter, but avoid syrup unless you have a “unique” palate. Sometimes they end up in the trash…

63 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:29:05pm

re: #59 SanFranciscoZionist

Cinnamon can actually be awesome on beef, but that does sound like overdoing it.

Whence came this recipe?

My grandmother-in-law who speaks Spanglish. I think she copied it incorrectly.

64 SanFranciscoZionist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:29:11pm

re: #19 Cannadian Club Akbar

Minced garlic (also a good thing) is better than powered. Usually stored in olive oil. (also good)

May I also recommend the Dorot frozen garlic cubes? Fresh garlic in little one-clove cubes, they live in your freezer, are super-easy to use, and they’re from Israel.

65 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:29:37pm

re: #57 Rightwingconspirator

Uh oh. LA Times has an update on the white supremacist rally at City Hall. Not good. [Link: latimesblogs.latimes.com…]

There’s a newer post already.

66 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:30:05pm

re: #7 beekiller

If you folks like soup, here’s my favorite recipe:

2 lb potatoes, peeled & diced
1 lb leek, trimmed and washed
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
8 cups chicken broth
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms, whatever kind you like.
1 tbs salt
2 tbs minced parsley
1 stick butter (unsalted)
4 tbs heavy cream

1) combine vegies, broth & salt. Bring to boil, lower to simmer. 40 minutes to an hour, partly covered.

2) Mash or blender the soup. Taste & add salt if desired.

3) Prior to serving, stir in parsley, butter, cream & mushrooms. Stir till butter all melted into soup. Serve with good sourdough bread & butter.

William

67 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:31:10pm

re: #66 wlewisiii

If you folks like soup, here’s my favorite recipe:

2 lb potatoes, peeled & diced
1 lb leek, trimmed and washed
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
8 cups chicken broth
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms, whatever kind you like.
1 tbs salt
2 tbs minced parsley
1 stick butter (unsalted)
4 tbs heavy cream

1) combine vegies, broth & salt. Bring to boil, lower to simmer. 40 minutes to an hour, partly covered.

2) Mash or blender the soup. Taste & add salt if desired.

3) Prior to serving, stir in parsley, butter, cream & mushrooms. Stir till butter all melted into soup. Serve with good sourdough bread & butter.

William

Thanks! This actually sounds pretty tasty.

68 Spare O'Lake  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:31:11pm

re: #61 SanFranciscoZionist


Interesting how sweeping executive power can be absolutely essential in one administration, and terrifying the next.

Yep. And vice-versa.

69 SanFranciscoZionist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:31:49pm

re: #63 beekiller

My grandmother-in-law who speaks Spanglish. I think she copied it incorrectly.

Maybe try again, with a lighter hand, and fresh garlic.

70 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:32:09pm

re: #64 SanFranciscoZionist

May I also recommend the Dorot frozen garlic cubes? Fresh garlic in little one-clove cubes, they live in your freezer, are super-easy to use, and they’re from Israel.

I do that with basil.

71 Tiny alien kittens are watching you  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:32:18pm

Ahh, good times to look forward to, lots more wingnuttery on display as the loons who have taken over the Republican party fight not only whomever is nominated to the Supreme Court by Obama but also the fight to the death against the rather pathetically weak Financial Reform bill that is being proposed.

Republicans insist the Democratic bill will lead to more taxpayer-funded bailouts and say it establishes new regulatory powers that will stifle small businesses and community banks.

All 41 Republicans in the 100-seat Senate expressed their opposition to the bill in a letter on Friday but said they were willing to work with Democrats on the issue.

That would be the usual “code speak” for opposing anything from the democrats no matter how sensible or reasonable while trying to get the issue sent to a bi-partisan committee for a year or two or three…

WTF happened to my party? Where did they go?

72 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:33:45pm

re: #71 ausador

They’re dead, Jim.
/No, we are not.

73 Baboon Cheeks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:37:53pm

As a fan of the space programme and a believer in it’s importance, I’m much encouraged by this:

On to Mars: Obama declares, ‘I expect to see it’

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – President Barack Obama boldly predicted Thursday his new plans for space exploration would lead American astronauts on historic, almost fantastic journeys to an asteroid and then to Mars — and in his lifetime — relying on rockets and propulsion still to be imagined and built.

“I expect to be around to see it,” he said of pioneering U.S. trips starting with a landing on an asteroid — a colossal feat in itself — before the long-dreamed-of expedition to Mars. He spoke near the historic Kennedy Space Center launch pads that sent the first men to the moon, a blunt rejoinder to critics, including several former astronauts, who contend his planned changes will instead deal a staggering blow to the nation’s manned space program.

“We want to leap into the future,” not continue on the same path as before, Obama said as he sought to reassure NASA workers that America’s space adventures would soar on despite the impending termination of space shuttle flights.

His prediction was reminiscent of President John F. Kennedy’s declaration in 1961, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.” That goal was fulfilled in 1969.

Obama did not predict a Mars landing soon. But he said that by 2025, the nation would have a new spacecraft “designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the moon into deep space.”

“We’ll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history,” he said. “By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a landing on Mars will follow. And I expect to be around to see it.”

continued:

news.yahoo.com

74 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:38:14pm

re: #67 beekiller

Thanks! This actually sounds pretty tasty.

You’re welcome. I make it at least once a month especially in the winter. If I need, I can substitute veg stock for chicken and have a good vegetarian meal when needed. I won’t go vegan though, the cream & butter are critical to good flavor to me :)

William

75 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:44:14pm

Question:
Where I live now is all family. I don’t know what is happening with my house. (not the point) Should I get a doggie or a kittehn to bring the house together, or would it separate? 3 guys, 1 girl living here.

76 Political Atheist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:47:15pm

re: #75 Cannadian Club Akbar

Kitteh!

77 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:47:19pm

Do you know if the others like critters? Are they cat people or dog people? Or the rarer kind that likes both? I grew up with both but am happier around cats, for example (though I do need to get a bird dog… ;)

William

78 Baboon Cheeks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:48:02pm

re: #66 wlewisiii

Recipe for 18 Scottish mince pies - careful, they are simple to make, awesomely tasty and very addictive:

Use a baking tray

Roll out shortcrust pastry bases and tops. Brown 1 lb mince (ground beef). Once browned, mix in a small tin of chopped tomatoes, add some salt and a tablespoon of mixed herbs (basil, parsley, oregano, thyme), stir well, fill pie bases in tray, cover with pie tops and brush with milk. Bake in oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

79 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:49:47pm

re: #73 Jimmah

I pray he’s right. We gotta get all the eggs out of one basket…

William

80 David IV of Georgia  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:49:51pm

re: #73 Jimmah

Landing on an asteroid would be a colossal feat—farther than the moon, high rate of speed and negligible gravity. If we manage that, Mars should be comparatively easy.

81 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:50:37pm

re: #80 David IV of Georgia

Landing on an asteroid would be a colossal feat—farther than the moon, high rate of speed and negligible gravity. If we manage that, Mars should be comparatively easy.

We need the Moon for Mars.

82 Renaissance_Man  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:50:46pm

re: #71 ausador

WTF happened to my party? Where did they go?

While they weren’t looking, they lost control of their message. The Conservative media took it, and has spent the last 15 years or more whipping people into a frenzy that the other side are literally the foulest denizens of the deepest pits of Hell. The Republicans are in an impossible situation; work with the minions of Satan in any way, even if it makes perfect sense and is desperately needed, and their own voters will cast them out.

I actually feel more sorry for them than anything else.

83 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:51:08pm

re: #78 Jimmah

Nom, nom, nom :)

Thanks, this just went into my recipe binder.

William

84 bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:51:20pm

Harris Country Deputy Daniel McCool has formed the Caucasian Law Enforcement Association which claims 30 members.

There is currently an Afro-American Sheriff’s Deputy League and a Mexican American Sheriff’s Organization, as well as The Harris County Deputies Organization.

85 SanFranciscoZionist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:53:38pm

re: #84 bagua

Harris Country Deputy Daniel McCool has formed the Caucasian Law Enforcement Association which claims 30 members.

There is currently an Afro-American Sheriff’s Deputy League and a Mexican American Sheriff’s Organization, as well as The Harris County Deputies Organization.

Interesting. I understand that Caucasians are traditionally underrepresented in law enforcement, so perhaps having an association for support will bring their numbers up.

86 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:53:58pm

re: #76 Rightwingconspirator

Kitteh!

re: #77 wlewisiii

Do you know if the others like critters? Are they cat people or dog people? Or the rarer kind that likes both? I grew up with both but am happier around cats, for example (though I do need to get a bird dog… ;)

William

One of each. My job is dependable.

87 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:54:19pm

Killgore posted a link to this story earlier in the week, here is some video.

Evangelist Spurned for Supporting Evolution

“If the data is overwhelmingly in favor of evolution, to deny that reality will make us a cult — some odd group that is not really interacting with the world,” says Waltke.

I do object (of course you know I would) to the way they use the term “conservative” in this context. I see nothing at all “conservative” denying reality.

88 Tiny alien kittens are watching you  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:55:17pm

re: #75 Cannadian Club Akbar

Question:
Where I live now is all family. I don’t know what is happening with my house. (not the point) Should I get a doggie or a kittehn to bring the house together, or would it separate? 3 guys, 1 girl living here.

Dachshund, but not a hyper-active mini, a “standard smooth.”

No one can hate a Dachshund, they are smart, happy, and faithfully loving. They have short hair and don’t shed much, are easily trained because of their intelligence, and usually grow up to be “slut puppies” who love everyone equally.

They aren’t to be trusted around kids under three or so because they will bite when cornered and being battered, but besides that they make a great easy maintenance pet.

89 David IV of Georgia  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:55:39pm

re: #79 wlewisiii

I pray he’s right. We gotta get all the eggs out of one basket…

William

While I like NASA and its mission, I think that private space travel is good (necessary?) to broaden access to space beyond a few science experiments and satellite deliveries.

90 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:55:52pm

re: #87 Slumbering Behemoth

Killgore posted a link to this story earlier in the week, here is some video.

Evangelist Spurned for Supporting Evolution

[Video]I do object (of course you know I would) to the way they use the term “conservative” in this context. I see nothing at all “conservative” denying reality.

Even “social conservative” doesn’t work. Social reactionary, maybe? These denialist anti-science guys need a new label.

91 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:56:06pm

re: #88 ausador

That was my thought for a doggie.:)

92 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:56:21pm

re: #86 Cannadian Club Akbar

Fixed boy kitteh then - friendlier, will cuddle much better than girl kittehs & generally will play games much more. Keep indoors at all times, please.

William

93 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:56:39pm

re: #89 David IV of Georgia

While I like NASA and its mission, I think that private space travel is good (necessary?) to broaden access to space beyond a few science experiments and satellite deliveries.

I was promised an orbiting space casino in the Dark Future, and goddamit, I want it

94 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:57:39pm

re: #92 wlewisiii

Fixed boy kitteh then - friendlier, will cuddle much better than girl kittehs & generally will play games much more. Keep indoors at all times, please.

William

Thanks. Will do.

95 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:58:14pm

re: #90 WindUpBird

Even “social conservative” doesn’t work. Social reactionary, maybe? These denialist anti-science guys need a new label.

Sleezy prog that you are (just kidding bro), I appreciate your unwillingness to slime conservatives like me with reactionary ass hats like the anti-science crowd.

96 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:58:15pm

re: #75 Cannadian Club Akbar

Question:
Where I live now is all family. I don’t know what is happening with my house. (not the point) Should I get a doggie or a kittehn to bring the house together, or would it separate? 3 guys, 1 girl living here.

Two kittehs! :D

(disclaimer, I have three kittehs, one sphynx, two devon rexes. They’re all super-friendly and coddly and also insane little bugeyed monkey cats that are plotting the overthrow of the human regime as we speak)

97 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:58:23pm

re: #93 WindUpBird

I was promised an orbiting space casino in the Dark Future, and goddamit, I want it

Well, I was promised space cars!!!
//

98 allegro  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:59:13pm

re: #91 Cannadian Club Akbar

Please consider rescued pets from your local shelter. All of my “kids” have been shelter buddies.

99 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 2:59:26pm

THE KITTEH OVERLORD IS HERE!!!

100 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:00:02pm

re: #98 allegro

Please consider rescued pets from your local shelter. All of my “kids” have been shelter buddies.

Would be nothing else.:)

101 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:00:14pm

re: #95 Slumbering Behemoth

Sleezy prog that you are (just kidding bro), I appreciate your unwillingness to slime conservatives like me with reactionary ass hats like the anti-science crowd.

I like that spelling of sleezy. :D SLEEZYPROG

Conservatives are not what these guys are. I gots friends who are reasonable conservatives, you’d get along fine with them. One of them is a terrifyingly talented fantasy artist who’s currently in the army, and is into grim and frostbitten black metal and extreme industrial music. And all of them can’t stand these anti-science maniacs. :P

102 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:00:51pm

re: #89 David IV of Georgia

Honestly, I don’t really care who pays the bills, I want to see a human being dusting off “Spirit” to bring it back to the Smithsonian.

William

103 Mark Pennington  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:01:08pm

re: #88 ausador

Dachshund, but not a hyper-active mini, a “standard smooth.”

No one can hate a Dachshund, they are smart, happy, and faithfully loving. They have short hair and don’t shed much, are easily trained because of their intelligence, and usually grow up to be “slut puppies” who love everyone equally.

They aren’t to be trusted around kids under three or so because they will bite when cornered and being battered, but besides that they make a great easy maintenance pet.

I’m a Dachshund lover and my wife is a Beagle fanatic. We have both.

Image: 193.jpg

104 Virginia Plain  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:01:46pm

Has anyone bought an iPad yet? I’m considering getting one and would like to know what you think.

105 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:02:26pm

re: #101 WindUpBird

And honestly, it is not my intention to insult you with SLEEZYPROG, just ribbing you with a term of endearment, if you will.

106 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:03:10pm

I will get a kitty first, then a doggy.

107 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:04:05pm

re: #106 Cannadian Club Akbar

Good idea. It’s always smart to go with the appetizer before the main course.
/

108 Baboon Cheeks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:07:22pm

re: #96 WindUpBird

Two kittehs! :D

(disclaimer, I have three kittehs, one sphynx, two devon rexes. They’re all super-friendly and coddly and also insane little bugeyed monkey cats that are plotting the overthrow of the human regime as we speak)

When it comes to that killer combination of cuteness and lawless thuggery, kitties can’t be beaten:

I CAN HAZ CRACK SHORTBREAD

109 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:07:23pm

re: #107 Slumbering Behemoth

Good idea. It’s always smart to go with the appetizer before the main course.
/

You don’t pick cats. They pick you.

110 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:09:14pm

re: #105 Slumbering Behemoth

And honestly, it is not my intention to insult you with SLEEZYPROG, just ribbing you with a term of endearment, if you will.

heehee :D

111 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:09:47pm

Even if I got a new kitteh, I wouldn’t know how to get a pic here.:(

112 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:10:05pm

re: #85 SanFranciscoZionist

Interesting. I understand that Caucasians are traditionally underrepresented in law enforcement, so perhaps having an association for support will bring their numbers up.

This is the current demographics of the Houston Police department.

