birdlike

Ugh. I occasionally will watch that show, but my overall impression was that it was pretty lame, because there seemed to be NO military- or even quasi-military discipline kept aboard that ship. For christ's sake, they had a civilian population on board. It always struck me as a sort of "Love Boat in space." For me, my favorite t.v. show of all time is "Firefly." THAT is a well-done show. From the ground up, it excelled: casting, writing, special effects, performances, nuance... Just fuggin' amazing.

How convenient. I guess there's no point in theorizing that maybe these people began with a belief and then went looking for the reasons to believe it, the proof that it's true? I was wondering why you asked about whether this was the Mayan prophecy. I was gonna say, "Um, it's not quite 2012 yet." Either way, I think it's far less likely that a couple of crackpot scientists are right about this being the world-killer they claim it will be than ALL of the other scientists being fools who are rushing headlong unthinkingly toward disaster. Unlike a lot of people, I'm willing to put some faith in the idea that educated physicists have cause to be confident in what they know and do. Why would it take so long? And since the accelerator is not in the center of the earth, why would the quasar be concentric with it? Wouldn't the ray of light come out from just under the earth's surface near the site of the collider, and far later come out the other side of the earth? OHHHHhhhhhhh. NOW I see what's going on here. Nothing violates the right to life except TAKING life, or attempting to. It cannot be said conclusively and definitively that this project WILL take life. It already appears that a large number of scientists agree it will not even jeopardize life. Nothing as amusing as a frivolous lawsuit being perpetrated in Europe to confirm that the madness is not confined to the U.S. 20 years, huh? Well, we should've had 5 ends of the earth already, then! Reminds me of some of our friends over in Speakers Corner! Well, Evans is the fool for thinking that the one or two guys who foresee doom are the ones who are wrong, and the thousands who don't are right. Hasn't he ever watched a Hollywood movie?! It's always the guy who gets disbelieved, and whose warnings are ignored by the arrogant, smug Establishment, who ends up being right!! "Always bet on black!" Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

In DC, they don't think so. (attached) Did the Constitution promise a geopolitical entity like D.C. representation? I'm not even sure that D.C. existed when the Constitution was ratified. I know that the seat of the federal government was New York City before it was D.C., though. So if anything, it was someone's decision to screw that up and not give D.C. representation in Congress. But they had to make sure that the seat of the fedgov wasn't contained in any single state! I am not crazy about the idea of D.C. expressing a sarcastic protest using an official license plate. Is that the official plate of D.C., the one that all residents get, or is it an option to choose that plate? Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

"Whatever the job, big or small, do it right or not at all." What can I say? When you're good, you're good!

Well, technically yes, I agree with you -- going after the tools of criminality is beyond useless. But I was addressing my point to those who seem to feel the need to go after inanimate things, and pointing out that if that's the plan, at least we should go after the bigger killers before the smaller-scale killers, which would put guns a bit further down the list than they are right now. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

So? Obama's church (of more than 20 years) hates white people, and wants God to damn America. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

You seem to be of the "if it saves just one life" persuasion. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

The difference is that he has since found a source that is "usually reliable" -- but whose identity he won't divulge (of course) -- who has apparently brought him up to speed. Again, it's GUN OWNERS. Who said kallend gave a shit about gun owners?! If it were liberal professors having to get licensed and fingerprinted in order to publish essays, he'd be all over it! Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

Did ANYONE here EVER disagree and claim that we think the mentally ill ARE entitled to own guns? No. This is not about a disagreement between those who want the insane to be prevented from getting guns and those who want the insane to be entitled to get them. This is about disagreement over YOUR support for DRACONIAN CONTROLS in an effort to prevent the insane from acquiring guns -- controls that will fail despite best efforts anyway (because of a huge number of factors, including the black market, straw sales, etc. -- essentially, people willing to operate outside the law). Once again, your response is disingenuous and ignores the actual facts being discussed, and the actual positions articulated by your detractors. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

But John...! They deserve another chance to be "productive members of society" after making a "mistake" and "going down the wrong path"!! Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

Hahaha packers. I pack for myself, but if I had to pick, I'd probably go for the hottest girl packer and then tip her really well.

