Regaurding less heating, the human body is more adaptable to cold than people often realize. Last night I slept fairly comfortably in a 45F bedroom using a not so good blanket. By the dead of winter I'll be comfortable (again) at 32F wearing nothing but shorts and a tee-shirt as long as it doesn't get too hot again here (Florida). It is just a matter of allowing yourself to be moderately uncomfortably cold for a few weeks so that your body undergoes whatever changes it needs. Prolonged warmness, as in a heated house, will quickly un-adapt the body. I doubt I'd ever be comfortable naked at 20F, there are limits, but my point is the thermostats can be set lower than most people do, perhaps 35F-40F for normal healthy people. I once even talked a normally chilly friend into trying it one winter and he adapted. I think it could save quite a bit of energy, especially since most people need to lose weight anyway. Clothing is another possibility:-)
It doesn't seem as easy to adapt to heat. Even working for hours every day in a 130F greenhouse never helped me be comfortable at 90F and 80% humidity. One of many reasons I want the heck out of Florida.
I plan to move to another US state soon. If I buy a two way ticket to save myself from an anal probe, can I get a refund for the unused return trip? Is train security less intrusive?
I'm one of those very nervous kinds of people. Even without the lie detector, I know I'm going to wig out if I get questioned and appear guilty as hell. I also have a heart condition. I wonder how often all this fake security nonsense kills people with bad hearts?
Re:Are you paying attention?
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A Flu Pandemic?
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So how are you prepared?
Smothered garlic and onions and seasoned with sage, rosemary and thyme. Serve with fava beans and a nice chianti. May I recommend my tenderloins which are feeling especially tender and juicy today.
Anyway the real issue isn't so much health as it is the addictive nature of nicotine. Its a drug, that has no benefits
Untrue. The drug makes it easier to filter out background distractions thereby improving concentration and reducing irritability. Google for "stimulus barrier" +nicotine
The problem with cigarettes is the smoker also inhales a bunch of other chemicals which are dangerous. Look up Swedish Snus, a type of smokeless tobacco which appears to have no statistically significant impact on life expectancy despite having a high nicotine content. Sweden has seen a big decrease in smoking related deaths since smokers have switched to snus.
, is toxic in every respect, and it should be just as outlawed as heroin.
Here I must disagree more strongly. What I choose to put into my body is none of your business any more than abortion is your business and for the same reason--my body doesn't belong to you.
Writing "Self-defence" on the application form to obtain a gun license will guarantee you won't get to own one (legally).
You just implied one of my problems with disarming common people. The bad guys will always have guns because they are willing to illegally obtain them. In most cases, I alone can defend my family and myself from gun toting criminals. It would take a minimum of 15 minutes for police to show up at my house which I believe is statistically longer than most violent crimes take. And that's assuming I can call them without getting shot in the first place. They would come to collect innocent bodies and take a statement. I'd prefer they come to collect the criminal's body if it had to come to that.
The other reason we have guns is to protect ourselves against the government. Granted, they have better weapons, but even small arms are a deterrent to governmental violence. It's not as silly as it may sound after you think about it for a bit. The US has a significant number of troops in the Middle East yet look how poorly they've preformed. The US is bigger and has about a 100 million more people than Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
Not the article, which is actually quite readable once you know a bit of German. But most posters reaction to this awful machine translation.
Weird thing is, I read the mangled translation, understood it, and didn't even notice anything wrong with it. The closest I've come to learning German was a little Norwegian but that was years ago.
When people behave like children, one must often deal with them as if they were children.
The rest of the world should consider investing their fuel tax revenues into building huge oil tanks and stockpiling crude oil. This should cause crude prices to go up around the world so that Americans can't continue to drive land yachts. Adjust your tax rates to keep your prices unchanged at the pump. When the oil wells dry up, you all can keep your stockpile for yourselves or sell it to us at a nice profit. Even George Bush wouldn't be dumb enough to go to war against the entire world over oil, we'd lose.
Just a wild ass guess but from someone who didn't RTFA...
Most people who are new to cannabis have short term memory problems while high. My >cough friend would get halfway through some brilliant philosophical conversation and then forget what he was talking about, for instance. People who do a lot of cannabis seem to get over this problem. Perhaps the brain is compensating for the memory impairment while high by building strengthening itself.
I agree government schools suck and seem to do their damnedest to turn young people into a bland homogenous puree Uncle Sam can most easily gum.
I really do wonder how often it works though. Around 5th grade I figured out school was a form of baby sitting and education was pretty far down on their list of priorities. I got most of my education at the public library on my own simply because I liked to learn. Libraries used to have great science project books before the safety freaks got rid of them. One book even had directions on how to make your own X-ray machine, home made rocket fuels, and it seemed most of the electrical experiments involved using lead fishing sinkers in salt water so you could plug your project into a wall socket more safely, lol. That was in the early 1980's. Now such books have been replaced by "how to make a squirt gun with a soda bottle" and other boring stuff. Anyway, I guess the books did make science fun but school didn't.