* White: 60%
* African-American/Black: 19%
* Hispanic: 18%
* Asian: 3%

I don’t see numbers for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, but their current Sheriff Adrian Garcia suggests they are making some progress as an equal opportunity employer.

113 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:11:54pm

re: #104 Virginia Plain

Has anyone bought an iPad yet? I’m considering getting one and would like to know what you think.

I don’t get why anyone would buy an iPad over a laptop, especially if they already have an iPod touch. I get the iPod touch, (and own one) I don’t get the iPad. People talk about the iPad as an e-reader, but it’s a light source like a laptop, it’ll cause eyestrain. ebook readers with digital paper that isn’t backlit, that’s how to do an e-reader.

But I’m not the target market for the thing anyway :D

114 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:12:26pm

re: #111 Cannadian Club Akbar

Even if I got a new kitteh, I wouldn’t know how to get a pic here.:(

I just use a free photobucket account to upload pictures, then I link them here.

115 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:13:48pm

re: #114 WindUpBird

I just use a free photobucket account to upload pictures, then I link them here.

I am a logical geek. Photobucket.com?

116 SanFranciscoZionist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:16:08pm

re: #112 Bagua

This is the current demographics of the Houston Police department.

* White: 60%
* African-American/Black: 19%
* Hispanic: 18%
* Asian: 3%

I don’t see numbers for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, but their current Sheriff Adrian Garcia suggests they are making some progress as an equal opportunity employer.

Those numbers are still nowhere near the overall demographics for Houston, but I’m sure they’re trending that way over time.

117 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:16:13pm

re: #109 Cannadian Club Akbar

I guess that all depends on what restaurant you go to.

118 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:17:00pm

re: #115 Cannadian Club Akbar

I am a logical geek. Photobucket.com?

Yesh. ^^

For example, this is my kitteh Cydonia: Image: snapshot689.jpg

And this is just the root directory of my album with a bunch of art crap in it: s933.photobucket.com

119 Baboon Cheeks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:18:06pm

The Catholic Church: Why Richard Dawkins Was Right and I Was Wrong
by Michael Ruse - The Huffington Post


I thought at the time that Dawkins was over the top and wrong. I now think that he was right and that it was I who was wrong. Let me say at once that, unlike Dawkins, I don’t necessarily want to see this as the end of religion or even of the Catholic Church in some form. I stress that although I cannot share the beliefs of Christians, I respect them and applaud the good that is done in the name of their founder. But I do now think that as presently constituted, the Catholic Church is corrupt and should be eradicated.

You might argue that this is to go too far. But what is the alternative? Vatican Three, perhaps? The Church could open its doors to married priests, give women a proper role (if we can appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, why cannot a woman become a member of the College of Cardinals?), make a place within for gays and other minorities. It could recognize birth control for the blessing that it is and stop insisting that the moment the sperm gets to the ovum, nothing else matters but to preserve this entity, even though such a stand causes unnumbered cases of pain and sadness (and certainly does little to reduce the abortion rate) and leads the Catholic bishops to oppose universal health care, quite apart from the fact that it all flies in the face of the official philosophy of the Church, Thomism. And I could continue.

This will not happen. This last week, the Pope appointed an archbishop for Los Angeles. The appointee is a member of Opus Dei, for goodness’s sake. You don’t have to subscribe to the nuttiness of The Da Vinci Code to know what this means: he belongs to an organization that throve under Generalissimo Franco, about as right-wing as it is possible to get. Far from trying to reform, the Church is digging in and digging in.

Dawkins is right. The moral mess gets worse and worse. Hope of change is illusory. Götterdämmerung beckons. Although we have different motives and undoubtedly hope for different outcomes, I join Dawkins in welcoming the prospect.


full article:

huffingtonpost.com

120 Tiny alien kittens are watching you  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:18:16pm

re: #104 Virginia Plain

Has anyone bought an iPad yet? I’m considering getting one and would like to know what you think.

Uhm, it is overpriced, overhyped, and won’t play flash at all which means “no video for you.” Has no external ports for USB or Firewire, external drives, keyboards, mouse, nothing…

If you want to buy one for the bragging rights then go ahead, but I’m not sure why else anyone would think they needed one.

121 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:18:50pm

re: #118 WindUpBird

Do you do pencil?

122 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:19:52pm

re: #118 WindUpBird

I find myself deeply concerned about you raising cats. I am afraid that under your influence, they will grow up to wear bizarre human costumes, and hang out at those strange Furrless conventions.
/

123 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:20:08pm

re: #104 Virginia Plain

I looked at one on Wednesday. It really depends on what you need to do. If you use a computer only to send email, surf the web (even post here), play music or you-tube and other light uses then I think it’s a good machine. It’s a great fit for my wife for example & I hope to get her one for Christmas.

For me, not so much. I need my Common Lisp, if nothing else :)

William

124 Political Atheist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:20:35pm

re: #115 Cannadian Club Akbar

Photobucket.com or download picasa from Google. Easy photo editing and web albums. Like this one of mine…

125 Baboon Cheeks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:20:46pm

Dinner time - later, folks :)

126 SanFranciscoZionist  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:20:55pm

re: #122 Slumbering Behemoth

I find myself deeply concerned about you raising cats. I am afraid that under your influence, they will grow up to wear bizarre human costumes, and hang out at those strange Furrless conventions.
/

“She doesn’t drink wine. Drinking wine is for those total freaks who file their teeth flat!”

127 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:22:16pm

re: #120 ausador

Uhm, it is overpriced, overhyped, and won’t play flash at all which means “no video for you.” Has no external ports for USB or Firewire, external drives, keyboards, mouse, nothing…

If you want to buy one for the bragging rights then go ahead, but I’m not sure why else anyone would think they needed one.

wellll it will play video if it’s like an iPod touch. It goes through Apple’s own app for Youtube, which is a separate thing. What it won’t do is play flash embedded in a website.

128 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:22:59pm

re: #122 Slumbering Behemoth

I find myself deeply concerned about you raising cats. I am afraid that under your influence, they will grow up to wear bizarre human costumes, and hang out at those strange Furrless conventions.
/

hahahahaha Oh they’d choke me in my sleep if I tried to make them wear anything :D

129 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:23:38pm

re: #120 ausador

Uhm, it is overpriced, overhyped, and won’t play flash at all which means “no video for you.” Has no external ports for USB or Firewire, external drives, keyboards, mouse, nothing…

If you want to buy one for the bragging rights then go ahead, but I’m not sure why else anyone would think they needed one.

Some of us consider the lack of Flash to be a GOOD thing… ;) There is a you-tube player, that’s enough till something decent comes along to replace Flash.

William

130 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:24:03pm

re: #121 Cannadian Club Akbar

Do you do pencil?

Yes ^^ I do a little of everything.My preferred medium right now is digital, but I fill a sketchbook with pencil drawings about once a month or so.

131 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:24:56pm

re: #129 wlewisiii

Some of us consider the lack of Flash to be a GOOD thing… ;) There is a you-tube player, that’s enough till something decent comes along to replace Flash.

William

Apple and Adobe generally don’t get along so well. 8-)

132 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:25:07pm

re: #116 SanFranciscoZionist

Those numbers are still nowhere near the overall demographics for Houston, but I’m sure they’re trending that way over time.

No, they aren’t. But the Harris County Sheriff department appears closer to civilian demographics as the Caucasians are allegedly now the minority.

As it appears that they are currently EOE compliant, one questions the need to form new associations based upon race. Perhaps the existing ones for formerly discriminated against groups should also re-organise and remove references to race in their names.

133 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:25:42pm

re: #130 WindUpBird

Yes ^^ I do a little of everything.My preferred medium right now is digital, but I fill a sketchbook with pencil drawings about once a month or so.

My friend penciled “Killers” by Iron Maiden T’was, the cool.:)

134 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:27:06pm

re: #106 Cannadian Club Akbar

I will get a kitty first, then a doggy.

Start off with a rat or two before the cat or dog.

135 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:27:19pm

And now, for something completely different.

Laters, Lizards.

136 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:28:59pm

re: #133 Cannadian Club Akbar

My friend penciled “Killers” by Iron Maiden T’was, the cool.:)

I love that cover :D

My favorite Maiden cover is the one for Somewhere in Time, I had a 6’ poster of it when I was a kid :D

137 Tiny alien kittens are watching you  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:29:31pm

re: #123 wlewisiii

I looked at one on Wednesday. It really depends on what you need to do. If you use a computer only to send email, surf the web (even post here), play music or you-tube and other light uses then I think it’s a good machine. It’s a great fit for my wife for example & I hope to get her one for Christmas.

For me, not so much. I need my Common Lisp, if nothing else :)

William

Uhh, youtube?
Nope, you can’t run flash on an ipad which means no youtube…or news site videos or liveleak or Hulu, basically more than 75% of all the video content online.

138 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:29:49pm

re: #134 b_sharp

Start off with a rat or two before the cat or dog.

But mt brothers snakes will eat the rat!!

139 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:29:59pm

re: #131 WindUpBird

Apple is evil, there I said it.

140 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:30:25pm

yesteryear…
featphoto.net

141 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:32:17pm

re: #118 WindUpBird

Yesh. ^^

For example, this is my kitteh Cydonia: Image: snapshot689.jpg

And this is just the root directory of my album with a bunch of art crap in it: [Link: s933.photobucket.com…]

Which one is the self portrait?

142 Cannadian Club Akbar  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:32:28pm

gotta go for a while…BBL

143 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:33:17pm

No Flash? No USB port?

This is unacceptable. It may be time to short AAPL.*

* Note: Bagua’s Crystal Ball™ is usually wrong.

144 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:35:37pm

re: #138 Cannadian Club Akbar

But mt brothers snakes will eat the rat!!

Well then, you need a mongoose.

145 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:36:31pm

Nine Mile, St. Ann Parrish
Bob Marley’s home town
featphoto.net

146 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:37:01pm

re: #137 ausador

Uhh, youtube?
Nope, you can’t run flash on an ipad which means no youtube…or news site videos or liveleak or Hulu, basically more than 75% of all the video content online.

They have a you-tube player for it. As for the rest, as well as it’s selling, there will be alternatives soon enough for most people.

William

147 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:41:43pm

re: #137 ausador

Uhh, youtube?
Nope, you can’t run flash on an ipad which means no youtube…or news site videos or liveleak or Hulu, basically more than 75% of all the video content online.

Uh, NOPE.

“You’ll love watching Youtube videos on the iPad, especially those in HD”

148 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:42:53pm

War


- Bob Marley
149 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:43:09pm

re: #147 Racer X

Uh, NOPE.

“You’ll love watching Youtube videos on the iPad, especially those in HD”

what about Hulu, though? i love that site…

150 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:44:27pm

What was great about 1969:

I don’t think the audience was chosen at random off the street. I think that’s Michael Jackson singing along at 3:55. And it might be Rob Reiner looking into the camera at 7:25.

151 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:45:39pm

Marley’s little church that holds his bones…a small mausoleum on his grandmother’s property where he was raised….Jamaica’s holy Land

featphoto.net

152 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:46:03pm

re: #147 Racer X

Gosh, it looks wonderful. Me want iPad.

153 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:47:02pm

re: #152 Bagua

Gosh, it looks wonderful. Me want iPad.

I think I’ll wait for gen2. I like a USB port.

154 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:48:02pm

re: #148 Bagua

One wonders if “War and Peace” would have been considered as successful had it been published under its original title, “War…What Is It Good For”?

155 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:48:39pm

re: #153 Racer X

Things like that and the flash thing are what get to me actually; its like they’re intentionally making it totally exclusive to themselves, for total control.

156 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:49:00pm

re: #153 Racer X

Also I heard it will have 3G.

157 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:49:33pm

re: #153 Racer X

I think I’ll wait for gen2. I like a USB port.

Eh. Wait a little longer and it’ll be a real pc. That’s when i’m jumping in. Only i doubt i’ll buy an apple…and i have an iphone…

158 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:53:07pm

re: #155 windsagio

Things like that and the flash thing are what get to me actually; its like they’re intentionally making it totally exclusive to themselves, for total control.

Socialism!

159 Cheechako  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:56:24pm

OT - Anyone use TurboTax to do their taxes this year? Just found out there’s a error in TurboTax that caused me to double enter a medical deduction. The end result is my paying less in taxes than I should have. I think I’ll wait until the IRS discovers the error and sends me a bill for the additional tax. Just keeping the money in my bank account until the IRS calls for it. Besides, TurboTax is supposed to pay any fines or penalties.

160 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:57:04pm

re: #149 Aceofwhat?

what about Hulu, though? i love that site…

I think Hulu will come up with a solution to that. Youtube offers HTML5 - which is what I use on my iMac and it works fine.

161 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:57:31pm

re: #151 albusteve

Marley’s little church that holds his bones…a small mausoleum on his grandmother’s property where he was raised…Jamaica’s holy Land

[Link: www.featphoto.net…]

Amazing how one man influenced not only his own Island culture, but spread positive vibrations around the globe.

On class, hope, and the future of Jamaica


- Bob Marley Interview
162 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:57:53pm

Fred Tackett, Levon Helm, and Bill Payne
Little Feat benefit at the Lisner in Georgetown, DC….2002
featphoto.net

163 KingKenrod  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 3:58:40pm

re: #119 Jimmah

The Catholic Church: Why Richard Dawkins Was Right and I Was Wrong
by Michael Ruse - The Huffington Post


full article:

[Link: www.huffingtonpost.com…]

How does Ruse & Dawkins desire that the Church “should be eradicated” differ from Geert Wilders desire to rid Europe of Islam? Both religions are under attack for their lack of modernity of systematic victimization of the laity.

164 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:00:07pm
165 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:00:34pm

re: #161 Bagua

Amazing how one man influenced not only his own Island culture, but spread positive vibrations around the globe.

On class, hope, and the future of Jamaica


[Video]
- Bob Marley Interview

for Jamaicans, Marley is the Prophet…I met his wife Rita once and a couple of his kids, Ziggy and another one….they were South Florida all the way

166 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:01:24pm

re: #162 albusteve

Fred Tackett, Levon Helm, and Bill Payne
Little Feat benefit at the Lisner in Georgetown, DC…2002

featphoto.net

duh

167 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:03:00pm

re: #163 KingKenrod

How does Ruse & Dawkins desire that the Church “should be eradicated” differ from Geert Wilders desire to rid Europe of Islam? Both religions are under attack for their lack of modernity of systematic victimization of the laity.

Dawkins wants all religion gone, but he wants it gone through rational thought and societal evolution. He does not condone violence.

168 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:03:15pm
169 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:03:53pm

Warren Haynes
featphoto.net

Jackson Brown
featphoto.net

my good buddy took all these pics, I was with him but took my own….his are pro quality, that’s what he does

170 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:05:27pm

re: #169 albusteve

Warren Haynes
[Link: www.featphoto.net…]

Jackson Brown
[Link: www.featphoto.net…]

my good buddy took all these pics, I was with him but took my own…his are pro quality, that’s what he does

I want that sunburst Les Paul.

171 PhillyPretzel  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:06:25pm

If beekeeper is still here I have two suggestions. America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Illustrated. The recipies are tested before they are published or appear on TV.

172 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:06:35pm

re: #170 b_sharp

I want that sunburst Les Paul.

