Rebiu

Is the foreskin vestigial? I do not think so. It has purpose and function. The foreskin protects the penis from abrasion, pinching, and another potential injuries. I am sure you boring straight missionary guys cannot conceive of the sexual benefits of having a foreskin but there are plenty. I hardly think those who have never had a foreskin have a useful opinion as to its loss. Regardless of the decisions importance it has risks and should be up to the individual.

Circumcision should it be done to babies? Why?

You are correct.

The issue with energy is not its availability, but having it where you need it, when you need it, and in a form you can use. Hydrogen with never work if one uses fossil fuels to make the hydrogen.

The owl can rotate its head 360 degrees. This is accomplished with several with a stack of joints in the neck each rotating less than 360 degrees.

You are mistaken my friend. Every joint creates a first and third class lever. The bending of the joint is the third class lever and the extension is the first class lever. Second class levers can be created with the body. We use them all the time in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

That is an interesting question. Moment of inertia, I = mrr(Moment of inertia=Mass times radius squared, refers to the resistance to change in movement of a mass in a rotational context. Because human movement in achieved with joints all such movement is rotational. In strikes that involve the fist, foot, elbow, or knee traveling in a predominately circular path to the target moment of inertia is relevant in several ways. The first is that the greater the length of the radius the longer it will take the blow to land. Sometimes this is desirable other times it can be mitigated by varying the radii throughout the strike by adopting more elliptical than circular pathways. This can be done in a two dimensional context with a hook punch by changing the extension of the elbow. It can be done in a three dimensional context, with the elbow, knee and kick by changing the elevation of the strike to vary the radii relative to the two-dimensional orbit. Strikes that travel in a primarily straight path are accomplished by two or more circular path creating joints moving in opposite directions therefore combining to create a straight path. This may be the torso rotating in one direction while the shoulder rotates in the other.

The physics of contortion are pretty basic. I think what you need to understand is the nature of human body. Every joint has a range of motion. Throughout that range of motion the muscles that move and stabilize the joint have a degree of strength that varies with the position of the joint. Because most people do not regularly train these muscles at the extreme range of motion the muscles are weak at these extension and unable to protect the joint from overextension and damage so they contract before that danger zone is reached. Stretching is actual a dynamic overload on the muscle that will strengthen it at the extreme extension thus allowing the muscle to relax farther and farther into the extension. The greater the range of motion the less mechanical leverage is available to prevent overextension and therefore the greater the strength needed to protect the joint so that not only must the muscle increase its strength in these new ranges of motion it must increase its strength to ever increasing levels. Thus stretching to increase flexibility is a strength building exercise. Increasing strength involves body wide changes in physiology brought about by the training effect. To induce these changes significant amount of muscle must be stressed. If a person only does a few static stresses they are unlikely to produce these changes. The most reliable and consistent way to build flexibility is therefore as a part of a strength building regiment. The most reliable way to produce the training effect is to train the larges muscles in the body legs, gluts, and lower back. The joints have a absolute potential range that is independent of the strength limitations of the individual. The hinge joints of the knees and elbows do not have the potential for a wide range of flexibility. The ball joint of the hip allows for flexibility in all directions as well as rotation. The shoulder is not actually a rigid joint but a configuration of bone ends that allows movement of the arm as well a movement of the shoulder. The back is a series of joints that allow extreme increases range of motion.

The spinning propeller already acts as a gyroscope. The spinning propeller imparts a variety of forces on the aircraft. The torque of the propeller tries to roll the plane in the other direction. The stabilizing effect of the propeller will make the plane resist turning. The propeller creates a spiraling airflow that usually hits the tail and will cause the plane to turn. Because the propeller is like a wing it will pull harder on the falling side when the plane climbs and the rising side when the plane dives. All of these effects will vary with the speed and acceleration of the propeller and the plane and probable make the plane impossible to control with a gyroscope.

I have seen similar projects where the vehicle would sling the empty balloon behind itself upon deflation.