Wow, it sure was cool of someone to drive you home since you were buzzed! it was more like, getting home, hitting on the whisky and then sleeping the buzz off. i've been an idiot in the past, wont happen again! Actually, thank you. I'm very glad to hear that. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

Oh, fuck no! I'm so glad I never let my curiosity get the better of me, then. I see chorizo all the time here in stores in Florida. It doesn't look abhorrent; but now I know that it is. Are you sure about those ingredients? Does all chorizo have that shit in it? I have a food reference dictionary here, called "The Barron's Food Lover's Companion". For "chitlins" (chitterlings), it lists the following: NO, FUGGAN THANK YOU!! Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

You know, on the one hand, I cannot stomach that kind of food because I didn't grow up with it, culturally. But on the other hand, I have a lot of respect for cultures that make sure to not be wasting parts of the animal that could be used. There's really no reason for a stigma for some of the parts that people just avoid by second nature (at least here in the U.S.). Stigma is just someone's arbitrary decision made into popular opinion. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

Wouldn't that mean that if YOU are eagerly eating it (as opposed to being disgusted by it) then you don't know what it is? I have always known what it is, ever since I listened to an old Bill Cosby record where he describes foods his mother loved, like chit'lins, and how grossed-out he was. I have seen tripe in the supemarket since I was a kid, and I have to say that I would not want to try it. I can't imagine it being anything but gross. But I also know that it's much harder to develop an acquired taste for something later in life than it is to just start liking something because you were given it at a young age. Sometimes I wonder if Pepsi Cola would taste as delicious to me if I had never had a carbonated soda like it until I was an adult. My guess is, no. But that's air through the engine by now. If I have one addiction, it's Pepsi. Now, how about liver? Or kidney? I saw these bigass beef kidneys at the store today. Grossed me out. I just kept thinking of that steak and kidney pie I once tried to eat, and how it tasted like urine. Man, COW PISS runs through that shit! How can anyone eat that?! Ever watched (or smelled) a cow piss?! If one can eat kidney, then I guess not. One "weird" cut from the cow that I LOVE, however, is "skirt steak." I didn't used to know what it was, but then I started shopping at a grocery store (Publix, in Florida) that calls it "beef skirt steak (diaphragm)." So I guess it's the muscle of the cow's diaphragm. OMG it's so tasty!! It's a great steak to do medium rare inside and crispy outside... Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

"Blind" is too strong a word, but yes, I have definitely had my vision streaked and had to squint/block from seeing high-beams in the daytime. You still are getting the same amount of light shone at you, you know. Sure, your pupils will be a little more constricted than at night, but if you catch high beams straight on in the day, it can be quite an irritant. I say this because I've experienced it. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

Excessive loud pipes are annoying and dangerous to other road users. They can startle or distract others. They can increase fatigue and hearing loss for you. They're also detrimental to the 'image' of motorcyclists. And for zero added safety. I agree. Around here, there are outside (sidewalk) eating establishments, and of course all the folks who need the look-at-me ego stroking come riding along with their insanely loud motorcycles, and it makes being there an odious thing. The whole "loud pipes save lives" thing is a bullshit rationale. A very weak cover story for simply wanting to be noticed, not from a safety standpoint but from an attention one. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

It's a permanent legal resident of the United States--it's American. I never understood why they aren't called "enginecycles." A motor creates motion using power supplied by an outside source. An engine creates power from fuel. Either way, I've always wanted a "motorcycle" (sic ) and when the weather in Florida cools, I'm going to take a training course and at least get my license so I'll be ready if I ever come across a bike I can buy. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

Wow, it sure was cool of someone to drive you home since you were buzzed! Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

All I could ever figure out about that song is that they're "eating Fritos"... Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

How is it that you can know that the 400 denials had all their ducks in a row? How can you know that some of them were not because of a failure to include certification of instruction, or failure to include the fingerprint card? Just curious. Wait, HOW does what you just wrote present any evidence whatsoever about mental illness checking? What you presented doesn't say a word about the breakdown of the denials, suspensions or revocations vis a vis cause. You didn't even offer these stats (funny how they are perfectly rounded right at the hundred mark) in comparison to those of any other state!! Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

I wish I were answering with a solution to offer you, but absent that, I'll just remind you that a lot of people here, myself included, think very highly of you, respect you a lot, and just, in general, likeyou. You seem like a very decent, good person, and so it pains me to know that you suffer what you do. I wish you didn't, and I hope you find a workable solution. My best friend in the world, a very trusted kindred spirit I left back home in my home town on L.I., suffered/suffers from migraines. Through a combination of his own prior habit of recreational drug use and his doctors' willingness to prescribe loads of different things -- narcotics among them -- he ended up with a prescription drug addiction that led to several arrests (though no jail or prison time), the loss of his job, the end of his marriage, the severe limitation of his ability to see his wonderful daughter (and seriously, you never met a six-year-old as simply sweet and precious as his daughter: intelligent, cheerful, happy, friendly). His life is torn to shreds, because of drugs that got out of control on him. It's been four or five years now, and he still has not pulled it together. So I am glad to read that you will not consider hard narcotics. You don't need that on top of it all. The only things I don't remember you mentioning are massage therapy and acupuncture. (I think you alluded to "the method with the needles," and that was probably acupuncture.) There are people who swear by each of those. My brother's late wife was an acupuncturist on Nantucket, quite well-known, and had an adoring following of clients who truly took her loss very hard when she died. So maybe there's something to it, I dunno. And if massages don't cure your condition, hey, at least it feels really fuckin' good to get a massage!