I think it’s a ‘59 Bursty…I asked him, he said it was…800k

173 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:08:19pm

re: #167 b_sharp

Dawkins wants all religion gone, but he wants it gone through rational thought and societal evolution. He does not condone violence.

it’s a small step from “elimination via rational thought and societal evolution” to “elimination via outlawing” as a nonviolent method of eradication.

atheist evangelists are still evangelists…

174 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:08:21pm

re: #172 albusteve

I think it’s a ‘59 Bursty…I asked him, he said it was…800k

59?

OMG, I’ll have to sell the wife to afford it.

175 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:09:48pm
176 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:10:08pm

re: #174 b_sharp

59?

OMG, I’ll have to sell the wife to afford it.

there are just a few hundred accounted for out of like 1500…something like that, you’d have to look it up….it’s the big one, the Holy Grail right there bro….there are entire web pages about that ax

177 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:11:07pm

re: #173 Aceofwhat?


atheist evangelists are still evangelists…

Quoted for support, yer gonna need it :D

I’ll add, in some ways they’re worse because they don’t see themselves that way.

178 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:11:52pm

Jimmy Herring…look at his Strat
featphoto.net

179 KingKenrod  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:12:23pm

re: #167 b_sharp

Dawkins wants all religion gone, but he wants it gone through rational thought and societal evolution. He does not condone violence.

Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Dawkins since “should be eradicated” weren’t his words. But Ruse seemed to be echoing him. I don’t think Ruse’s rhetoric is going to win any hearts and minds.

180 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:14:06pm

re: #173 Aceofwhat?

it’s a small step from “elimination via rational thought and societal evolution” to “elimination via outlawing” as a nonviolent method of eradication.

atheist evangelists are still evangelists…

Except religious evangelists are demanding people believe in something with no empirical evidence and a built in method of group control, and atheist evangelists are asking people to join reality, think skeptically and give up superstition. There is no built in control in not believing in something.

181 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:14:15pm

Little Feat and friends
Waiting For Columbus Reunion Benefit
Washington, DC

featphoto.net
featphoto.net

182 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:14:26pm

re: #177 windsagio

Quoted for support, yer gonna need it :D

I’ll add, in some ways they’re worse because they don’t see themselves that way.

you’re a good dude.

and i don’t really mind the evangelism part…i like peoples’ opinions on why they think they have this “god” question pinned down…i just mind the part where they don’t see themselves that way.

183 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:14:42pm

re: #180 b_sharp

Ace: See? I told ya :D

184 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:15:12pm

re: #180 b_sharp

Except religious evangelists are demanding people believe in something with no empirical evidence and a built in method of group control, and atheist evangelists are asking people to join reality, think skeptically and give up superstition. There is no built in control in not believing in something.

So I need to join reality because i’m superstitious as a Christian?

185 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:15:47pm

re: #182 Aceofwhat?

you’re totally rockin’ dude, and amazingly good looking to boot.

FixT.

186 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:15:52pm

re: #183 windsagio

Ace: See? I told ya :D

with Swiss precision, no less…duly updinged;)

187 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:16:47pm

re: #176 albusteve

there are just a few hundred accounted for out of like 1500…something like that, you’d have to look it up…it’s the big one, the Holy Grail right there bro…there are entire web pages about that ax

I’ve been in lust with the Les Paul for decades. I just about dropped $8000.00 for a gold top a few years ago. I was talked out of it.

189 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:19:09pm

re: #188 WindUpBird

Victory Golden Monkey Tripel, thou art a tasty thing *_*

You had me at ‘belgian’…

190 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:19:15pm

re: #187 b_sharp

I’ve been in lust with the Les Paul for decades. I just about dropped $8000.00 for a gold top a few years ago. I was talked out of it.

hahah my current instrument lust is one of these: Roland TD-20

Not the same as buying a guitar (especially a Les Paul) much more akin to shopping for a new studio computer or a mixing board. TECHNOLOGY

191 Bagua  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:19:38pm

Jamrock


- Damian Marley
192 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:20:16pm

re: #189 Aceofwhat?

You had me at ‘belgian’…

Something else we can agree on *_*

It’s really good, for an American Tripel, the only one I can think of that’s better that is easily available (as opposed to some rare 22oz bomber thing) is the Pranqster by North Coast.

193 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:20:17pm

re: #187 b_sharp

I’ve been in lust with the Les Paul for decades. I just about dropped $8000.00 for a gold top a few years ago. I was talked out of it.

here’s another one…Sonny Landreth
featphoto.net

194 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:21:16pm

re: #178 albusteve

Jimmy Herring…look at his Strat
[Link: www.featphoto.net…]

Ebony fingerboard. Need I say anything else?

I’ve never owned a Strat, I tend to prefer the Gibson necks, my favourite shredder is an American made ’80s vintage Jackson Fusion with an ebony fingerboard, although I do have a Peavey Wolfgang with the longer neck and a maple fingerboard.

195 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:23:21pm

Lenny Pickett
featphoto.net

196 KingKenrod  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:23:36pm

re: #172 albusteve

I think it’s a ‘59 Bursty…I asked him, he said it was…800k

Haynes playing the Les Paul…Allman Bros - Whipping Post on Jimmy Fallon a couple of weeks ago. Trucks and Haynes both solo…

197 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:24:03pm

re: #177 windsagio

Quoted for support, yer gonna need it :D

I’ll add, in some ways they’re worse because they don’t see themselves that way.

The way I see it, if someone is demanding you accept their worldview of the metaphysical, even if it is the complete absence of the metaphysical, they’re evangelizing. :D

198 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:24:25pm

re: #192 WindUpBird

Something else we can agree on *_*

It’s really good, for an American Tripel, the only one I can think of that’s better that is easily available (as opposed to some rare 22oz bomber thing) is the Pranqster by North Coast.

i have the occasional moment of sensibility before i slip back into superstition/

have you started DAO yet??

199 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:25:35pm

re: #196 KingKenrod

Haynes playing the Les Paul…Allman Bros - Whipping Post on Jimmy Fallon a couple of weeks ago. Trucks and Haynes both solo…


[Video]

ahhh, timeless, Greg still has it

200 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:25:51pm

re: #198 Aceofwhat?

i have the occasional moment of sensibility before i slip back into superstition/

have you started DAO yet??

Dragon Age? There’s no way I can play it right now with my workload :P I’m expecting a bonus from a previous project soon, then I’m taking a well-deserved break to go do nothing but drink beer and play video games.

201 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:26:36pm

re: #197 WindUpBird

The way I see it, if someone is demanding you accept their worldview of the metaphysical, even if it is the complete absence of the metaphysical, they’re evangelizing. :D

bingo. and the word need not carry negative connotation, there are occasions (like here on LGF) when i like hearing people evangelize about their worldview…but i’m guessing that the word gives your average atheist the shivers.

and i like giving people the shivers…

202 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:27:05pm

re: #179 KingKenrod

Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Dawkins since “should be eradicated” weren’t his words. But Ruse seemed to be echoing him. I don’t think Ruse’s rhetoric is going to win any hearts and minds.

Dawkins wants the Catholic bureaucratic system eradicated, Ruse I ignore. Eradicated implies active, forceful removal, which isn’t really what any of the new atheists are pushing for. We’re more interested in countering religious nonsense in the media and convincing people to let go. We’re mostly talk. Making new laws to counter religion isn’t really in the cards, and violence is right out.

203 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:27:15pm

Trucks and Haynes are more talented than Allman and Betts….maybe, more than Betts for sure

204 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:27:41pm

re: #201 Aceofwhat?

bingo. and the word need not carry negative connotation, there are occasions (like here on LGF) when i like hearing people evangelize about their worldview…but i’m guessing that the word gives your average atheist the shivers.

and i like giving people the shivers…

I evangelize about bands :D

205 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:27:54pm

re: #200 WindUpBird

Dragon Age? There’s no way I can play it right now with my workload :P I’m expecting a bonus from a previous project soon, then I’m taking a well-deserved break to go do nothing but drink beer and play video games.

wow - that means you have it around but have resisted playing it so far. abstinence is really hard, isn’t it//

206 reine.de.tout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:27:59pm

OT, unrelated to anything being talked about right now:

For inquiring minds who want to know, you can hear the pronunciation of

Eyjafjallajokull

here.

207 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:28:19pm

re: #202 b_sharp

If you want to counteract religion, the answer is better porn, hahaha

208 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:28:51pm

re: #203 albusteve

Trucks and Haynes are more talented than Allman and Betts…maybe, more than Betts for sure

I saw Trucks playing slide with Clapton in Chicago in 2007..
Dude is a monster

209 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:29:39pm

re: #202 b_sharp

Dawkins wants the Catholic bureaucratic system eradicated, Ruse I ignore. Eradicated implies active, forceful removal, which isn’t really what any of the new atheists are pushing for. We’re more interested in countering religious nonsense in the media and convincing people to let go. We’re mostly talk. Making new laws to counter religion isn’t really in the cards, and violence is right out.

talk is good. laws to establish religion and laws to counter religion both scare me.

210 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:30:10pm

re: #183 windsagio

Ace: See? I told ya :D

Thththup!!!
:-P

211 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:30:38pm

re: #205 Aceofwhat?

wow - that means you have it around but have resisted playing it so far. abstinence is really hard, isn’t it//

Well, it’s honestly not, I just know for a fact that if I were to play it now, I wouldn’t enjoy it, I’d be too distracted. I have this weird binge and purge thing with games going. I have to either drop everything and just have most of my life be absorbed by the game, every night, 5 hour sessions, or I don’t play at all. When I played through System Shock 2 the first time, I played it through in about 4 8 hour sessions, from when i got home at 10pm, to about sunrise. Same with Super Metroid, Same with Bioshock, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Persona 3, same with Uplink, same with Torment…it’s just how I do it. :D

212 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:31:13pm

re: #204 WindUpBird

Stupid Mastodon.

213 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:31:38pm

No one needs religion to tell them to live moral lives.

Religion tells our lives have meaning.

214 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:31:56pm

re: #206 reine.de.tout

OT, unrelated to anything being talked about right now:

For inquiring minds who want to know, you can hear the pronunciation of

Eyjafjallajokull

here.

Exactly like it’s spelled!

/if you don’t count half the consonants and a third of the vowels

215 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:33:19pm

re: #212 windsagio

Stupid Mastodon.

Fuck you, they’re amazing *_*

That intro is one of the best metal intros of all time. it’s fucking Christlike. 28 seconds in, that is a guitar lick metalheads will still be talking about in 20 years

216 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:34:07pm

re: #213 researchok

No one needs religion to tell them to live moral lives.

Religion tells our lives have meaning.

Personally, I have tons of meaning without it, but that’s just me. :D

217 reine.de.tout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:34:25pm

re: #214 wrenchwench

Exactly like it’s spelled!

/if you don’t count half the consonants and a third of the vowels

heheh.
My thoughts exactly.
I’ve listened to it 10 times, and I still can’t say it. I keep expecting the pronunciation to make some sort of (English) sense between the letters in the word and how they’re pronounced.

218 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:35:05pm

re: #211 WindUpBird

sounds healthier than my tendency…as a serial procrastinator, the game is most enjoyable to me when it’s preventing me from getting actual things done.

i could never work at home. my dad’s trying to talk me into starting a new business with him and it terrifies me…i have great respect for self-made folks like you.

219 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:36:30pm

re: #216 WindUpBird

Personally, I have tons of meaning without it, but that’s just me. :D

We don’t kill each other or go through red lights because we need rules to establish a productive and safe society, etc.

Those rules do not give our live meaning in the way a healthy expression of faith does.

220 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:37:03pm

re: #216 WindUpBird

I’m just against exceptionalism. Any kind of exceptionalism.

Doesn’t matter if its Atheism, or Christianity, or the US, or Israel, or whatever.

We’re all special, but if you think you’re different and better, you’re totally wrong.

(and obviously I don’t mean WUB specifically, he’s too chillax to be exceptionalist about anything :p)

221 Tiny alien kittens are watching you  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:38:12pm

re: #177 windsagio

Quoted for support, yer gonna need it :D

I’ll add, in some ways they’re worse because they don’t see themselves that way.

Have you ever read “The Philosophy of Humanism by Corliss Lamont” want to talk about an American Communist movement?

Admittedly it was written quite a while ago but damn, someone desperately needs to rewrite that mess to bring it 30+ years into the future. Anyone claiming to adhere to “humanist” principals is basically saying that they are still an completely unreformed communist, IMHO anyway.

Your right, they need to wake up and wipe the dreamy appeal of a communist utopia out of their eyes and try to figure out how to make the current world we all have to live in better.

222 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:38:15pm

re: #220 windsagio

I’m just against exceptionalism. Any kind of exceptionalism.

Doesn’t matter if its Atheism, or Christianity, or the US, or Israel, or whatever.

We’re all special, but if you think you’re different and better, you’re totally wrong.

(and obviously I don’t mean WUB specifically, he’s too chillax to be exceptionalist about anything :p)

All progress is motivated and driven by exceptionalism.

223 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:38:43pm

The closest thing I have to a religion is the notion that human endeavor, human art and fulling the potential of your own creativity is its own meaning. The cloest thing I have to religious experiences are music and art. Ours. We made it. To paraphrase Kelly, “I have met the God and he is us.”

Not that I don’t believe in a higher power, I just think the car is more interesting than the machine tools and the metal lathe that built the car. I believe in a higher power that is unknowable machinery billions of times more complex than anything we could comprehend, and has absolutely no place being anthropomorphisized. Worshipping God to me is like worshipping a factory, or a planet, or a spaceship, or a circuit board.

224 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:39:27pm

re: #218 Aceofwhat?

sounds healthier than my tendency…as a serial procrastinator, the game is most enjoyable to me when it’s preventing me from getting actual things done.

i could never work at home. my dad’s trying to talk me into starting a new business with him and it terrifies me…i have great respect for self-made folks like you.

if I don’t get things done, I don’t pay rent and they reposess my cars. Freelance can be a little too exciting sometimes. :D

225 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:40:01pm

re: #222 researchok

All progress is motivated and driven by exceptionalism.

personal exceptionalism: Great!

Tribal exceptionalism: nazi party.

226 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:40:41pm

re: #222 researchok

Really? I’d love to see that idea supported.

227 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:41:35pm

re: #218 Aceofwhat?


i could never work at home. my dad’s trying to talk me into starting a new business with him and it terrifies me…i have great respect for self-made folks like you.

Thanks. My parents did help me out with art school, I really can’t claim I’m totally self made. ;-) I just sort of make stuff, and after enough years of making stuff, people start to figure out you can make THEIR stuff, and there ya go.

228 avanti  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:42:35pm

More Loony Tunes about martial law, this time from the right:

“This afternoon a local radio talk show host reported that he had been in contact with a member of the military. This military source stated that the armed forces have been alerted to the strong possibility that civil unrest may occur in the United States this summer, prior to the midterm elections of 2010.

However, it has become clear that other groups may well initiate violence in order to start an ‘incident’ that would give Obama and a rogue Congress a reason to implement martial law, confiscate the citizens’ guns, enforce curfews, and suspend all future elections until such time as it is deemed ’safe’ to proceed with human liberty as encapsulated in the right to vote. “

link.