Nice information. I would say that since the employment drop was temporary it was well worth it. Furthermore the economy of the 80s and 90s was pretty wimpy compared with today economy.

I see your point. I began working when I was in Junior high for a farmer at a rate of $2.25. I worked very hard and he ended up only paying me half of what he owed. In high school I worked for $3 an hour in restaurants. These employers exploited me and I hated it. This went on for years and was completely unnecessary. I would hate to see my children exploited like this for years. My father always believed a person’s time was not worth much. He has worked and average of 48 hours a week for the last 34 years at Raytheon. I would expect to be a multimillionaire from that kind of commitment. He has fallen well short. I am exceptional in that I never accept my level of income as enough. I do not want a lot of money. I value my time. I want to minimize the amount of time it takes me to make my money. I am running my 5th business. I ran a nonprofit kid dance club, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school, I was a prizefighter, contracted to haul newspaper bundles and now I run a glassblowing studio. Glassblowing allows me to may approximately $100/hour at my skill level my teacher could make almost $200/hour. It takes more time to sell the art and maintain and improve the studio though and of course raw material cost. The gas bill and insurance with make a significant dent in the profits so I switched gasified wood from free woodchips and I put the studio on a trailer next to a tent so I do not have to insure anything. Being exploited as a child did not cause me to develop attitudes that would allow me to succeed it made me miserable. It made me not want to work at all. I worked so much I was miserable. I had a bad attitude, hated my job, hated my coworkers, hated my boss. I did not value the job and quite when there were problems.

I can make a strawman argument to. Lets legaly bind McDonalds employees as serfs.

This is true. There are other factors that bring prices down. Things like capital improvements and that is where much of the increase in our standard of living comes from.

That is already happening. The United States will never be able to provide cheaper wages than the poorer countries. Jobs have already been exported by the bushel. In spite of this we have a robust economy. This is because the United States has made capital investments in itself as a country including roads, utilities, communications, internal security and education. It will take the rest of the world some time to match these investments if the US stopped inproving them now. The US will not stop and the other countries must not only match where we are but overtake our progress in these investments if they want to compete with us. They have cheap labor and we have more productive labor. Our labor is made more productive by the infrastructure, education and security this country provides. Providing security is done in part by ensuring people are taken care of. If wages are two low to live on then crime and insecurity go up. We see this in the crime and riots of inner cities. The greatest threat to the our economy is the disparity of income between the rich and the poor. Since 1975 most of the economic gain has gone to the top 20% of households and the rest have at best stayed the same and many lost ground.

Rule of Law and Balance of power.

I agree. Unions become too powerful and begin to protect their own existence. They buy political influence and compel companies to make promises they cannot keep. If US labor laws would have prevented the corporate abuses that led to Unions they would not have created the problems we have today. This is an argument to ensure that labor laws are adequate. I think it should include a decent minimum wage.

Is Iran outmaneuvering the US politically? I predict Israel will attempt to destroy the facilities and will fail. Iran will use it as justification for a nuclear weapons program to counter the obvious hostile nuclear neighbor.

Excellent points.

Grades are not compensation for work but a gauge of progress. Personally I would rather my kids never worked for anyone else. I have been self-employed and make far more than I ever did working for someone else.

Big Macs are a luxury. There are more affordable alternative to eating at McDonalds and they will not be affected. Once again you overestimate the proportion the sub $10 is to the overall economy. The unemployment rate of that class is extremely low. In fact employers are screaming for guest worker programs to fill these positions.

Perhaps. Would $5 big macs really make much of a difference though. Why are you so concerned about the fast food industry? I hardly think making a fast food managers job easier is an argument for not raising the minimum wage. What? Hire illegals and pay them a subminimum wage. The middle class is what fuels the American economy. Increasing the minimum wage give people more opportunities for education, makes families more stable, reduces crime and if good for the economy. Personally I find the argument that fast food is more important than a living wage a bit disgusting .

I do not think the under $10/hour part of the economy is large enough to make much of a difference.

You want your kid to think his time is worth less than $10/hour? I hope your kid fares well in life.