If I had a kid, I'd get her some of those books. I suspect it may be possible to find some more modern ones translated from German. Germans rocked in coming up with fun experiments for kids, at least back then. Hopefully they haven't also gone all safetyfied.
Being bullied by teachers and students to conform only made me more rebellious. Maybe that's just because I'm a stubborn jackass, but I suspect I'm not very unique in that regard. I think most reasonably bright people will eventually rebel if asked to be stupid. If they aren't reasonably bright, they won't make good scientists anyway.
I'm more pessimistic. In my engineering classes, many of my classmates were there for money and prestige. Fortunately, many end up dropping out because it is too tough for them. We called them "business majors" because that is where they'd end up for money and prestige but with less intellectual challenge. The ones who did make it through worry me because they do tend to be incompetent and got through on stuff like good looks, cheating etc. I've noticed many MDs seem to be doctors for the same wrongheaded reasons. Purely anecdotal of course...
As for being a nerdy high school student, yes, it was hell. I ended up taking a strange sort of pride in being different though. So I guess maybe the bullies drove me deeper into nerdom than perhaps I would have gone on my own. I find that hard to believe though. They certainly couldn't have talked/beaten me out of being a nerd though even though I'd have to give them an A for effort;-)
I don't know man. I'm pretty sure Bert and Ernie have something going on under the sheets. That's what I always thought as a kid. And Big Bird, he's such a queen and take another look at his name. Better ban it too since some people object to such behavior.
Clearly, the only way to protect kids from society is destroy society. It could be done by simply having no more kids.
Seriously, I'm so sick of people and politicians thinking government is the solution to every little societal hangnail, I could puke. Is this really even a majority view in this country? It is the parents' job to raise kids who know better and the kid's responsibility to act on it. I feel so sorry for kids these days, they already live in your padded cells.
I've been depressed before, mildly so since I was a child. My all time worst depression came when a shrink made me quit SSRIs cold turkey for two weeks just to switch me to another SSRI. It is amazing and frightening just how bad it is possible to feel. After trying SSRIs for 5 years with no benefit and tons of side effects, I weaned myself off of them. While on them I was mildly psychotic--paranoid, delusions, hallucinations etc. For this they treated me with new and wonderful drugs which did nothing except make me into a manageable zombie. After quitting all of the drugs I rapidly improved. I haven't had a single psychotic experience since (used to be a daily thing for the 5 years). I still have down days but they are nothing compared to when I was drugged.
Your dad is doing well and that is great. However, as in my case, these drugs can have horrible effects on some people. I lost 5 years of my life to a hell most people can't even imagine. It happened during my 4th year of a 5 year engineering degree and killed my chances of being a professional. SSRIs and leeches have their uses but aren't nearly as generally useful as once touted. Cruise is party right even if for all the wrong reasons.
Maybe it would be going too far to say that psychology is a pseudo-science, but I do think it is roughly at the stage of development surgery was back when barbers did the operations or at the infancy of any other science. It is a field of knowledge that seems to have much unearned prestige and pay.
If it is for real, a blood test for anxiety is a step in the right direction since it introduces some objectivity. Given the track record of many pharmaceutical companies I wouldn't be surprised if they lied about the usefulness of the test.
For now, a loved one would have to be in very bad shape before I'd call on a psychologist/psychiatrist, bad enough that I'd basically be accepting the fact that my loved one would be warehoused or sedated until he got better more or less on his own, if ever.
After getting hit 3 times last year, I guess I know something about hurricanes.
In addition to boots, I'd add few pairs of hip waders and the kind of knee high rubber boots masonry workers wear.
Lots of bottled drinking water. I'd suggest 2-3 gallons per day per person which is how much I need in FL when working outside. More may be a good idea since even with that much I still don't have to pee. Some have suggested beer. I think that's a bad idea while you are working, you need your brain and alcohol speeds dehydration. Save it for the cool of the evening and drink in moderation. Same goes for caffeine. I find sports drinks prevent heat cramps and irritability, both of which I tend to get after about an hour of work in the heat.
Lots of wash water if possible. Even if I brought wash water, I'd still bring a couple bottles of unscented Clorox bleach. It doesn't take much to sanitize surface water for washing, look up how much. I wouldn't drink it unless my life depended on it though since the water probably has petroleum, insecticides and other stuff the bleach won't get rid of.
Staying clean is important. Winter in the South isn't cold enough to be hard on microorganisms and they thrive in the heat and humidity. My first year in FL I had all sorts of infected cuts, ring worm, impetigo, and even an intestinal type worm under my skin and that was without having to walk through raw sewage. I've since built immunity so it isn't a problem, but you may have trouble. Bring something for jock itch and some Neosporin, peroxide and rubbing alcohol for cuts in addition to a good first aid kit. A big kettle is handy for washing yourself, your clothes and if you aren't squeamish, cooking your food. Washcloth and soap, of course.