229 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:43:33pm

re: #227 WindUpBird

Thanks. My parents did help me out with art school, I really can’t claim I’m totally self made. ;-) I just sort of make stuff, and after enough years of making stuff, people start to figure out you can make THEIR stuff, and there ya go.

that fits my definition of “self-made”. credit given…no returns or refunds here…

230 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:43:40pm

re: #220 windsagio

I’m just against exceptionalism. Any kind of exceptionalism.

Doesn’t matter if its Atheism, or Christianity, or the US, or Israel, or whatever.

We’re all special, but if you think you’re different and better, you’re totally wrong.

(and obviously I don’t mean WUB specifically, he’s too chillax to be exceptionalist about anything :p)

I have bad news for you..exceptionalism drives the world…The normal drowns in the fire of every day life…Another day..Another normal life

231 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:43:46pm

re: #184 Aceofwhat?

So I need to join reality because i’m superstitious as a Christian?

If you give up all superstitions, you join reality by default.

Do you believe there is an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent anthropomorphic being interested in your daily life? Do you believe he/she/it controls the very cosmos and is not subject to the physical laws?

IMHO, if you believe there is an intelligence able to directly affect our lives that is outside of the physical constraints of the reality we find ourselves in, then yes, in this one aspect of your life I consider you to be superstitious. I cannot prove this, because I have no way of falsifying the existence of this being. I cannot be 100% certain he/she/it does not exist, but I can say I am 99% sure.

How do you view someone who believes in Thor, Odin, Loki, Aesgard and the rest? Honestly, if someone came up to you and claimed a deep and serious belief in Aesgard and the AEsir, what would your first thought be?

232 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:44:01pm

re: #225 WindUpBird

dunno about that, at least by the definition I”m thinking :p People like that tend to be really obnoxious >>

(like the therians for instance)

233 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:44:38pm

blog therapy is okay…but I prefer this sort
featphoto.net

234 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:45:08pm

re: #186 Aceofwhat?

with Swiss precision, no less…duly updinged;)

Oh come on, you knew I’m an atheist, I’ve never hidden it.

235 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:45:11pm

re: #226 windsagio

Really? I’d love to see that idea supported.



“Exceptionalism is the perception that a country, society, institution, movement, or time period is “exceptional” (i.e., unusual or extraordinary) in some way and thus does not need to conform to normal rules or general principles.”

Seems pretty creepy to me, honestly. It sorta creates this cosmic deification of stuff.

I don’t believe America is “the greatest nation on earth”. I believe it’s a cool place with some problems, that reflects our values. I never want to live anywhere but Portland, but that doesn’t mean I think Portland is objectively superior. it just is the best place on earth for me. Just like other countries reflect their citizens’ values. Some countries are fucked up and have broken political systems, some don’t. We’re the big dog, but that doesn’t make our country better, it just means we’re the big dog. Is a Camry a better car than a Lotus Exige? Makes no sense to compare the two, except that Toyota is a bigger entitiy.

236 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:45:27pm

re: #225 WindUpBird

personal exceptionalism: Great!

Tribal exceptionalism: nazi party.

That’s tribalism- not an expression of real and inclusive exceptionalism.

America is exceptional. In the course of just over 200 years, we have provided the world with ideas, contributions and realities that are in the consciousness of just about every human being on the planet.

People want to come here precisely because they want to be a part of that exceptionalism. If exceptionalism were taken off the table, the world’s immigrants would be headed for the beaches in the Bahamas.

We are targeted by repressive regimes and tyrants precisely because we are exceptional. They want to disempower people- we are exceptional because we want to empower people.

237 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:45:57pm

re: #229 Aceofwhat?

that fits my definition of “self-made”. credit given…no returns or refunds here…

Cool! :D

speaking of the biz, I made a big business purchase the other day, should arrive next week. In which case I will be giggling madly and taking photos of it :D

238 Tiny alien kittens are watching you  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:46:00pm

re: #228 avanti

More Loony Tunes about martial law, this time from the right:

“This afternoon a local radio talk show host reported that he had been in contact with a member of the military. This military source stated that the armed forces have been alerted to the strong possibility that civil unrest may occur in the United States this summer, prior to the midterm elections of 2010.

However, it has become clear that other groups may well initiate violence in order to start an ‘incident’ that would give Obama and a rogue Congress a reason to implement martial law, confiscate the citizens’ guns, enforce curfews, and suspend all future elections until such time as it is deemed ’safe’ to proceed with human liberty as encapsulated in the right to vote. “

link.

Hmm…where have I heard that before…

Oh, yeah, every single day since Obama was elected on WND and before that on similar but more primitive web sites during Clintons tenure…sigh.

239 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:46:01pm

re: #230 HoosierHoops

From that, I’m suspecting that my definition and yours might be different a bit >>

Hows this; its natural for us to all think we’re the special flower,when really we’re in the midst of a vast mountain meadow.

240 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:46:24pm

Zombie has a new report out on the “infiltrators” at the San Fran Tea Party. She’s become quite the Tea Party shill.

241 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:47:14pm

re: #235 WindUpBird

ok freaki’n brilliant, I think thats the first post I”ve favorited.

It says what I’m trying ot say so well :D

242 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:48:40pm

Re: Ace and his father.

Dude I worked with my dad for a while. If you’re anything like me don’t do it!

Its an infinite corridor full of an infinite variety of deathtraps.

243 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:49:27pm

re: #236 researchok

By Jingo, you’re right!

!!!!

244 Four More Tears  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:49:31pm

re: #240 Killgore Trout

INFiLTORS!

245 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:50:12pm

re: #242 windsagio

Re: Ace and his father.

Dude I worked with my dad for a while. If you’re anything like me don’t do it!

Its an infinite corridor full of an infinite variety of deathtraps.

wow
awesome

246 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:50:20pm

re: #238 ausador

Hmm…where have I heard that before…

Oh, yeah, every single day since Obama was elected on WND and before that on similar but more primitive web sites during Clintons tenure…sigh.

You could hear it quite often at lefty sites for the 8 years in between, too.

William

247 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:50:24pm

re: #239 windsagio

From that, I’m suspecting that my definition and yours might be different a bit >>

Hows this; its natural for us to all think we’re the special flower,when really we’re in the midst of a vast mountain meadow.

Maybe we are all special flowers..
How is this…
One person can change all of History..One person can make history, impact lives and inspire millions..
One person….
Can make a big impact in this world..
One Soul

248 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:50:26pm

re: #236 researchok

That’s tribalism- not an expression of real and inclusive exceptionalism.

America is exceptional. In the course of just over 200 years, we have provided the world with ideas, contributions and realities that are in the consciousness of just about every human being on the planet.

People want to come here precisely because they want to be a part of that exceptionalism. If exceptionalism were taken off the table, the world’s immigrants would be headed for the beaches in the Bahamas.

We are targeted by repressive regimes and tyrants precisely because we are exceptional. They want to disempower people- we are exceptional because we want to empower people.

America has some exceptional qualities NOW. And it also have some really horriffic qualities. It’s full of potential in both positive and negative directions. But it’s no more exceptional than France was, or Britain was, or Egypt was, or whatever.

We’re targeted because we’re a superpower, not because we’re exceptional. Apple is “targeted” by companies that seek to take a piece out of it. So is google, so is Microsoft. We’re more like Microsoft right now. Microsoft is expectional the way America is exceptional. lots of resources, lots of good ideas, lots of brain trust. And lots of bad ideas and bullshit to go along with the good stuff. Strength and exceptionalism are not really the same thing.

249 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:50:36pm

re: #223 WindUpBird

The closest thing I have to a religion is the notion that human endeavor, human art and fulling the potential of your own creativity is its own meaning. The cloest thing I have to religious experiences are music and art. Ours. We made it.

you may or may not be surprised to know how much this reads like a Christian statement to me…a Christian will often make something in honor of God, just like i’m sure you’ve made something for your parents to honor their support of your pursuits. but human endeavor and art are absolutely special.

250 avanti  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:50:53pm

re: #238 ausador

Hmm…where have I heard that before…

Oh, yeah, every single day since Obama was elected on WND and before that on similar but more primitive web sites during Clintons tenure…sigh.

In fairness, I heard it about Bush too.

251 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:52:37pm

re: #249 Aceofwhat?

you may or may not be surprised to know how much this reads like a Christian statement to me…a Christian will often make something in honor of God, just like i’m sure you’ve made something for your parents to honor their support of your pursuits. but human endeavor and art are absolutely special.

I just honor my muse. My mother likes that I’m doing well, but doesn’t understand my art at all :D

252 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:52:44pm

re: #247 HoosierHoops

Of course we’re all special flowers. But the Indian Paintbrush is no more special than the wild sage.

253 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:54:06pm

re: #190 WindUpBird

hahah my current instrument lust is one of these: Roland TD-20

Not the same as buying a guitar (especially a Les Paul) much more akin to shopping for a new studio computer or a mixing board. TECHNOLOGY

Nice set. Is that a Dr. Rhythm DR 880 on the end? I have the DR-3.
I also have the BOSS GT6 and Roland GR-33.

Now, if I could just learn to play the guitar…

254 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:55:23pm

re: #231 b_sharp

If you give up all superstitions, you join reality by default.

Do you believe there is an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent anthropomorphic being interested in your daily life? Do you believe he/she/it controls the very cosmos and is not subject to the physical laws?

IMHO, if you believe there is an intelligence able to directly affect our lives that is outside of the physical constraints of the reality we find ourselves in, then yes, in this one aspect of your life I consider you to be superstitious. I cannot prove this, because I have no way of falsifying the existence of this being. I cannot be 100% certain he/she/it does not exist, but I can say I am 99% sure.

How do you view someone who believes in Thor, Odin, Loki, Aesgard and the rest? Honestly, if someone came up to you and claimed a deep and serious belief in Aesgard and the AEsir, what would your first thought be?

you are right. i take it back. i accept the label of superstitious. i also label superstition as an unproven (good luck with the 99%, btw) belief that there is no God.

we are all superstitious.

255 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:55:48pm

re: #197 WindUpBird

The way I see it, if someone is demanding you accept their worldview of the metaphysical, even if it is the complete absence of the metaphysical, they’re evangelizing. :D

Why?

256 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:56:36pm

re: #236 researchok

America isn’t really that exceptional, altho’ I love it here. Just about every citizenry feels that way about their home.

Here’s a dilemma; which is more exceptional, the US or Israel?

257 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:58:10pm

re: #248 WindUpBird

America has some exceptional qualities NOW. And it also have some really horriffic qualities. It’s full of potential in both positive and negative directions. But it’s no more exceptional than France was, or Britain was, or Egypt was, or whatever.

We’re targeted because we’re a superpower, not because we’re exceptional. Apple is “targeted” by companies that seek to take a piece out of it. So is google, so is Microsoft. We’re more like Microsoft right now. Microsoft is expectional the way America is exceptional. lots of resources, lots of good ideas, lots of brain trust. And lots of bad ideas and bullshit to go along with the good stuff. Strength and exceptionalism are not really the same thing.

Sure, there is plenty to improve. We are after all a work in progress.

That said, people from all over the world have voted with their feet for a very long time.

America is the preferred destination for immigrants seeking a better life. They choose to come here because they believe they can partake in the exceptionalism that has defined this country. Other nations can choose teh same exceptionalism and many do. Western democracies are all pretty exceptional places. Still, for some reason, most people wan to come here.

Of the almost 7 billion people on this planet, only 300 million are Americans. To put that in perspective, less than 5% of the population of this planet are Americans- and yet, the world is obsessed with our existence and what we represent. We may not be perfect but then no one really is. A whole lot of people agree with that.

If our exceptionalism did nothing but inspire oppressed people to reach for more, it would be incumbent on us to keep our tradition of exceptionalism alive.

258 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:58:13pm

re: #254 Aceofwhat?

The difference is, that thinking people know they’re superstitious, zealots don’t >

259 freetoken  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:58:38pm

Speaking of exceptionalism:


Evangelist Spurned for Supporting Evolution

Peter Enns, who lost his job at an evangelical seminary in Philadelphia under similar circumstances, says a refusal to accept evolution is likely to turn away future generations of Christians.

“They’re being expected to have faith in God but being told that in order to have that faith in God, they need to ignore things that they hear in biology classes.”

Moderate evangelical Randal Balmer says conservative evangelicals are starting to close ranks in the face of mounting evidence supporting the theory of evolution.

“They’re beginning to enforce these sorts of purity codes within their own ranks as a way of locking down the faith against what they perceive to be a real enemy.

260 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 4:59:48pm

re: #253 b_sharp

Nice set. Is that a Dr. Rhythm DR 880 on the end? I have the DR-3.
I also have the BOSS GT6 and Roland GR-33.

Now, if I could just learn to play the guitar…

I think that’s just the TD-20 drum brain. ^^ I have a Roland Td-6 kit, with some quickly failing Pintech triggers. Also I need a new kick pedal :P

261 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:00:53pm

re: #252 windsagio

Of course we’re all special flowers. But the Indian Paintbrush is no more special than the wild sage.

Hi you..Hope today finds you well…It’s a nice Saturday night..The NBA play-offs are on.. I swear..From the miracles I’ve seen in my life and my friends I could easily be Tony Robbins on Sunday Morning asking you to send me money and put your hands on the TV and be healed..
/Not really…But if you face life with a positive attitude you will go far..
*wink*

262 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:01:05pm

re: #209 Aceofwhat?

talk is good. laws to establish religion and laws to counter religion both scare me.

I think they scare all of us. New laws should be as infrequent as possible, and when one law is added 2 should be dropped.

263 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:01:31pm

re: #257 researchok

Their obsession with us might have something to do with the massive amount of media we spread around the world, as well as our virtual control of the internet. Its not that we’re special, but rather that we’re on top :D

264 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:02:15pm

re: #263 windsagio

Their obsession with us might have something to do with the massive amount of media we spread around the world, as well as our virtual control of the internet. Its not that we’re special, but rather that we’re on top :D

When an entire city is essentially nothing but a movie and television making economy, it can have a lot of pull!

265 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:02:26pm

re: #261 HoosierHoops

I was just talking with WUB on IM, and he suddenly mentioned that you’re adorable.

I have to agree, and I only mean it in the best possible way.

266 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:02:48pm

re: #256 windsagio

America isn’t really that exceptional, altho’ I love it here. Just about every citizenry feels that way about their home.

Here’s a dilemma; which is more exceptional, the US or Israel?

America and Israel are exceptional, each in their own way- as is Britain, France, Canada and every other democracy that empowers her citizens.

I don’t see lines for resident visas at the Syrian Embassy.

267 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:03:16pm

re: #213 researchok

No one needs religion to tell them to live moral lives.

Religion tells our lives have meaning.

Religion isn’t necessary to give meaning. If you make the assumption that god does not exist then all meaning is given to us by us, even if we attribute it to religion.

268 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:04:08pm

re: #263 windsagio

Their obsession with us might have something to do with the massive amount of media we spread around the world, as well as our virtual control of the internet. Its not that we’re special, but rather that we’re on top :D

Right- all those generations of immigrants came here to work hard and build a life for themselves were duped.

269 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:04:11pm

re: #215 WindUpBird

Fuck you, they’re amazing *_*


[Video]That intro is one of the best metal intros of all time. it’s fucking Christlike. 28 seconds in, that is a guitar lick metalheads will still be talking about in 20 years

I can’t listen to it, it’s blocked in Canuckville.