I stopped into the parking lot of a local Publix supermarket because I needed to use the ATM that is just outside the doors. As I drove parallel to the front of the store hoping to find a parking space at the curb (where the cars face the building, as opposed to the spots in the lanes, away from the building), I saw a guy standing near his car, a blue Jaguar, and at first I thought perhaps he was about to back out. No one else was coming, most other spots were taken, and this was the closest one to the door -- primo spot. But alas, he was egressing his car, not entering it. I found another spot some distance away. As I passed his car on my walk up to the ATM, there was a big, pot-bellied scruffy-lookin' guy standing near it. He didn't see me, but I eyeballed him. He bent down right near the driver's door of the car and picked up what appeared to be a small set of keys on a ring. He didn't get into the car, and he didn't pocket the keys. I did my business at the ATM, and then lingered there on the sidewalk for a minute or so, thinking about what to make of this guy. He looked bleary-eyed, like he was possibly drunk. He could indeed have passed for "homeless-looking." He also stood around as he had been before he'd walked over to the car to pick up the keys. For all I knew, they could have been his keys that he'd dropped near this other guy's Jaguar. I decided that I would give a look inside the store (though I had no personal reason to go in) to see if I could spot the car's driver. It was kind of a long shot, because I really had not noted what he was wearing, or what he looked like, except that he was not very large, might have been in his 30s, and was black, with short-ish hair. So I went in and put my head on a swivel. I started almost at one side of the store and went left, looking down each aisle for perhaps five aisles. I had a flash thought that this was probably going to be futile, but then I saw a black man walking nearer down one of the aisles. I called out to him, "Excuse me, did you just pull up in a blue Jaguar?" He said yes. I was kind of shocked; I had thought it was a long-shot that he might be the right guy. As I said, I hadn't really studied what he'd looked like. I asked, "Did you lose a set of keys?" He immediately did the cliched pat of the pockets and his eyes and mouth widened in surprise and he said, "Yes!" So I told him about the guy I had seen stoop to pick up keys by the Jaguar. I mentioned that the guy looked a little on the shady, out-of-it side, and I didn't know what he was about, but that he was the guy who had the keys. The shopper put his bottles of water down at an empty checkout stand and walked out along with me. I didn't really want to be involved if there was going to be a need for an altercation (but I'd've been willing to be a good witness), so I started heading toward my car across the parking lot, taking my leave of the situation now that I had done what I needed to do. The guy had already thanked me at least once as we were walking. He approached the key-picker-upper and evidently there was not much hubbub as he identified himself as the keys' owner and was given them back. Scruffy-man began to depart walking across the parking lot--giving me the impression that he may have hung around specifically to get the keys safely back to their owner. I myself had also had that goal in mind, but not knowing that was scruffy-man's intent, I had thought maybe there was something hinky about to go on. It made me feel glad to be wrong about the guy. Two of us teamed up unknowingly to help Mr. Jaguar get his keys back; and Mr. Jaguar was very outwardly appreciative, and it made me feel good to see him smile genuinely and wave and say thank you again as I got into my car to leave. It just felt good, in general, to witness and to take part in a helpful deed. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

That was screamingly hilarious! By the time he got to, "What about in this turbine?" I was bellowing laughter! Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire

Isn’t that what we have in place in our district, State, & federal attorneys? They are paid through tax money to defend the law as it represents the standard codes of behavior among/between citizens, citizens and non-personal entities (corporations), and argues that they reflect the collective interests/rights of all the people of the city, State, or nation (e.g., to not have serial killers, illegal drug dealers, etc unrestrained) … not the interests/rights of a geographical piece of property or a building but the people who inhabit that the areas within the boundary. VR/Marg I'm really not understanding what you are getting at. What are you talking about, differentiating between defending the rights of a building?? Did I say anything about that? All I was doing was pointing out that the State (not "a" state, "the" State" prosecutes criminals as representatives of the People of the jurisdiction. That same government entity provides a state-paid defense attorney to defend the criminal defendant against the charges, with the hope and avowed goal of getting him acquitted. I believe a claim can be made that this presents a conflict of interest. Spirits fly on dangerous missions Imaginations on fire