Air conditioning, it isn't just a luxury. Probably an air conditioned vehicle would be most practical for emergency cool downs. I used to work at an amusement park and it seemed like once an hour someone would collapse from the heat. Unless you are very heat acclimated, this may be your biggest problem. Although you'll sweat like a pig, it won't evaporate well because of the humidity so it won't cool you as much as you are probably used to. Think 95F and 90% humidity, kind of like an unventilated bathroom after a hot shower.
Be very aware of your environment, watch where you step and where you put your hands. Live power lines, from what I've seen, usually don't jump around arcing like they always do in movies. Know what the poisonous snake look like and avoid them, some may still be looking for new homes after the flood. Alligators can be dangerous, especially if you inadvertently corner one or if it has lost its fear of man. Generally, snakes and 'gators will run away if you give them the chance. However, I have been chased by water moccasins. Disasters usually bring out the best in people, but for some it brings out their worst. I'd give serious thought to bringing a handgun if possible, or at least pepper spray. Cops probably won't be able to help when you need them most.
We have American Walking sticks I don't know if LA has them. They are very active right now. They tend to climb to eye level and if accidentally provoked they will spray your eyes with stuff that will cause pain and about 20 minutes of blindness. I've twice found them crawling up my legs. I close my eyes, turn my head and jump a lot to get them off. My friend saw someone get sprayed and blinded and it didn't sound like a picnic. My friend got sprayed too but fortunately had eye protection on at the time. The bugs are roach-brown with amber stripes, about 4-6 inches long and will have a small mate on their back. This isn't a big danger, just something to be aware of.
The roaches look big enough to eat you but they won't eat much. They may scrape off patches of your upper skin while you sleep which is irritating. They may also get in your mouth while you sleep, although I've only had that happen once to my knowledge--woke up from dreaming about eating live crabs, yuck. There
The other day I decided to make a chicken egg incubator. My first inclination was to control the temperature with a USB data acquisition unit connect to my Mac G5. Then I thought, wow, that's dumb, I'd have to keep my computer out of sleep mode for 21 days just to run the damn thing. Then I thought, I'll use a micro-controller. That seemed ugly too. I've now settled on using a thermosister, potentiometer, two voltage dividers, a comparator and an LED. The LED just turns off a store-bought photoelectric switch that is connected to a light-bulb. It works, I can keep the temperature within 1/10 a degree F with it (so far after 3 hours of testing) and it doesn't need a bunch of complicated expensive machinery to do it.
It reminds me a lot of the gains we used to make going from Basic to assembly language. There is just something deeply satisfying about making things simpler that I think a lot of programmers miss out on.
I sort of miss the old days sometimes. As a kid doing assembly (and machine!) code on my C64 I felt like I knew almost every little detail of how it worked. I felt like a god in total control of my little universe.
With modern programming its more like being a CEO barking out orders to my minions (makers, compilers, assemblers, linkers and such). I haven't really a f*ing clue what is really going on anymore. I suspect they do a lot of slacking off but I can't see it from my office.
It reminds me of what Richard Feynman said about the advantages of growing up with vacuum tube based radios, how you could much more easily see how they worked. Now it's just a few black boxes connected by hard to see wires, and there as so many bells and whistles, it is harder to get a feel for what is going on.
Perhaps it isn't essential to know all the details, but it is fun to learn anyway. If I had a geeky kid, I'd encourage him to play with my Atmel microcontrollers and developer board. Its good clean fun and maybe it would come in handy some day.
In emergency situations is interesting what dumb mistakes people make because they are so used to being far removed from the details of how things work. After a hurricane several people will always bring their generator indoors and die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Several will make obvious errors cutting up fallen trees and end up crushed. Many don't even seem to know how to cook without electricity or start a fire without matches or a lighter. I know of one person who couldn't even figure out how to eat from plants full of string beans, only knew how to warm them from a can. This is mostly stuff our ancestors dealt with daily.
Morganth, since you seem to know something about philosophy, perhaps you could help me with something I've been struggling with.
I think it should be legal to use embryonic stem cells which were going to be discarded anyway, but I don't really know why I think that. The logic you, myself and others use makes use of unprovable principles. In this case I guess it is that there is such a thing as "moral value" although perhaps this is logically derived from even more fundamental principles, I don't know. My point is, at the base of it all is what amounts to an untestable guess. That we can all agree that it is a good guess doesn't change the fact the it is still just an untestable guess. Doesn't that make all of philosophy rather dogmatic?
Science, mathematics, and I guess everything seems to have this problem at their roots.
Is there at least a "solution exists" type answer?