270 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:04:26pm

re: #248 WindUpBird

America has some exceptional qualities NOW. And it also have some really horriffic qualities. It’s full of potential in both positive and negative directions. But it’s no more exceptional than France was, or Britain was, or Egypt was, or whatever.

hmmm…i dunno. i like admitting our warts, too, but Egypt hasn’t been much help to anyone. France was no help in the Pacific theater, having already received an asswhooping from Hitler.

one can say that Iraq was a mistake or Vietnam was a mistake without ignoring the overlarge part the US has played in fending off some of the worst actors.

and the last i checked (2008), official development assistance dollars were twice that of the next closest nations (Germany and UK, i think).

some of this is measurable…we need not always mince words when the data is widely available.

271 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:05:10pm

re: #263 windsagio

Their obsession with us might have something to do with the massive amount of media we spread around the world, as well as our virtual control of the internet. Its not that we’re special, but rather that we’re on top :D

America is special because we are the most liberal, free country on the planet, able to protect ourselves and other in the name of liberty….PR has little to do with it…this makes us exceptional and no amount of dithering around with words changes that fact

272 freetoken  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:05:30pm

White supremacists, demonstrators square off in LA

A white supremacist group rallied against illegal immigration in downtown Los Angeles Saturday as hundreds of counter-protesters gathered to shout them down in a tense standoff that included several arrests, thrown rocks and police in riot gear.

Police officers stood between the white supremacists and counter-demonstrators on the south lawn of Los Angeles’ City Hall, where about 50 members of the National Socialist Movement waved American flags and swastika banners for about an hour.

[…]

Members of the Detroit-based group said they picked the location for their rally because of Los Angeles’ large immigrant population. They accused some of the immigrants of stealing jobs and committing crimes.

Group members also said they were reacting to the recent number of street marches across the country encouraging legislators to enact reform that includes amnesty for some illegal immigrants.

National Socialist Movement regional director Jeffrey Russell Hall announced that the group would begin backing political candidates who agreed with their anti-immigrant message.

As expected, President Obama is picking up Finance reform as his next project, not the explosive issue of immigration. Probably a safe bet.

273 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:05:42pm

re: #268 researchok

Right- all those generations of immigrants came here to work hard and build a life for themselves were duped.

stupid TV commercials…

274 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:06:12pm

re: #255 b_sharp

Why?

Because both of us are asking to take each other’s view on faith.

You have faith that there is no God. I have faith that there is. Neither of us can prove our statements, despite both of us seeing anecdotal evidence to support our faith.

275 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:06:24pm

re: #219 researchok

We don’t kill each other or go through red lights because we need rules to establish a productive and safe society, etc.

Those rules do not give our live meaning in the way a healthy expression of faith does.

We don’t need rules to give ourselves meaning either. I look to my children, my wife, my siblings, and mostly my grandson, along with my evangelizing of evolution and AGW to give myself meaning.

276 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:07:25pm

re: #265 windsagio

I was just talking with WUB on IM, and he suddenly mentioned that you’re adorable.

I have to agree, and I only mean it in the best possible way.

Thank you very much…

277 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:07:27pm

re: #268 researchok

To neatly tie the 2 convos together, you’re essentially taking American Exceptionalism as a feature of faith, and there’s really no argument I can throw at that.

I’ll try one more time tho’. Every first world nation has a ton of people wanting to move to them. Even some totalitarian states do (China, parts of the ME). People wanting to come to the US doesn’t make it exceptional.

278 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:07:55pm

re: #265 windsagio

I was just talking with WUB on IM, and he suddenly mentioned that you’re adorable.

I have to agree, and I only mean it in the best possible way.

wha?? Hoosier but not me? come on…

279 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:08:22pm

re: #278 Aceofwhat?

You’re more charming in a manly way.

280 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:09:00pm

re: #271 albusteve

>>

That is a good statement of the religion of American Exceptionalism ;)

281 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:09:13pm

Celts vs Heat in a few minutes..Does it get any better?

282 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:09:36pm

re: #281 HoosierHoops

Courtside tickets?

283 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:10:05pm

re: #265 windsagio

I was just talking with WUB on IM, and he suddenly mentioned that you’re adorable.

I have to agree, and I only mean it in the best possible way.

I meant that in a good way as well!

284 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:10:19pm

re: #277 windsagio

To neatly tie the 2 convos together, you’re essentially taking American Exceptionalism as a feature of faith, and there’s really no argument I can throw at that.

I’ll try one more time tho’. Every first world nation has a ton of people wanting to move to them. Even some totalitarian states do (China, parts of the ME). People wanting to come to the US doesn’t make it exceptional.

I have to strongly disagree.

People are willing to uproot themselves, learn a new language and start with nothing. Their preferred destination? The US.

In other words, they see the US as exceptional.

285 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:10:27pm

re: #278 Aceofwhat?

wha?? Hoosier but not me? come on…

You’re more kickass :D

286 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:10:37pm

re: #280 windsagio

>>

That is a good statement of the religion of American Exceptionalism ;)

religion has nothing to do with it no matter how hard you try…it’s two alienated concepts you are failing to combine….carry on tho, it’s an amusing notion

287 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:10:41pm

re: #220 windsagio

I’m just against exceptionalism. Any kind of exceptionalism.

Doesn’t matter if its Atheism, or Christianity, or the US, or Israel, or whatever.

We’re all special, but if you think you’re different and better, you’re totally wrong.

(and obviously I don’t mean WUB specifically, he’s too chillax to be exceptionalist about anything :p)

There are some things we have evidence for, and others we do not. I find chemistry exceptional when compared to alchemy, evidence based medicine exceptional when compared to homoeopathy.

In general terms I tend to agree with you, but there are some things, when viewed at a finer resolution, that are exceptional.

288 freetoken  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:10:44pm

Here’s an exceptional flora genus:

Pot enthusiasts gather at California cannabis expo

Medical marijuana users near San Francisco lit up Saturday at the opening of the two-day International Cannabis and Hemp Expo, where vendors displayed bongs, vaporizers, hash brownies and other marijuana-related products.
289 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:10:47pm

re: #261 HoosierHoops

Hi you..Hope today finds you well…It’s a nice Saturday night..The NBA play-offs are on.. I swear..From the miracles I’ve seen in my life and my friends I could easily be Tony Robbins on Sunday Morning asking you to send me money and put your hands on the TV and be healed..
/Not really…But if you face life with a positive attitude you will go far..
*wink*

speaking of which, i enjoyed watching one more piece of evidence that LeBron is a mutant…

290 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:10:56pm

re: #281 HoosierHoops

Celts vs Heat in a few minutes..Does it get any better?

Not for my Lakers.

How bad is Sasha Vujacic’s ankle?

Bad.

291 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:11:42pm

re: #282 windsagio

Courtside tickets?


*cough*
73” High def Samsung…
Don’t be hating
/

292 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:11:49pm

re: #279 windsagio

You’re more charming in a manly way.

Ooh. I like that better. thanks;)

293 Achilles Tang  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:11:55pm

re: #80 David IV of Georgia

Landing on an asteroid would be a colossal feat—farther than the moon, high rate of speed and negligible gravity. If we manage that, Mars should be comparatively easy.

Getting to Mars orbit is relatively easy, if one likes long trips. Getting down and back up without ground support is not, and is not comparable to an asteroid visit at all, except perhaps in terms of being an extended trip.

294 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:13:06pm

re: #272 freetoken

White supremacists, demonstrators square off in LA

As expected, President Obama is picking up Finance reform as his next project, not the explosive issue of immigration. Probably a safe bet.

I think financial reform is the more pressing matter. Immigration reform is probably up next.

295 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:13:36pm

re: #287 b_sharp

There are some things we have evidence for, and others we do not. I find chemistry exceptional when compared to alchemy, evidence based medicine exceptional when compared to homoeopathy.

In general terms I tend to agree with you, but there are some things, when viewed at a finer resolution, that are exceptional.

“The absence of Evidence is not the evidence of absence.”

296 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:13:43pm

re: #284 researchok

I have to strongly disagree.

People are willing to uproot themselves, learn a new language and start with nothing. Their preferred destination? The US.

In other words, they see the US as exceptional.

They can see the US as whatever they like, and to see the US as exceptional is to have it always in your head that having your life here is a good thing and should not be taken for granted. Which is a good thing!

But I think the reality is that we intersect at the point of lots of resources, lots of power, and a democratic system that mostly makes sense.

Would the US be as exceptional if we had one 1/500th the amount of land?

297 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:14:25pm

re: #286 albusteve

religion has nothing to do with it no matter how hard you try…it’s two alienated concepts you are failing to combine…carry on tho, it’s an amusing notion

he’s using religion as a turn of phrase.

298 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:14:36pm

re: #288 freetoken

Here’s an exceptional flora genus:

Pot enthusiasts gather at California cannabis expo

The medical marijuana shops are everywhere in L.A. now. I see these green crosses all over the place. I counted more on one street than fast food joints - 5 within a 1 mile stretch.

299 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:14:36pm

re: #221 ausador


Your right, they need to wake up and wipe the dreamy appeal of a communist utopia out of their eyes and try to figure out how to make the current world we all have to live in better.

That’s what humanists are trying to do, all without looking to Marx, or Lenin, or Stalin, or Mao.

The idea of a utopia, communist or otherwise has been out of our eyes and minds for 40 years. You might want to catch up.

Oh, and that straw man you have burning? You might want to put it out before you get burnt.

300 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:14:51pm

re: #286 albusteve

I’m using it loosely I admit. I’m using ‘religion’ this case as ‘an article of faith’.

re: #292 Aceofwhat?

Damn now I feel like I’ve insulted HH >> Which would be sad, as he’s is simply too awesome for words.

301 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:15:01pm

re: #290 Racer X

Not for my Lakers.

How bad is Sasha Vujacic’s ankle?

Bad.

Eh. Bynum at 50% is a bigger loss for you than Vuyacic at 0%, IMHO…

302 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:15:02pm

re: #275 b_sharp

We don’t need rules to give ourselves meaning either. I look to my children, my wife, my siblings, and mostly my grandson, along with my evangelizing of evolution and AGW to give myself meaning.

I’m glad for you. To find/have meaning is a wonderful thing.

That said, for many, religion offers another avenue for personal exploration.

Some people like vanilla, some like chocolate.

303 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:15:28pm

re: #294 Killgore Trout

I think financial reform is the more pressing matter. Immigration reform is probably up next.

Way agree here. Immigration is a speck compared to what damage unregulated financial institutions almost did to this countr.

304 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:16:04pm

PS to WUB: Thanks for getting me to get GIMP. I love changing my avatar every day, lets me expose pictures I think are cool :D

305 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:16:09pm

re: #301 Aceofwhat?

Eh. Bynum at 50% is a bigger loss for you than Vuyacic at 0%, IMHO…

Without a doubt. But that ankle is nasty.

306 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:16:11pm

re: #297 WindUpBird

he’s using religion as a turn of phrase.

I took it to be an analogy for faith

307 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:16:35pm

license.icopyright.net

Crashers.

Not.

308 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:16:37pm

re: #276 HoosierHoops

Thank you very much…

it helps that my dad went to Indiana U, and I grew up watching Bobby Knight :D

309 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:17:11pm

re: #293 Naso Tang

Getting to Mars orbit is relatively easy, if one likes long trips. Getting down and back up without ground support is not, and is not comparable to an asteroid visit at all, except perhaps in terms of being an extended trip.

i tend to agree. “landing” is a squirrely term, too. pulling up right alongside an asteroid, hopping around it for a bit, and then leaving again = landing, which feels less difficult than figuring out how to get back out of Mars’ gravity well…

310 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:17:25pm

re: #289 Aceofwhat?

speaking of which, i enjoyed watching one more piece of evidence that LeBron is a mutant…

King James reminds me of Magic..Really..He can play any spot on the court as a world class player..Need a point? No problem..James as power forward? Good luck guarding him..Need a small forward? James is there…
They don’t call him King James for nothing….

311 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:18:21pm

re: #306 albusteve

I took it to be an analogy for faith

Less faith, and more the sense of worshipping an abstract? There’s faith in a thing that is honest (belief in God, beliefe in the goodness of men, and so on) , and then there’s just the sort of “we all agreed to not question this superstition or this thing that was presented as fact.” Sometimes the two are the same thing, sometimes they’re different.

312 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:18:29pm

re: #296 WindUpBird

They can see the US as whatever they like, and to see the US as exceptional is to have it always in your head that having your life here is a good thing and should not be taken for granted. Which is a good thing!

But I think the reality is that we intersect at the point of lots of resources, lots of power, and a democratic system that mostly makes sense.

Would the US be as exceptional if we had one 1/500th the amount of land?

For the last century, immigrants have voted with their feet.

I do agree with your re,arks on democracy, but when all is said and done, we are the preferred destination. It matters little whether we see ourselves as exceptional. Immigrants past, present and most likely in the future see it otherwise.

Immigrants are not ‘lessers’. There might be a lot we can learn from them. Maybe their view is a lot less obscured than our own.

313 freetoken  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:19:16pm

re: #294 Killgore Trout

I think financial reform is the more pressing matter. Immigration reform is probably up next.

What?! You don’t believe the raping an pillaging of America by the Brown People is the underlying cause of the Great Recession?! Don’t you know why those (Jew!!) banks went belly up - it’s because the (Jew!!) socialists who have taken over America forced the banks to lend to the those people!!

/If you were a real American you’d understand all of this.

314 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:19:16pm

re: #311 WindUpBird

Goddammit, why are you so freaking well-spoken today? You’re making me feel like a dummy.

315 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:19:49pm

re: #312 researchok

For the last century, immigrants have voted with their feet.

I do agree with your re,arks on democracy, but when all is said and done, we are the preferred destination. It matters little whether we see ourselves as exceptional. Immigrants past, present and most likely in the future see it otherwise.

Immigrants are not ‘lessers’. There might be a lot we can learn from them. Maybe their view is a lot less obscured than our own.

Now why would I ever say they were? I think immigrants appreciate this country most of all. Nothing burns me like nativism xenophobia does.

316 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:20:23pm

re: #315 WindUpBird

Addendum: In our line of work, I generally like to see immigrants, they’re way better workers than the people born here >>

317 Tiny alien kittens are watching you  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:20:39pm

re: #246 wlewisiii

True, true, Bush was “The One” who was going to declare martial law and make this country a fascist dictatorship! I remember all the posts full of angst when we were coming up to the 2008 election, any second now some “big false flag attack” was going to happen to enable him to declare martial law and suspend the elections!

Of course then it was only a few thousand moonbats on their isolated websites, it wasn’t an entire political protest movement backed up by a national news network with millions of viewers pushing it.

318 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:20:40pm

re: #311 WindUpBird

Less faith, and more the sense of worshipping an abstract? There’s faith in a thing that is honest (belief in God, beliefe in the goodness of men, and so on) , and then there’s just the sort of “we all agreed to not question this superstition or this thing that was presented as fact.” Sometimes the two are the same thing, sometimes they’re different.

I have to agree. The religion that doesn’t encourage questions is hollow indeed.

319 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:20:42pm

re: #300 windsagio

I’m using it loosely I admit. I’m using ‘religion’ this case as ‘an article of faith’.

re: #292 Aceofwhat?

Damn now I feel like I’ve insulted HH >> Which would be sad, as he’s is simply too awesome for words.

The thing i love about HH is that you have to try really hard to insult him. It’s one of the highest compliments i can think of paying to anyone.

Let’s go with “Aceofwhat seems like a cool manly dude who may or may not be gorgeous as well, depending on your tastes, but HH is adorable in that ‘obviously a good person’ sort of way, which is a superior compliment”.

(do you like how i’m milking more compliments out of this line of thinking? subtle as a train wreck…that’s me…)

320 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:21:56pm

re: #319 Aceofwhat?

Go for it, its a huge lovefest right now anyways.

We’ll need to store up the postiive karma (oops another religious concept!! and I”m misusing the term as well!) for when the trolls come back.

:D

321 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:22:09pm

re: #310 HoosierHoops

King James reminds me of Magic..Really..He can play any spot on the court as a world class player..Need a point? No problem..James as power forward? Good luck guarding him..Need a small forward? James is there…
They don’t call him King James for nothing…

Great analogy. Comparisons to Magic are more apropos than comparisons to Jordan. He’s Magic with a kit of unworldly physical tools that Magic, to his credit, wasn’t born with.

And if he leaves Cleveland next year, i may mist up a bit…

322 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:22:16pm

re: #315 WindUpBird

Now why would I ever say they were? I think immigrants appreciate this country most of all. Nothing burns me like nativism xenophobia does.

Agreed. My remarks were not directed at you. I wanted to address the knee jerk criticism. Clearly, you don’t come anywhere near that.

323 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:22:40pm

re: #319 Aceofwhat?

Now tell me how great I am too.

324 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:22:58pm

re: #319 Aceofwhat?

The thing i love about HH is that you have to try really hard to insult him. It’s one of the highest compliments i can think of paying to anyone.

Let’s go with “Aceofwhat seems like a cool manly dude who may or may not be gorgeous as well, depending on your tastes, but HH is adorable in that ‘obviously a good person’ sort of way, which is a superior compliment”.

(do you like how i’m milking more compliments out of this line of thinking? subtle as a train wreck…that’s me…)

You can milk more compliments from me if you drive a German car :D

325 freetoken  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:23:10pm

Yes, the US is exceptional, because its the only “atomic criminal”!


Punish ‘atomic criminal US’ says Khamenei


TEHRAN: Iran slammed the US as an “atomic criminal” yesterday and called for its suspension from the UN nuclear watchdog, while urging changes to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

At the start of a two-day nuclear disarmament conference in Tehran, the Islamic republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said any use of nuclear weaponry was “haram”.

He branded the US an “atomic criminal” in his opening address at the conference, Tehran’s answer to a nuclear summit held in Washington earlier this week.

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went a step further and called for Washington’s suspension from the IAEA along with all other nations which possess nuclear arms.

“Only the US government has committed an atomic crime,” said a message read out from the all-powerful Khamenei who formulates Tehran’s foreign policy, including its nuclear strategy.

“The world’s only atomic criminal lies and presents itself as being against nuclear weapons proliferation, while it has not taken any serious measures in this regard,” he said.

326 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:23:38pm

re: #324 WindUpBird

What about a piece of classic American Steel?

Now a ‘68 Tourino, THAT was Exceptional!

327 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:23:50pm

re: #311 WindUpBird

Less faith, and more the sense of worshipping an abstract? There’s faith in a thing that is honest (belief in God, beliefe in the goodness of men, and so on) , and then there’s just the sort of “we all agreed to not question this superstition or this thing that was presented as fact.” Sometimes the two are the same thing, sometimes they’re different.

I’m not worshipping an abstract or anything else…my faith is internal, a belief in myself, not of a country or ideology or spirit…another facet to American exceptionalism, it’s pioneering people had the confidence to win out…to create history rather than be an extension of it…so to speak

328 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:24:01pm

re: #308 WindUpBird

it helps that my dad went to Indiana U, and I grew up watching Bobby Knight :D

Kind regards
I’m a friend of CW Nevius..We spent a year of emails talking about how to get Knight fired…I was Bobby’s worst nightmare…The day I go after Beck the way I went after Knight it’s all over…So far..Beck is a Clown..But what he said Friday pissed me off..But whatever..He is a clown

329 Randall Gross  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:24:15pm

re: #294 Killgore Trout

I think financial reform is the more pressing matter. Immigration reform is probably up next.

Yes, that’s the one two pre-election punch. They will be able to say “We did something about runaway Wall St.” and immigration reform will be an issue they are talking about through the election. The latter is bound to draw the wanted reactions from the hateful underbelly of the right, and it will also work well to gel and firm their base since they’ve been shaken by Obama’s realpolitick approach to some matters.

Financial reform won’t matter a whit if they don’t work to reform oversight at all levels - including encouraging banks and insurers to give any new derivative and finance vehicles stiffer smell tests and long term soaks before putting any large dollars into them, and by shoring up the fed and state regulators and oversight agencies. The finance world needs to go back to some basics, like Barron’s rules for Bankers, 1955 edition or something….

330 wrenchwench  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:24:36pm

re: #304 windsagio

PS to WUB: Thanks for getting me to get GIMP. I love changing my avatar every day, lets me expose pictures I think are cool :D

The pink one makes me think you’re Reine, out of the corner of my eye…

331 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:25:31pm

re: #327 albusteve

I’m not worshipping an abstract or anything else…my faith is internal, a belief in myself, not of a country or ideology or spirit…another facet to American exceptionalism, it’s pioneering people had the confidence to win out…to create history rather than be an extension of it…so to speak

Perfect description of the American ideal. We can and will do what it takes, not just for ourselves but our community as well.

Well said.

332 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:25:44pm

re: #327 albusteve

Dude that’s like a classic expression of the mythological framework of American Exceptionalism.

What’s next, Dan’l Boone, Davey Crockett, and the Alamo?

333 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:26:26pm

re: #322 researchok

Agreed. My remarks were not directed at you. I wanted to address the knee jerk criticism. Clearly, you don’t come anywhere near that.

haha chers

I didn’t want to give the impression that I’m like :oh it’s cute people think that.,” I think the surest way for America to become more exceptional is for people to have the identity that innovating and starting businesses and doing cool things here is what America is all about.

My two biggest political platforms are A) health care, and B) encouraging people who may not have means to acquire skills and resources to become more exceptional and amazing and proactive. I’m a big fan of subsidizing colleges, small business loans being easily available, that sort of thing. Especially now in the age of the internet. Education and access to technology is critical. The more connected our populace is, the more powerful we become.

334 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:26:48pm

re: #332 windsagio

Dude that’s like a classic expression of the mythological framework of American Exceptionalism.

What’s next, Dan’l Boone, Davey Crockett, and the Alamo?

Not so.

It is the perfect description of the American pioneer spirit.

335 avanti  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:27:15pm

Another “Climate gate” scandal making the rounds on the right wing blogs after the report that March was the warmest March on record. A error was made on the data set from Finland that has since been corrected and the March data was revised.

“Looks like GISS fixed it: They have posted a News bulletin on the GISTEMP homepage:
2010-04-15: The data shown between 4/13 and 4/15 were based on data downloaded on 4/12 and included some station reports from Finland in which the minus sign may have been dropped. NOAA updated GHCN on 4/13 by removing those data and we updated our displays today. The March 2010 global mean temperature was affected by about 2/100 of a degree Celsius, well below the margin of error (about 15/100 of a degree for monthly global means).”

336 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:28:20pm

re: #332 windsagio

Dude that’s like a classic expression of the mythological framework of American Exceptionalism.

What’s next, Dan’l Boone, Davey Crockett, and the Alamo?

thanks, America is exceptional, and the fact that you are too cynical to see that is not my problem….rock on

337 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:29:04pm

re: #333 WindUpBird

haha chers

I didn’t want to give the impression that I’m like :oh it’s cute people think that.,” I think the surest way for America to become more exceptional is for people to have the identity that innovating and starting businesses and doing cool things here is what America is all about.

My two biggest political platforms are A) health care, and B) encouraging people who may not have means to acquire skills and resources to become more exceptional and amazing and proactive. I’m a big fan of subsidizing colleges, small business loans being easily available, that sort of thing. Especially now in the age of the internet. Education and access to technology is critical. The more connected our populace is, the more powerful we become.

We’re not so far apart. I think we may differ on the vehicles but certainly not on the principles.

I do firmly believe there is no one size fits all approach.

338 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:29:15pm

re: #326 windsagio

What about a piece of classic American Steel?

Now a ‘68 Tourino, THAT was Exceptional!


If I buy American Steel, I’d prefer it was one of these… C4 vettes make me think of being a kid again, and the ZR-1 is a C4 vette that can travel through time :D

339 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:29:16pm

re: #336 albusteve

Ok you calling me cynical is an extinction-level reality inversion.

340 freetoken  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:29:48pm

re: #335 avanti

NOAA and GISS make corrections all the time, as information on data gathers. That is the responsible thing to do.

Here is yet another example of how the AGW-deniers are like creationists. Every time a paleontologist makes a refinement in extinct genera the creationist cry “foul”.

341 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:30:28pm

re: #323 windsagio

Now tell me how great I am too.

definitely more adorable than kick-ass…the :p at the end of each post makes it tough to get upset with you…i notice those little things. i have a fondness for people who work at being wry in an effort to keep things from getting too heated.

342 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:30:29pm

To better put what I’m trying to say; I’m certainly not denying that there are a number of damn fine things about this nation.

What I am saying that thinking as if we’re better and special is deeply harmful, and leads to some very negative acts and ideas.

343 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:30:30pm

re: #337 researchok

We’re not so far apart. I think we may differ on the vehicles but certainly not on the principles.

I do firmly believe there is no one size fits all approach.

I’m an equal opportunity car guy, I have a dream car from every nation that builds them 8-)

344 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:30:57pm

re: #341 Aceofwhat?

I’ll totally take that :D

345 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:31:16pm

re: #343 WindUpBird

Korea?

346 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:32:10pm

re: #343 WindUpBird

I’m an equal opportunity car guy, I have a dream car from every nation that builds them 8-)

Clearly, a Lotus man.

Refined palette

347 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:32:46pm

re: #343 WindUpBird

I’m an equal opportunity car guy, I have a dream car from every nation that builds them 8-)

Actually, if I had a Lotus I’d take off the doors and put it in the living room.

348 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:33:05pm

re: #329 Thanos

I think we need more than just financial reforms. It sound like they might expand some of the reforms to other sectors as well. There’s something really messed up with our corporations. CEO’s (like the guy ousted from GM) ran the company into the ground while collecting bonuses and a huge salary. The Board of Directors did do anything. Businesses in our society don’t care if the destroy their customers, their own companies or even destroy the entire country. That’s really fucked up.

349 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:33:08pm

re: #345 windsagio

Korea?

Too easy, dude. :D

Supercar level: motortrend.com

Normal sports coupe level: Image: hyundai-genesis-coupe-2010-793431.jpg

350 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:33:46pm
351 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:33:54pm

re: #325 freetoken

Yes, the US is exceptional, because its the only “atomic criminal”!

Punish ‘atomic criminal US’ says Khamenei

this is an aside, but i hate it when reports say things like “Iran slammed the US when they…bla bla bla”

You have to actually be strong to slam the big guy. A more truthful reporting of the situation would be “Iran petulantly complained that the US…”

352 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:34:00pm

re: #349 WindUpBird

Hmm, Russia then?

353 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:34:18pm

re: #346 researchok

Clearly, a Lotus man.

Refined palette


Are you reading my mind? The car that i can’t stop thinking about that is about within striking distance for me once I pay off my GTI is a Lotus Elise. Ask Windy, he knows. *_*

354 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:34:46pm

re: #348 Killgore Trout

I think we need more than just financial reforms. It sound like they might expand some of the reforms to other sectors as well. There’s something really messed up with our corporations. CEO’s (like the guy ousted from GM) ran the company into the ground while collecting bonuses and a huge salary. The Board of Directors did do anything. Businesses in our society don’t care if the destroy their customers, their own companies or even destroy the entire country. That’s really fucked up.

I think we should have let GM and Chrysler fail.

355 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:35:06pm

re: #353 WindUpBird

Ask Windy, he knows. *_*

Shh! You’ll break Steve’s heart!

356 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:35:40pm

re: #353 WindUpBird

Are you reading my mind? The car that i can’t stop thinking about that is about within striking distance for me once I pay off my GTI is a Lotus Elise. Ask Windy, he knows. *_*

True beauty

357 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:36:00pm

re: #352 windsagio

Hmm, Russia then?

Problem is we don’t really get Russian cars here, but I’d love an old Trabant :D

358 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:36:21pm

re: #354 Racer X

I think we should have let GM and Chrysler fail.

You know japan was bailing out their car companies too?

359 Bert's House of Beef and Obdicuts  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:36:23pm

re: #354 Racer X

The problem is that really doesn’t penalize the people responsible for the problem. We lack accountability at the top level in corporations, and in shareholders. Everyone is risk-adverse on the short term, which means enormous risk in the long term.

360 Randall Gross  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:36:28pm

re: #348 Killgore Trout

I think we need more than just financial reforms. It sound like they might expand some of the reforms to other sectors as well. There’s something really messed up with our corporations. CEO’s (like the guy ousted from GM) ran the company into the ground while collecting bonuses and a huge salary. The Board of Directors did do anything. Businesses in our society don’t care if the destroy their customers, their own companies or even destroy the entire country. That’s really fucked up.

Well yes and no. The one part that didn’t work here was “too big to fail” I’m still somewhat on the fence as to bailing them out. In the normal course companies and CEO’s like that fail, washout, go bankrupt. It’s brutal, but it works.

361 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:36:51pm

re: #356 researchok

True beauty

Any car under 2000 pounds and mid engined, makes me go weak in the knees :D

362 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:36:57pm

re: #358 WindUpBird

You know japan was bailing out their car companies too?

And?

363 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:36:59pm

re: #342 windsagio

To better put what I’m trying to say; I’m certainly not denying that there are a number of damn fine things about this nation.

What I am saying that thinking as if we’re better and special is deeply harmful, and leads to some very negative acts and ideas.

I get it, i think. Exceptionalism, like evangelism, can be a healthy admission of the virtues of one’s country/region/etc. but like evangelism, is far too easily and often leveraged as a tool for something more sinister.

How’d i do?

364 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:37:32pm

re: #349 WindUpBird

Too easy, dude. :D

Supercar level: [Link: www.motortrend.com…]

Normal sports coupe level: Image: hyundai-genesis-coupe-2010-793431.jpg

Every fucking day Canadian Geese shit on my car..I’m really over it..
It’s like living in the middle of a horde trecking north..Fucking geese.
cars.com

365 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:37:44pm

re: #360 Thanos

Well yes and no. The one part that didn’t work here was “too big to fail” I’m still somewhat on the fence as to bailing them out. In the normal course companies and CEO’s like that fail, washout, go bankrupt. It’s brutal, but it works.

Agreed.

366 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:41:32pm

re: #364 HoosierHoops

Every fucking day Canadian Geese shit on my car..I’m really over it..
It’s like living in the middle of a horde trecking north..Fucking geese.
[Link: www.cars.com…]

Seriously. Their population has more than recovered…can we go back to hunting them again or what?

367 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:41:39pm

re: #354 Racer X

I think we should have let GM and Chrysler fail.