Real life example of why this is a problem. I recently encountered a man who aims to literally turn the USA into a theocracy. His plan involves asking everyone who disagrees with the Christian religion to leave the country. He would then execute those who refuse to leave. (Ultimately, he'd also execute those who left since his long term goal is world wide theocracy.) I said everyone has a basic right to life. He said I was being just as dogmatic about that as he was about the existence of a God who would advocate mass murder of infidels. Well, I for one, can't logically prove from nothing that everyone (or anyone) has a right to life. He went on to basically say rightness is whatever the majority says is right or is determined by whatever group has the power to get its way. If the majority think there is a God who advocates mass murder of infidels then it is right to murder all the infidels (read Jews, Muslims, and all other people of different religious persuasions including many Christians, and of course atheists, homosexuals, fornicators, etc).
His parent class seems to be Dominism/Reconstructionism which also includes several well known Christian leaders. The Christian Right and Christian fundamentalists also seem to inherit much from the same parent class although they don't usually openly advocate mass murder. They all believe might makes right (democracy can trump individual rights if the masses say it's okay.)
Anyway, I guess I'm going off on a tangent. How do you deal with all this?
If the orbit of the ISS is the problem, why not move it? Perhaps with a low thrust engine such as an ion drive.
I guess my overall feeling is we have all that mass already in orbit, why not find something useful to do with it? I'd hate to see it de-orbited like Skylab(?) or Mir. If we can't find a good use for it now, at least move it to a stable orbit until someone finds a use. Think in terms of a salvage yard for all this stuff, not like it's going to rust.
Their goals aren't much different than the Taliban's--establishment of a religious government, death to all non-believers etc. I'm open to the thought that they are more common than it at first seems and are the driving force behind the Christian Right, especially since most every diehard Christian I currently know espouses much of their philosophy. If you have the stomach to watch The 700 Club or Jerry Falwell (Often on Fox News), it sure seems they are heavily influenced. Google for more.
I did not see anything in the article that he wrote that would have violated American law.
So what? If they made a law that you said they could grind your flesh into hamburger patties, would that make it right?
Perhaps you don't personally mind being treated the way he was. I would. I was once questioned by US police for taking a walk at 8 p.m. There reason? Days ago a house had been broken into, and apparently it is abnormal to go for a walk in the evening, end of cause for suspicion. I found it very humiliating, people going by may have thought I'd done something wrong. I still feel queazy thinking back on it, maybe it's an introvert thing. They also took 30 minutes of my life which I will never get back. They took more from this man and caused him much more of a hassle. Fortunately for him, he at least made some money selling his story.
Fact is, no matter how draconian the law becomes, if terrorists remain determined to act, they will succeed in killing people. Some things such as secure cockpit doors, and a populace now willing to fight for their survival should actually help. Most of the other stuff is just for show so that people *feel* safer.
Think about it though. Are you any safer? I and many others here could probably come up with 10 ways to kill 100 or more people without getting caught before hand. I bet we could also find ways to do it on a budget under $500. It's really pretty easy. Think about it. Can't you come up with some really bad stuff too?
Considering that, why bother with all these silly security measures?
A gun will work better than yelling at it or running for cover to have a good cry.
Obviously we are in a position of weakness so the battle would be horrible and likely unwinable, but still there would at least be a small chance. Iraq is doing better than I expected.
There is also the chance that a prolonged confrontation with american citizens would sicken those in the military to the point they'd back down.
Learned helplessness. We are taught from early childhood to submit to athoraton. For instance, rules such as Zero Tolerance (no rational negotiation allowed for a sane outcome) in school teach that resistance is futile. Zero Tolerance also teaches that there are no shades of grey.
Also, because of the way votes are counted, the choices are bad guy #1 and bad guy #2. A vote for good guy #1 is a waste since he almost certainly wont win so it is really a vote for bad guy #1 or #2. It is depressing.
A better system allows one to cast a prioritized vote for several candidates. Next presidential election I'll have to vote Democrat even though I think other parties could do a better job. I feel I must make sure the republicans (a.k.a. Dominist Party) lose at all costs. I'd rather vote: libertarian dude, greenparty dudette, democrat dude and cast a no vote for the republicans, socialists, communists and constitutionalists. Even if the libertarians loose, my second or third choice would still count. Only 3rd parties would favor giving me that choice though so little chance of it happening.
...George Carlin. He was essentially guessing that teaching somebody not to use certain "bad" words is the first step in teaching them to be complacent."
Interesting thought. I wonder if the same idea accounts for other arbitrary things people call sin. I know many church people who swear (no pun) up and down that masturbation (again no puns), and wine drinking are evil and forbidden by the Bible even though the evidence against masturbation is scant and wine drinking is almost promoted by the Bible.
My best friend's mother never forbade cussing in her house. Mine would have a fit even over words like piss or crap. I love to cuss now but my friend doesn't. I wonder if that is a general trend?
Perhaps these forbidden fruits exist solely to build dependance upon religion--I'm a terrible person, better go to church before I burn in Hell?