I do too…painful but a much better situation at the other end….no guts, no glory….feed those unions boys!

368 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:42:05pm

re: #362 Racer X

And?

meaning Japan realizes what we realize: letting gigantic hunks of domestic manufacturing sector crumble weakens the country.

We can pretend that corporations aren’t woven into the very blood vessels of this country, but it’s just that: pretend. Letting Gm and Chrysler fail is like letting a kidney or spleen die on principle.

If a car company is dying under normal conditions, hey, fine. But these weren’t normal conditions. This is getting into Ron Paul territory, where his ideology allows for a depression. he’d rather have a depression and stick to his ideology.

I’m not an ideologue. if a case is made that saving GM and Chrysler (note, they’re being bought by Fiat) is better for America than letting them fail, then I’m for that. The case was made quite clearly to me, especially now that GM is putting out some of the best cars they’ve ever done.

369 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:42:33pm

re: #363 Aceofwhat?

I get it, i think. Exceptionalism, like evangelism, can be a healthy admission of the virtues of one’s country/region/etc. but like evangelism, is far too easily and often leveraged as a tool for something more sinister.

How’d i do?

I like that. It also tends to ignore the flaws of whatever you’re supporting (ie, to go full circle, the atheists denying the existence of their ‘faith’). Everything is flawed, and severely. If we understand that we’ll be more kind and empathetic with everyone around us. If we don’t, we can tend towards, as you said, ‘something more sinister’.

370 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:42:58pm

re: #254 Aceofwhat?

you are right. i take it back. i accept the label of superstitious. i also label superstition as an unproven (good luck with the 99%, btw) belief that there is no God.

we are all superstitious.

In that case, everyone who rejects the existence of the orbiting giant tea pot is superstitious.

None of us operate in life with the requirement for 100% surety, we all accept and operate on much lower levels of confidence than even 90%. I can’t prove the non-existence of anything you can think up, but what I can do is consider your ‘thing’ in relation to physical constraints and assign a likelihood to its existence.

That’s why I asked you about Aesgard. I knew, or at least trusted, you would look at it and immediately assign a likelihood to it based on your knowledge of physics and your logical ability. That is what I do when confronted with the idea of a god, I assign a likelihood to it based on current knowledge of physics, taken from others with more knowledge than I, and logically apply it.

Expecting everything to fit within the constraints of physical laws is the exact opposite of superstition, and the opposite of faith.

I do believe that superstition is a maladaptation of some of our evolutionary traits so each of us has the tendency to be superstitious in some way. I don’t believe that any of us, or very few, are controlled by our superstitious tendency and that tendency manifests itself only in certain conditions.

Saying that you have a superstition with your belief in a god is not the same as saying your are irrational. Humans compartmentalize quite a bit and are very good at being silly at one moment and highly logical and rational most other moments.

371 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:43:30pm

re: #368 WindUpBird

I’m okay with letting GM/Chrysler and die when we also cut our military budget. If we’re gonna murder the economy we might as well kill something that’s costing us billions too >>

(yes, I’m mostly joking :p)

372 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:44:07pm

re: #360 Thanos

Well yes and no. The one part that didn’t work here was “too big to fail” I’m still somewhat on the fence as to bailing them out. In the normal course companies and CEO’s like that fail, washout, go bankrupt. It’s brutal, but it works.

Manufacturing sectors are real, tangible infrastructure usable in wartime.

I don’t know why nobody seems to understand this. Every car company we had was building weapons when the time called. Why would we abandon that?

My only conclusion is that hatred of a Democratic president is just an easier sell than the awkward truth that our manufacturing sector is a defacto arm of the government in wartime.

373 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:45:42pm

re: #260 WindUpBird

I think that’s just the TD-20 drum brain. ^^ I have a Roland Td-6 kit, with some quickly failing Pintech triggers. Also I need a new kick pedal :P

Send me a track of you beating your drum, and I’ll throw in a guitar riff or two. Perhaps we could put something together to sell at TeaParties.

374 Randall Gross  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:45:49pm

If you think about it the mutual death pact that the auto giants and the auto giant unions got locked into inevitably resulted from union negotiated and company supplied health care and retirement benefits that became too grandiose. Perhaps they wouldn’t have gone there if we had universal health care, but who knows? Maybe it would have been something else.

Our car companies should have largely robotized themselves ages ago, but that couldn’t happen. The Unions and the Boards marched to the brink of that cliff together.

Now you have to wonder if they can actually repair things together, because if they don’t we will all just be back at the brink in ten to fifteen years.

375 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:45:58pm

re: #368 WindUpBird

meaning Japan realizes what we realize: letting gigantic hunks of domestic manufacturing sector crumble weakens the country.

We can pretend that corporations aren’t woven into the very blood vessels of this country, but it’s just that: pretend. Letting Gm and Chrysler fail is like letting a kidney or spleen die on principle.

If a car company is dying under normal conditions, hey, fine. But these weren’t normal conditions. This is getting into Ron Paul territory, where his ideology allows for a depression. he’d rather have a depression and stick to his ideology.

I’m not an ideologue. if a case is made that saving GM and Chrysler (note, they’re being bought by Fiat) is better for America than letting them fail, then I’m for that. The case was made quite clearly to me, especially now that GM is putting out some of the best cars they’ve ever done.

Good point about GM putting out good cars now - but those cars have been in the works for years. When I say they should have failed I did not mean dry up and go away. I just mean they should not continue to give big bonuses to the lousy execs and not have any repercussions. When you screw up that bad things should get very dicey and heads should roll.

GM could have gone through bankruptcy and come out a few months later looking better than ever.

376 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:46:10pm

you want some America exceptionalism? there ya go: cadillac.com

Fastest sedan around the Nurburgring. GM product. People would have killed this company. Fuck ‘em :D

377 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:47:01pm

re: #263 windsagio

Their obsession with us might have something to do with the massive amount of media we spread around the world, as well as our virtual control of the internet. Its not that we’re special, but rather that we’re on top :D

There seems to be a lot of conflating power with appeal.

378 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:47:07pm

re: #361 WindUpBird

Any car under 2000 pounds and mid engined, makes me go weak in the knees :D

I like steel around me…the 2010 Camero is 3800lbs and 426 hp….next year it goes up over 500hp

379 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:47:34pm

re: #370 b_sharp

The real question is whether our knowledge of physics even applies to the question of the existance of a diety, or whatever really. How does your understanding of physics reflect to buddhist faith? Or enlightenment Deism?

But really we’ve been over this ground, each of us, thousands of times I”m sure.

In the end I always end up feeling that atheists can’t accept what is essentially a philosophical point because they need the illusion of surety, for whatever reason… Or they need the illusion of exceptionalism.

(If I were mean I’d draw the comparison there to Young Earth Fundamentalist Creationists or Islamic Fundamentalists, but that might be offended, so I’m trying to refrain :p)

380 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:47:58pm

re: #265 windsagio

I was just talking with WUB on IM, and he suddenly mentioned that you’re adorable.

I have to agree, and I only mean it in the best possible way.

I need to see pictures.

381 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:49:13pm

If we had not bailed out GM they would still be making cars today. Perhaps under a different brand, but the cars would be rolling off production lines.

382 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:49:41pm

re: #375 Racer X

Good point about GM putting out good cars now - but those cars have been in the works for years. When I say they should have failed I did not mean dry up and go away. I just mean they should not continue to give big bonuses to the lousy execs and not have any repercussions. When you screw up that bad things should get very dicey and heads should roll.

GM could have gone through bankruptcy and come out a few months later looking better than ever.

First of all, they did go through bankruptcy, so I’m not sure where you’re getting the idea they didn’t: en.wikipedia.org

I’m as irritated with big CEO bonuses as anyone, but the right thing happened with GM.

383 William Barnett-Lewis  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:50:03pm

re: #353 WindUpBird

Are you reading my mind? The car that i can’t stop thinking about that is about within striking distance for me once I pay off my GTI is a Lotus Elise. Ask Windy, he knows. *_*

I’m not even in striking range, but, oh, an Elise SC in British Racing Green?

William

384 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:50:13pm

re: #270 Aceofwhat?

hmmm…i dunno. i like admitting our warts, too, but Egypt hasn’t been much help to anyone. France was no help in the Pacific theater, having already received an asswhooping from Hitler.

one can say that Iraq was a mistake or Vietnam was a mistake without ignoring the overlarge part the US has played in fending off some of the worst actors.

and the last i checked (2008), official development assistance dollars were twice that of the next closest nations (Germany and UK, i think).

some of this is measurable…we need not always mince words when the data is widely available.

The problem with any and/or all of this is the tendency to look at it overly simplistically, something I’m afraid too many people do.

385 Randall Gross  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:50:24pm

One other note here: the Auto giants of today were built off the carcasses of their predecesssors:

Buick
Rambler
Nash
Studebaker
American Motors
International Harvester
etc. etc. etc.

The list is a long one. If GM failed there would be replacements, and they would come fast.

386 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:51:06pm

re: #376 WindUpBird

you want some America exceptionalism? there ya go: [Link: www.cadillac.com…]

Fastest sedan around the Nurburgring. GM product. People would have killed this company. Fuck ‘em :D

not kill it…bankrupt it….GM isn’t going anywhere….the factories are still capable of making fast cars and hand grenades…union hand grenades

387 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:52:41pm

re: #354 Racer X

I think we should have let GM and Chrysler fail.

Maybe. They’re probably doomed in the long run anyways but with the economy going into freefall they were doing everything they could think of to keep things going. Hopefully next time they fail the economy will be in good enough shape to let it happen.

388 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:52:49pm

re: #378 albusteve

I like steel around me…the 2010 Camero is 3800lbs and 426 hp…next year it goes up over 500hp

Oh, I want one, but I’m all about cornering. Too heavy and I feel like I’m not in control of the car. 3000 lbs is about the most I want a sports car to weigh. Now like a sedan? I could get with a sedan with a big engine. I’d much rather have a G8 GXP than a Camaro SS, even though the Camaro is more aggressive, I’d want the sedan form in a3800/4000lb car. Also, it sounds like the G8 GXP handles better.

it’s all academic until I pay off my VW. Then it becomes real 8-)

389 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:52:53pm

re: #366 Aceofwhat?

Seriously. Their population has more than recovered…can we go back to hunting them again or what?

I know this from living in Indiana for a few years…And everybody knows this..
You don’t fuck with a Canadian Goose in the spring time in Indiana..Period.
You can’t shoot them and they are some pissed off birds..It’s not my fault they nest by the front door and chase you all the way to your car at night..Fucking Birds..I have cracked up co-workers by chasing the Geese around yelling ‘Orange sauce you MF’ers’ .. I really did…But you don’t mess with Canadian Geese..They start chasing you in short time…Yes I’ve flipped off a geese from inside the building out the window…I’m not stupid you know…
/

390 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:53:07pm

re: #274 Aceofwhat?

Because both of us are asking to take each other’s view on faith.

You have faith that there is no God. I have faith that there is. Neither of us can prove our statements, despite both of us seeing anecdotal evidence to support our faith.

Answering all of these comments is making me fall behind.

I don’t believe there is no god based on faith, I base it on the same things you base your disbelief of Aesgard on, physics and logic.

391 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:53:09pm

re: #379 windsagio

The real question is whether our knowledge of physics even applies to the question of the existance of a diety, or whatever really. How does your understanding of physics reflect to buddhist faith? Or enlightenment Deism?

But really we’ve been over this ground, each of us, thousands of times I”m sure.

In the end I always end up feeling that atheists can’t accept what is essentially a philosophical point because they need the illusion of surety, for whatever reason… Or they need the illusion of exceptionalism.

Heh. They don’t like the big bang, either. Some of the laws of physics are unusually cruel to atheists;)

392 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:53:30pm

re: #383 wlewisiii

I’m not even in striking range, but, oh, an Elise SC in British Racing Green?

William

I’d want one that’s blue with white stripes. I dream of this car *_*

393 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:54:05pm

re: #384 b_sharp

The problem with any and/or all of this is the tendency to look at it overly simplistically, something I’m afraid too many people do.

i don’t make that mistake, but then again, i am an exceptional specimen.

394 Killgore Trout  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:54:06pm

re: #360 Thanos

Well yes and no. The one part that didn’t work here was “too big to fail” I’m still somewhat on the fence as to bailing them out. In the normal course companies and CEO’s like that fail, washout, go bankrupt. It’s brutal, but it works.

I think the too big to fail companies should be broken up into pieces small enough to fail. I don’t think anyone is seriously considering that though.

395 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:54:11pm

re: #389 HoosierHoops

I know this from living in Indiana for a few years…And everybody knows this..
You don’t fuck with a Canadian Goose in the spring time in Indiana..Period.
You can’t shoot them and they are some pissed off birds..It’s not my fault they nest by the front door and chase you all the way to your car at night..Fucking Birds..I have cracked up co-workers by chasing the Geese around yelling ‘Orange sauce you MF’ers’ .. I really did…But you don’t mess with Canadian Geese..They start chasing you in short time…Yes I’ve flipped off a geese from inside the building out the window…I’m not stupid you know…
/

Canada goose! Geese aren’t canadian citizens! :D


(I say it all the time, it’s a running joke with my friends)

396 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:54:16pm

re: #284 researchok

I have to strongly disagree.

People are willing to uproot themselves, learn a new language and start with nothing. Their preferred destination? The US.

In other words, they see the US as exceptional.

They go where the money is.

397 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:55:08pm

re: #387 Killgore Trout

Maybe. They’re probably doomed in the long run anyways but with the economy going into freefall they were doing everything they could think of to keep things going. Hopefully next time they fail the economy will be in good enough shape to let it happen.

maybe someone should have thought to freeze federal spending and slash taxes for a while….of course that wouldn’t appeal to big govt liberals, especially those in the FF/FM game….gimme a break KT

398 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:55:33pm

re: #12 Killgore Trout

The voices in Crazy Pam’s head are talking again…
Obama Drafting Classified Guidelines to Hold Terrorism Suspects Indefinitely Without Trial

I’m late in tonight, but damn if Pam isn’t crazier than a outhouse rat.

399 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:55:59pm

re: #386 albusteve

not kill it…bankrupt it…GM isn’t going anywhere…the factories are still capable of making fast cars and hand grenades…union hand grenades

They already Chaptered 11 and came out of it! The bakruptcy happened, it’s done, comre: #397 albusteve

maybe someone should have thought to freeze federal spending and slash taxes for a while…of course that wouldn’t appeal to big govt liberals, especially those in the FF/FM game…gimme a break KT


Sorta hard to freeze federal spending in Iraq!

400 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:56:02pm

re: #394 Killgore Trout

I think the too big to fail companies should be broken up into pieces small enough to fail. I don’t think anyone is seriously considering that though.

Agreed.

If you’re “too big to fail”, you’re too big.

401 Randall Gross  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:56:15pm

re: #387 Killgore Trout

Maybe. They’re probably doomed in the long run anyways but with the economy going into freefall they were doing everything they could think of to keep things going. Hopefully next time they fail the economy will be in good enough shape to let it happen.

That’s an excellent point. The Stimulus wasn’t needed as much as the short term confidence it inspired was… some of that money promised will never get spent, and that’s a good thing. In good times GM might have been allowed to fail all the way down.

402 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:56:36pm

re: #390 b_sharp

Answering all of these comments is making me fall behind.