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Regaurding less heating, the human body is more adaptable to cold than people often realize. Last night I slept fairly comfortably in a 45F bedroom using a not so good blanket. By the dead of winter I'll be comfortable (again) at 32F wearing nothing but shorts and a tee-shirt as long as it doesn't get too hot again here (Florida). It is just a matter of allowing yourself to be moderately uncomfortably cold for a few weeks so that your body undergoes whatever changes it needs. Prolonged warmness, as in a heated house, will quickly un-adapt the body. I doubt I'd ever be comfortable naked at 20F, there are limits, but my point is the thermostats can be set lower than most people do, perhaps 35F-40F for normal healthy people. I once even talked a normally chilly friend into trying it one winter and he adapted. I think it could save quite a bit of energy, especially since most people need to lose weight anyway. Clothing is another possibility:-)
It doesn't seem as easy to adapt to heat. Even working for hours every day in a 130F greenhouse never helped me be comfortable at 90F and 80% humidity. One of many reasons I want the heck out of Florida.
I plan to move to another US state soon. If I buy a two way ticket to save myself from an anal probe, can I get a refund for the unused return trip? Is train security less intrusive?
I'm one of those very nervous kinds of people. Even without the lie detector, I know I'm going to wig out if I get questioned and appear guilty as hell. I also have a heart condition. I wonder how often all this fake security nonsense kills people with bad hearts?
Smothered garlic and onions and seasoned with sage, rosemary and thyme. Serve with fava beans and a nice chianti. May I recommend my tenderloins which are feeling especially tender and juicy today.
I'm an American.
I think that given the same circumstances, the USA would be doing exactly what France is doing to the bloggers.
Watch Bill O'Reilly on Fox News and you'll soon understand why some idiots are using this an excuse to hate the French.
Untrue. The drug makes it easier to filter out background distractions thereby improving concentration and reducing irritability. Google for "stimulus barrier" +nicotine
The problem with cigarettes is the smoker also inhales a bunch of other chemicals which are dangerous. Look up Swedish Snus, a type of smokeless tobacco which appears to have no statistically significant impact on life expectancy despite having a high nicotine content. Sweden has seen a big decrease in smoking related deaths since smokers have switched to snus.
Here I must disagree more strongly. What I choose to put into my body is none of your business any more than abortion is your business and for the same reason--my body doesn't belong to you.
You just implied one of my problems with disarming common people. The bad guys will always have guns because they are willing to illegally obtain them. In most cases, I alone can defend my family and myself from gun toting criminals. It would take a minimum of 15 minutes for police to show up at my house which I believe is statistically longer than most violent crimes take. And that's assuming I can call them without getting shot in the first place. They would come to collect innocent bodies and take a statement. I'd prefer they come to collect the criminal's body if it had to come to that.
The other reason we have guns is to protect ourselves against the government. Granted, they have better weapons, but even small arms are a deterrent to governmental violence. It's not as silly as it may sound after you think about it for a bit. The US has a significant number of troops in the Middle East yet look how poorly they've preformed. The US is bigger and has about a 100 million more people than Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
Weird thing is, I read the mangled translation, understood it, and didn't even notice anything wrong with it. The closest I've come to learning German was a little Norwegian but that was years ago.
When people behave like children, one must often deal with them as if they were children.
The rest of the world should consider investing their fuel tax revenues into building huge oil tanks and stockpiling crude oil. This should cause crude prices to go up around the world so that Americans can't continue to drive land yachts. Adjust your tax rates to keep your prices unchanged at the pump. When the oil wells dry up, you all can keep your stockpile for yourselves or sell it to us at a nice profit. Even George Bush wouldn't be dumb enough to go to war against the entire world over oil, we'd lose.
Just a wild ass guess but from someone who didn't RTFA...
Most people who are new to cannabis have short term memory problems while high. My >cough friend would get halfway through some brilliant philosophical conversation and then forget what he was talking about, for instance. People who do a lot of cannabis seem to get over this problem. Perhaps the brain is compensating for the memory impairment while high by building strengthening itself.
I agree government schools suck and seem to do their damnedest to turn young people into a bland homogenous puree Uncle Sam can most easily gum.
I really do wonder how often it works though. Around 5th grade I figured out school was a form of baby sitting and education was pretty far down on their list of priorities. I got most of my education at the public library on my own simply because I liked to learn. Libraries used to have great science project books before the safety freaks got rid of them. One book even had directions on how to make your own X-ray machine, home made rocket fuels, and it seemed most of the electrical experiments involved using lead fishing sinkers in salt water so you could plug your project into a wall socket more safely, lol. That was in the early 1980's. Now such books have been replaced by "how to make a squirt gun with a soda bottle" and other boring stuff. Anyway, I guess the books did make science fun but school didn't.
If I had a kid, I'd get her some of those books. I suspect it may be possible to find some more modern ones translated from German. Germans rocked in coming up with fun experiments for kids, at least back then. Hopefully they haven't also gone all safetyfied.
Being bullied by teachers and students to conform only made me more rebellious. Maybe that's just because I'm a stubborn jackass, but I suspect I'm not very unique in that regard. I think most reasonably bright people will eventually rebel if asked to be stupid. If they aren't reasonably bright, they won't make good scientists anyway.
I'm more pessimistic. In my engineering classes, many of my classmates were there for money and prestige. Fortunately, many end up dropping out because it is too tough for them. We called them "business majors" because that is where they'd end up for money and prestige but with less intellectual challenge. The ones who did make it through worry me because they do tend to be incompetent and got through on stuff like good looks, cheating etc. I've noticed many MDs seem to be doctors for the same wrongheaded reasons. Purely anecdotal of course...
As for being a nerdy high school student, yes, it was hell. I ended up taking a strange sort of pride in being different though. So I guess maybe the bullies drove me deeper into nerdom than perhaps I would have gone on my own. I find that hard to believe though. They certainly couldn't have talked/beaten me out of being a nerd though even though I'd have to give them an A for effort;-)
I don't know man. I'm pretty sure Bert and Ernie have something going on under the sheets. That's what I always thought as a kid. And Big Bird, he's such a queen and take another look at his name. Better ban it too since some people object to such behavior.
Clearly, the only way to protect kids from society is destroy society. It could be done by simply having no more kids.
Seriously, I'm so sick of people and politicians thinking government is the solution to every little societal hangnail, I could puke. Is this really even a majority view in this country? It is the parents' job to raise kids who know better and the kid's responsibility to act on it. I feel so sorry for kids these days, they already live in your padded cells.
I'm glad to hear your father is doing well.
I've been depressed before, mildly so since I was a child. My all time worst depression came when a shrink made me quit SSRIs cold turkey for two weeks just to switch me to another SSRI. It is amazing and frightening just how bad it is possible to feel. After trying SSRIs for 5 years with no benefit and tons of side effects, I weaned myself off of them. While on them I was mildly psychotic--paranoid, delusions, hallucinations etc. For this they treated me with new and wonderful drugs which did nothing except make me into a manageable zombie. After quitting all of the drugs I rapidly improved. I haven't had a single psychotic experience since (used to be a daily thing for the 5 years). I still have down days but they are nothing compared to when I was drugged.
Your dad is doing well and that is great. However, as in my case, these drugs can have horrible effects on some people. I lost 5 years of my life to a hell most people can't even imagine. It happened during my 4th year of a 5 year engineering degree and killed my chances of being a professional. SSRIs and leeches have their uses but aren't nearly as generally useful as once touted. Cruise is party right even if for all the wrong reasons.
I'm not a Scientologist.
Maybe it would be going too far to say that psychology is a pseudo-science, but I do think it is roughly at the stage of development surgery was back when barbers did the operations or at the infancy of any other science. It is a field of knowledge that seems to have much unearned prestige and pay.
If it is for real, a blood test for anxiety is a step in the right direction since it introduces some objectivity. Given the track record of many pharmaceutical companies I wouldn't be surprised if they lied about the usefulness of the test.
For now, a loved one would have to be in very bad shape before I'd call on a psychologist/psychiatrist, bad enough that I'd basically be accepting the fact that my loved one would be warehoused or sedated until he got better more or less on his own, if ever.
After getting hit 3 times last year, I guess I know something about hurricanes.
In addition to boots, I'd add few pairs of hip waders and the kind of knee high rubber boots masonry workers wear.
Lots of bottled drinking water. I'd suggest 2-3 gallons per day per person which is how much I need in FL when working outside. More may be a good idea since even with that much I still don't have to pee. Some have suggested beer. I think that's a bad idea while you are working, you need your brain and alcohol speeds dehydration. Save it for the cool of the evening and drink in moderation. Same goes for caffeine. I find sports drinks prevent heat cramps and irritability, both of which I tend to get after about an hour of work in the heat.
Lots of wash water if possible. Even if I brought wash water, I'd still bring a couple bottles of unscented Clorox bleach. It doesn't take much to sanitize surface water for washing, look up how much. I wouldn't drink it unless my life depended on it though since the water probably has petroleum, insecticides and other stuff the bleach won't get rid of.
Staying clean is important. Winter in the South isn't cold enough to be hard on microorganisms and they thrive in the heat and humidity. My first year in FL I had all sorts of infected cuts, ring worm, impetigo, and even an intestinal type worm under my skin and that was without having to walk through raw sewage. I've since built immunity so it isn't a problem, but you may have trouble. Bring something for jock itch and some Neosporin, peroxide and rubbing alcohol for cuts in addition to a good first aid kit. A big kettle is handy for washing yourself, your clothes and if you aren't squeamish, cooking your food. Washcloth and soap, of course.