I don’t believe there is no god based on faith, I base it on the same things you base your disbelief of Aesgard on, physics and logic.

No worries - you’re doing well.

I don’t disbelieve in Aesgard based on physics and logic. I disbelieve in Aesgard because of my relationship with God. But i needed faith to initiate the relationship…so at the heart of the matter, i think it’s accurate to say that i disbelieved in Aesgard through faith at first, then through experience.

403 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:57:12pm

re: #400 Racer X

Agreed.

If you’re “too big to fail”, you’re too big.

I’d love it if we had a whole bunch of smaller car companies here, but it’s hard to be a world class consumer car manufacturer without the manufacturing infrastructure that necessarily means you’re too big to fail.

404 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:57:53pm

re: #302 researchok

I’m glad for you. To find/have meaning is a wonderful thing.

That said, for many, religion offers another avenue for personal exploration.

Some people like vanilla, some like chocolate.

I won’t disagree. I was addressing the claim that religion is necessary.

405 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:58:05pm
406 albusteve  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:58:13pm

re: #388 WindUpBird

Oh, I want one, but I’m all about cornering. Too heavy and I feel like I’m not in control of the car. 3000 lbs is about the most I want a sports car to weigh. Now like a sedan? I could get with a sedan with a big engine. I’d much rather have a G8 GXP than a Camaro SS, even though the Camaro is more aggressive, I’d want the sedan form in a3800/4000lb car. Also, it sounds like the G8 GXP handles better.

it’s all academic until I pay off my VW. Then it becomes real 8-)

heh…I drive an 04 Jetta….I’ve been a Camaro lover from the 67-9 classics and am again…I love fast, powerful ponies….I’m a Z28 drooler, not so much straight line if I had a choice…you should see the roads in NM…OMG stuff

407 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:59:32pm

re: #395 WindUpBird

Canada goose! Geese aren’t canadian citizens! :D

(I say it all the time, it’s a running joke with my friends)

Nope, but then again, here in Chicagoland we have numbers of Canada geese that have never been to Canada, nor even migrated. Some ponds and small lakes have resident pair of geese that live there all year round. People make the mistake of feeding them and they settle down. They also turn the place into a no-go zone in the spring when they nest.

408 Racer X  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 5:59:43pm

re: #403 WindUpBird

I’d love it if we had a whole bunch of smaller car companies here, but it’s hard to be a world class consumer car manufacturer without the manufacturing infrastructure that necessarily means you’re too big to fail.

Look at it like beer (mmm, beer!). Twenty years ago there was only 10 or so major breweries in the U.S. and we drank watered down slop. Now we have thousands of micro-breweries putting out some really good beers.

409 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:00:22pm

re: #389 HoosierHoops

I know this from living in Indiana for a few years…And everybody knows this..
You don’t fuck with a Canadian Goose in the spring time in Indiana..Period.
You can’t shoot them and they are some pissed off birds..It’s not my fault they nest by the front door and chase you all the way to your car at night..Fucking Birds..I have cracked up co-workers by chasing the Geese around yelling ‘Orange sauce you MF’ers’ .. I really did…But you don’t mess with Canadian Geese..They start chasing you in short time…Yes I’ve flipped off a geese from inside the building out the window…I’m not stupid you know…
/

if you have to stick up for yourself or for a loved one in a pinch you can grab them by their neck and lift them off the ground. they’ll beat you with their wings in an attempt to get free…i didn’t bruise but you have to turn your head away and shield your face.

the offending goose granted me the high ground when i pulled that off, but from experience, it’s not worth it unless you’re defending something…i’ve only done it twice.

410 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:02:06pm

re: #395 WindUpBird

Canada goose! Geese aren’t canadian citizens! :D

(I say it all the time, it’s a running joke with my friends)

Honest to God..When I first moved here a couple of local cops here got suspended for shooting a shotgun off to scare off the Geese..They didn’t shoot any of them..They scared them off a local lake..They got suspended..
You don’t fuck with the geese in the springtime in Indiana…
You do wash your car everyday from goose shit…Do they poop any where else? Hell no..They aim for the car with deadly precision..bastards!

411 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:03:09pm

re: #405 windsagio

I especially don’t believe in this asgard

huh? that linked to petloss.com - i think i was too slow to follow the punch line?

412 ShaunP  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:03:55pm

re: #408 Racer X

Look at it like beer (mmm, beer!). Twenty years ago there was only 10 or so major breweries in the U.S. and we drank watered down slop. Now we have thousands of micro-breweries putting out some really good beers.

Keep in mind that you pay 2x-3x more for the good stuff. Ok for beer; disaster for a car…

413 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:04:15pm

re: #408 Racer X

Look at it like beer (mmm, beer!). Twenty years ago there was only 10 or so major breweries in the U.S. and we drank watered down slop. Now we have thousands of micro-breweries putting out some really good beers.

eh. when a beer fails you, you don’t order it again. when the Pinto fails you…

414 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:04:27pm

re: #411 Aceofwhat?

Rainbow bridge poem.

First thing it makes me think of Asgard.

415 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:04:36pm

re: #414 windsagio

Err Bifrost.

416 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:04:50pm

re: #396 b_sharp

They go where the money is.

The money is where the opportunity is.

417 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:07:58pm

re: #416 researchok

The money is where the opportunity is.

Indeed. There are reasons why Nigerians don’t receive emails about an American prince who needs their bank account to move a large inheritance out of the country…

418 reloadingisnotahobby  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:10:45pm

re: #410 HoosierHoops
Hell no..They aim for the car with deadly precision..bastards!


How many billion did we spend developing the drones??
Just tell the terrorists they eat pig shit!!

419 reloadingisnotahobby  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:11:58pm

re: #406 albusteve

Took the grandson to the car show today….

420 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:12:26pm

re: #418 reloadingisnotahobby

Hell no..They aim for the car with deadly precision..bastards!

How many billion did we spend developing the drones??
Just tell the terrorists they eat pig shit!!

that would be insensitive…

421 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:12:58pm

You know pisses me off? I should have been an NBA coach..They now show what the coach says in the huddle..
We got to get more rebounds!
No shit? They pay you 4 million dollars a year to scream that?
Fuck! I missed my calling..

422 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:15:10pm

re: #421 HoosierHoops

You know pisses me off? I should have been an NBA coach..They now show what the coach says in the huddle..
We got to get more rebounds!
No shit? They pay you 4 million dollars a year to scream that?
Fuck! I missed my calling..

i think they get paid $15k to say the right thing and 3.985million to get the prima donnas to listen to what you’re saying…

but good luck getting Rasheed to do any work in the paint. that guy is worthless. thank God the Cavs didn’t bite on that crazy worm…

423 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:17:39pm

re: #417 Aceofwhat?

Indeed. There are reasons why Nigerians don’t receive emails about an American prince who needs their bank account to move a large inheritance out of the country…

Damn. Another business idea shot to hell.

424 Renaissance_Man  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:19:04pm

re: #284 researchok

I have to strongly disagree.

People are willing to uproot themselves, learn a new language and start with nothing. Their preferred destination? The US.

Highest Migration Rates by Country - America #25

Poll of most popular immigration destinations

Having said that, however, I am inclined to agree that America is in many ways exceptional. It is exceptional through a combination of factors, some of which have to do with its government and populace, and some of which are matters of good fortune.

It’s a landmass filled with natural resources and a very favourable climate, which has not had millennia of dense human habitation as Europe, the Mediterranean, and the hospitable parts of Asia have. For most of its existence it has been one country, without the disadvantages of tribalism and the rise and fall of empires as other parts of the world have had. It has had no major wars fought over it, while most other parts of the world have had population and infrastructure wiped out time and again. For these factors alone it should be the world’s preeminent power. And it would be fair to say that these factors are ones mostly of circumstance, rather than design.

However, America also has an exceptionalism by design. It’s the first major nation that arose solely from a people that wanted to be there, rather than ones that were born into their place in the world. It was the world’s first modern meritocracy, and it remains one of the most open and nondiscriminatory societies anywhere. The values it cultivates are ones that the human condition naturally aspires to - self-worth, responsibility, altruism, and achievement. Make no mistake - it is the pre-eminent force in this era of the world’s history, and like it or not, it is the shining city on a hill in this time. When it is gone, historians will write of it as they do of the British Empire, and Rome before it and Egypt before that.

Is it the best country on earth? Best is of course subjective, and I personally wouldn’t say it is. But I wouldn’t fault anyone for thinking it was.

425 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:20:00pm

re: #379 windsagio

The real question is whether our knowledge of physics even applies to the question of the existance of a diety, or whatever really. How does your understanding of physics reflect to buddhist faith? Or enlightenment Deism?

But really we’ve been over this ground, each of us, thousands of times I”m sure.

In the end I always end up feeling that atheists can’t accept what is essentially a philosophical point because they need the illusion of surety, for whatever reason… Or they need the illusion of exceptionalism.

(If I were mean I’d draw the comparison there to Young Earth Fundamentalist Creationists or Islamic Fundamentalists, but that might be offended, so I’m trying to refrain :p)

Most of us separate philosophy from the material. We can consider philosophy until the cows come home, but in the end all we rely on during our day to day lives is the physical, things that remind us of their existence every time we bump into them.

Philosophy may affect our emotions, but it doesn’t remove the feeling of hunger, it doesn’t get us from New York to London, it doesn’t let us communicate with people thousands of kilometres away, it doesn’t sit in our laps and purr.

There are two things obvious to atheists, neither of them has anything to do with exceptionalism,: physical laws affect everything we do and feel, and shit happens.

Nothing looks over us and helps us when we need it, nothing out there gives us meaning, when we die, we cease to exist, most things are out of our control and we have no thing we can rely on to save us. Security, safety and absolute knowledge comes from religion, not the lack of religion.

If you know of something beyond the physical laws, then present it to me. Evidence will convince me, and I will change my mind.

426 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:20:33pm

re: #422 Aceofwhat?

i think they get paid $15k to say the right thing and 3.985million to get the prima donnas to listen to what you’re saying…

but good luck getting Rasheed to do any work in the paint. that guy is worthless. thank God the Cavs didn’t bite on that crazy worm…

Sheed falls into the Hoopster Rule…
After a 1000 games in the NBA you are done…The rule works 98% of the time..There are few exceptions…After a 1000 games you are pretty much done.

427 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:20:50pm

re: #424 Renaissance_Man

Highest Migration Rates by Country - America #25

Poll of most popular immigration destinations

Having said that, however, I am inclined to agree that America is in many ways exceptional. It is exceptional through a combination of factors, some of which have to do with its government and populace, and some of which are matters of good fortune.

It’s a landmass filled with natural resources and a very favourable climate, which has not had millennia of dense human habitation as Europe, the Mediterranean, and the hospitable parts of Asia have. For most of its existence it has been one country, without the disadvantages of tribalism and the rise and fall of empires as other parts of the world have had. It has had no major wars fought over it, while most other parts of the world have had population and infrastructure wiped out time and again. For these factors alone it should be the world’s preeminent power. And it would be fair to say that these factors are ones mostly of circumstance, rather than design.

However, America also has an exceptionalism by design. It’s the first major nation that arose solely from a people that wanted to be there, rather than ones that were born into their place in the world. It was the world’s first modern meritocracy, and it remains one of the most open and nondiscriminatory societies anywhere. The values it cultivates are ones that the human condition naturally aspires to - self-worth, responsibility, altruism, and achievement. Make no mistake - it is the pre-eminent force in this era of the world’s history, and like it or not, it is the shining city on a hill in this time. When it is gone, historians will write of it as they do of the British Empire, and Rome before it and Egypt before that.

Is it the best country on earth? Best is of course subjective, and I personally wouldn’t say it is. But I wouldn’t fault anyone for thinking it was.

The top link doesn’t work.

Now, just because we have rules and regs re immigration and defined legal yearly limits does not mean we are not the preferred destination.

428 Renaissance_Man  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:22:42pm

re: #424 Renaissance_Man

Hmm, that CIA link for Migration rates won’t let me go there directly. If you click on World Factbook -> People -> Net Migration Rates it’ll take you there though.

429 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:25:24pm

re: #406 albusteve

heh…I drive an 04 Jetta…I’ve been a Camaro lover from the 67-9 classics and am again…I love fast, powerful ponies…I’m a Z28 drooler, not so much straight line if I had a choice…you should see the roads in NM…OMG stuff

Back in the ’70s, both my brother and I owned ‘70 Camaro SSs. His was a standard and mine an automatic. He decided to ‘hot rod’ his mill, and spent about $4000.00 dollars on it. It would have been close to 500 horse. His 3800lb machine ran consistent

430 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:25:41pm

Thanks you.

431 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:26:00pm

re: #407 Dark_Falcon

Nope, but then again, here in Chicagoland we have numbers of Canada geese that have never been to Canada, nor even migrated. Some ponds and small lakes have resident pair of geese that live there all year round. People make the mistake of feeding them and they settle down. They also turn the place into a no-go zone in the spring when they nest.

Shoot them. Eat them.

Same with snow geese.

432 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:27:45pm

re: #428 Renaissance_Man

Thank you.

As to the second study, I’m not sure what can really be determined, though the results are interesting.

Further, it appears as if the study was Euro/western centric.

433 HoosierHoops  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:27:50pm

re: #431 b_sharp

Shoot them. Eat them.

Same with snow geese.

Go to jail in Indiana..You don’t fuck with the geese here

434 windsagio  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:30:36pm
435 Aceofwhat?  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:32:22pm

re: #433 HoosierHoops

Go to jail in Indiana..You don’t fuck with the geese here

Yep. In the States, endangered species are like government entitlement programs…adding them to the list is a whooole lot easier than taking them off…

436 Renaissance_Man  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:35:29pm

re: #432 researchok

Thank you.

As to the second study, I’m not sure what can really be determined, though the results are interesting.

Further, it appears as if the study was Euro/western centric.

I don’t think it shows a whole lot either, just an interesting link I found. If anything, it shows that the most popular choice to emigrate to varies a lot.

My personal take from my own travels is that those in the Second and Third World consider First World Western countries as great places to live and want to go there, though they are usually totally underinformed about any of them. Those in the First World rate multiple countries as good places to move to, and the US is usually a reasonably popular one, if not the standout first choice.

437 researchok  Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:44:53pm

re: #436 Renaissance_Man

I don’t think it shows a whole lot either, just an interesting link I found. If anything, it shows that the most popular choice to emigrate to varies a lot.

My personal take from my own travels is that those in the Second and Third World consider First World Western countries as great places to live and want to go there, though they are usually totally underinformed about any of them. Those in the First World rate multiple countries as good places to move to, and the US is usually a reasonably popular one, if not the standout first choice.

Agreed on all counts


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Why Did More Than 1,000 People Die After Police Subdued Them With Force That Isn’t Meant to Kill? An investigation led by The Associated Press has found that, over a decade, more than 1,000 people died after police subdued them through physical holds, stun guns, body blows and other force not intended to be lethal. More: Why ...
Cheechako
Yesterday
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A Closer Look at the Eastman State Bar DecisionTaking a few minutes away from work things to read through the Eastman decision. As I'm sure many of you know, Eastman was my law school con law professor. I knew him pretty well because I was also running in ...
KGxvi
Yesterday
Views: 97 • Comments: 1 • Rating: 1