Air conditioning, it isn't just a luxury. Probably an air conditioned vehicle would be most practical for emergency cool downs. I used to work at an amusement park and it seemed like once an hour someone would collapse from the heat. Unless you are very heat acclimated, this may be your biggest problem. Although you'll sweat like a pig, it won't evaporate well because of the humidity so it won't cool you as much as you are probably used to. Think 95F and 90% humidity, kind of like an unventilated bathroom after a hot shower.
Be very aware of your environment, watch where you step and where you put your hands. Live power lines, from what I've seen, usually don't jump around arcing like they always do in movies. Know what the poisonous snake look like and avoid them, some may still be looking for new homes after the flood. Alligators can be dangerous, especially if you inadvertently corner one or if it has lost its fear of man. Generally, snakes and 'gators will run away if you give them the chance. However, I have been chased by water moccasins. Disasters usually bring out the best in people, but for some it brings out their worst. I'd give serious thought to bringing a handgun if possible, or at least pepper spray. Cops probably won't be able to help when you need them most.
We have American Walking sticks I don't know if LA has them. They are very active right now. They tend to climb to eye level and if accidentally provoked they will spray your eyes with stuff that will cause pain and about 20 minutes of blindness. I've twice found them crawling up my legs. I close my eyes, turn my head and jump a lot to get them off. My friend saw someone get sprayed and blinded and it didn't sound like a picnic. My friend got sprayed too but fortunately had eye protection on at the time. The bugs are roach-brown with amber stripes, about 4-6 inches long and will have a small mate on their back. This isn't a big danger, just something to be aware of.
The roaches look big enough to eat you but they won't eat much. They may scrape off patches of your upper skin while you sleep which is irritating. They may also get in your mouth while you sleep, although I've only had that happen once to my knowledge--woke up from dreaming about eating live crabs, yuck. There
Tangentially related, I think:
The other day I decided to make a chicken egg incubator. My first inclination was to control the temperature with a USB data acquisition unit connect to my Mac G5. Then I thought, wow, that's dumb, I'd have to keep my computer out of sleep mode for 21 days just to run the damn thing. Then I thought, I'll use a micro-controller. That seemed ugly too. I've now settled on using a thermosister, potentiometer, two voltage dividers, a comparator and an LED. The LED just turns off a store-bought photoelectric switch that is connected to a light-bulb. It works, I can keep the temperature within 1/10 a degree F with it (so far after 3 hours of testing) and it doesn't need a bunch of complicated expensive machinery to do it.
It reminds me a lot of the gains we used to make going from Basic to assembly language. There is just something deeply satisfying about making things simpler that I think a lot of programmers miss out on.
I sort of miss the old days sometimes. As a kid doing assembly (and machine!) code on my C64 I felt like I knew almost every little detail of how it worked. I felt like a god in total control of my little universe.
With modern programming its more like being a CEO barking out orders to my minions (makers, compilers, assemblers, linkers and such). I haven't really a f*ing clue what is really going on anymore. I suspect they do a lot of slacking off but I can't see it from my office.
It reminds me of what Richard Feynman said about the advantages of growing up with vacuum tube based radios, how you could much more easily see how they worked. Now it's just a few black boxes connected by hard to see wires, and there as so many bells and whistles, it is harder to get a feel for what is going on.
Perhaps it isn't essential to know all the details, but it is fun to learn anyway. If I had a geeky kid, I'd encourage him to play with my Atmel microcontrollers and developer board. Its good clean fun and maybe it would come in handy some day.
In emergency situations is interesting what dumb mistakes people make because they are so used to being far removed from the details of how things work. After a hurricane several people will always bring their generator indoors and die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Several will make obvious errors cutting up fallen trees and end up crushed. Many don't even seem to know how to cook without electricity or start a fire without matches or a lighter. I know of one person who couldn't even figure out how to eat from plants full of string beans, only knew how to warm them from a can. This is mostly stuff our ancestors dealt with daily.
Morganth, since you seem to know something about philosophy, perhaps you could help me with something I've been struggling with.
I think it should be legal to use embryonic stem cells which were going to be discarded anyway, but I don't really know why I think that. The logic you, myself and others use makes use of unprovable principles. In this case I guess it is that there is such a thing as "moral value" although perhaps this is logically derived from even more fundamental principles, I don't know. My point is, at the base of it all is what amounts to an untestable guess. That we can all agree that it is a good guess doesn't change the fact the it is still just an untestable guess. Doesn't that make all of philosophy rather dogmatic?
Science, mathematics, and I guess everything seems to have this problem at their roots.
Is there at least a "solution exists" type answer?
Real life example of why this is a problem. I recently encountered a man who aims to literally turn the USA into a theocracy. His plan involves asking everyone who disagrees with the Christian religion to leave the country. He would then execute those who refuse to leave. (Ultimately, he'd also execute those who left since his long term goal is world wide theocracy.) I said everyone has a basic right to life. He said I was being just as dogmatic about that as he was about the existence of a God who would advocate mass murder of infidels. Well, I for one, can't logically prove from nothing that everyone (or anyone) has a right to life. He went on to basically say rightness is whatever the majority says is right or is determined by whatever group has the power to get its way. If the majority think there is a God who advocates mass murder of infidels then it is right to murder all the infidels (read Jews, Muslims, and all other people of different religious persuasions including many Christians, and of course atheists, homosexuals, fornicators, etc).
His parent class seems to be Dominism/Reconstructionism which also includes several well known Christian leaders. The Christian Right and Christian fundamentalists also seem to inherit much from the same parent class although they don't usually openly advocate mass murder. They all believe might makes right (democracy can trump individual rights if the masses say it's okay.)
Anyway, I guess I'm going off on a tangent. How do you deal with all this?
If the orbit of the ISS is the problem, why not move it? Perhaps with a low thrust engine such as an ion drive.
I guess my overall feeling is we have all that mass already in orbit, why not find something useful to do with it? I'd hate to see it de-orbited like Skylab(?) or Mir. If we can't find a good use for it now, at least move it to a stable orbit until someone finds a use. Think in terms of a salvage yard for all this stuff, not like it's going to rust.
The Republican party has been replaced with another party going by the same name.
h tml
I suspect these people or similar are responsible for the growth of the Christian Right:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm
http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre1.
http://www.mainstreambaptists.org/dominionism.htm
Their goals aren't much different than the Taliban's--establishment of a religious government, death to all non-believers etc. I'm open to the thought that they are more common than it at first seems and are the driving force behind the Christian Right, especially since most every diehard Christian I currently know espouses much of their philosophy. If you have the stomach to watch The 700 Club or Jerry Falwell (Often on Fox News), it sure seems they are heavily influenced. Google for more.
"includes bestiality, urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior."
Does this mean I can no longer film my Tom getting it on with my rooster?
What about where the Bible says "...and the lion shall lay down with the lamb..." and it was a good thing?
Yes.
So what? If they made a law that you said they could grind your flesh into hamburger patties, would that make it right?
Perhaps you don't personally mind being treated the way he was. I would. I was once questioned by US police for taking a walk at 8 p.m. There reason? Days ago a house had been broken into, and apparently it is abnormal to go for a walk in the evening, end of cause for suspicion. I found it very humiliating, people going by may have thought I'd done something wrong. I still feel queazy thinking back on it, maybe it's an introvert thing. They also took 30 minutes of my life which I will never get back. They took more from this man and caused him much more of a hassle. Fortunately for him, he at least made some money selling his story.
Fact is, no matter how draconian the law becomes, if terrorists remain determined to act, they will succeed in killing people. Some things such as secure cockpit doors, and a populace now willing to fight for their survival should actually help. Most of the other stuff is just for show so that people *feel* safer.
Think about it though. Are you any safer? I and many others here could probably come up with 10 ways to kill 100 or more people without getting caught before hand. I bet we could also find ways to do it on a budget under $500. It's really pretty easy. Think about it. Can't you come up with some really bad stuff too?
Considering that, why bother with all these silly security measures?
A gun will work better than yelling at it or running for cover to have a good cry.
Obviously we are in a position of weakness so the battle would be horrible and likely unwinable, but still there would at least be a small chance. Iraq is doing better than I expected.
There is also the chance that a prolonged confrontation with american citizens would sicken those in the military to the point they'd back down.
Learned helplessness. We are taught from early childhood to submit to athoraton. For instance, rules such as Zero Tolerance (no rational negotiation allowed for a sane outcome) in school teach that resistance is futile. Zero Tolerance also teaches that there are no shades of grey.
Also, because of the way votes are counted, the choices are bad guy #1 and bad guy #2. A vote for good guy #1 is a waste since he almost certainly wont win so it is really a vote for bad guy #1 or #2. It is depressing.
A better system allows one to cast a prioritized vote for several candidates. Next presidential election I'll have to vote Democrat even though I think other parties could do a better job. I feel I must make sure the republicans (a.k.a. Dominist Party) lose at all costs. I'd rather vote: libertarian dude, greenparty dudette, democrat dude and cast a no vote for the republicans, socialists, communists and constitutionalists. Even if the libertarians loose, my second or third choice would still count. Only 3rd parties would favor giving me that choice though so little chance of it happening.
Interesting thought. I wonder if the same idea accounts for other arbitrary things people call sin. I know many church people who swear (no pun) up and down that masturbation (again no puns), and wine drinking are evil and forbidden by the Bible even though the evidence against masturbation is scant and wine drinking is almost promoted by the Bible.
My best friend's mother never forbade cussing in her house. Mine would have a fit even over words like piss or crap. I love to cuss now but my friend doesn't. I wonder if that is a general trend?
Perhaps these forbidden fruits exist solely to build dependance upon religion--I'm a terrible person, better go to church before I burn in Hell?