Phi for All

Neither did you.

Are you kidding me?! Our adaptation to the age of nuclear weaponry has been one of our greatest successes. Do you realize how significant it is that we're still here? I wonder how many other civilizations in the universe (if there is sentient extraterrestrial life) reach this point and end up vaporized? We're not out of the woods yet but we've survived for sixty years with the knowledge that we can wipe out our species. It's still scary but it's not as scary as the USSR and the USA playing "mine's bigger" on a daily basis. The questions are being raised. We'll see if we can adapt in time. Your point would have merit if no one was talking about it.

Better design doesn't guarantee supremacy. It doesn't even guarantee you stay in the market at all. Look at Beta video tapes. They were half the size and started out with four heads but VHS-format marketers flooded us with big old cheap tapes and the public chose the worst design. Was AOL the best designed web-browser? Are Microsoft products better designed than Apple and Linux products? Unfortunately advertising replaces education for the majority of people. They learn about a product from it's manufacturer and that's a biased source at best. But if a better design was coupled with a better marketing campaign we'd stand a decent chance of getting automotive technology that made sense *and* profit instead of just profit.

It would take a great deal of capital for the major automakers to retool. You'd need a large supply of replacement parts. And most importantly you'd need to sell the idea really well to get dealers and parts store owners to agree to stock your product. Oh, and the public would need to give a thumbs up as well (but they can more easily be persuaded). We will be seeing new designs become cost effective as oil continues to climb. We've been in the "if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it" mode for too long. I'd still rather have total electric like the EV-1.

Yesterday at the hospital I saw Norman Alber in a surgery gown running down the hall with a terrified look on his face, so I asked "What's the matter?" He told me, "The nurse said, 'Oh my God, you're shaking! It's a very simple operation, please calm down, you have nothing to worry about, I'm sure it will be all right." I smiled and said, "She was just trying to comfort you, Norm, what's so frightening about that?" Norm's eyes got real big and he said, "She wasn't talking to me. She was talking to the doctor!" __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ insane_alien stormed up to the front desk of the library and said, "I have a complaint!" The librarian said, "What's the problem, sir?" "I borrowed a book last week and it was horrible!", said insane_alien. "What was wrong with it?", asked the librarian. "It had way too many characters and there was no plot whatsoever!", said IA. The librarian's eyebrows shot up. She nodded and said, "Ah. So you must be the person who took our phone book." __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ YT2095 walked into a bar yesterday and two steps in he realizes it's a gay bar. "What the heck," he says to himself, I really want a drink." When the gay waiter approaches, he says to YT, "What's the name of your penis?" YT says, "Look, I'm straight. All I want is a drink." The waiter says, "I'm sorry but I can't serve you until you tell me the name of your penis. House rule. Mine for instance is called NIKE, for the slogan 'Just Do It.' That guy down at the end of the bar calls his SNICKERS, because 'It really Satisfies'." YT2095 looks dumbfounded so the bartender tells him he will give him a second to think it over. So YT asks the man sitting to his left, who is sipping on a beer, "Hey bud, what's the name of yours?" The man looks back and says with a smile "TIMEX" YT asks, "Why Timex?" The fella proudly replies, "Cause it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!" A little shaken, YT turns to two guys on his right, who happen to be sharing a Margarita and says, "So, what do you guys call yours?" The first man turns to him and proudly exclaims, "FORD, because 'Quality is Job One'." Then he adds, "Have you driven a Ford, lately?" The guy next to him then says, "I call mine CHEVY ... 'Like A Rock'!" And gives a wink. Even more shaken, YT2095 has to think for a moment before he comes up with a name for his manhood. Finally, he turns to the waiter and exclaims, "The name of my penis is SECRET. Now give me a beer." The waiter starts towards the bar but with a puzzled look stops and asks, "Why Secret?" YT2095 says, "Because it's 'Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman'"! __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I was in the supermarket the other day when my cart and another guy's cart collided. He apologized and said, "I wasn't paying attention, I was looking for my wife." I said, "What a coincidence, I'm looking for my wife too and I'm getting a little desperate." He says, "Well, maybe I can help you. What does your wife look like?" I told him, "She's tall, with blond long hair, long legs and a fantastic figure. She's a lingerie model actually. What's your wife look like?" He leaned closer and said, "Never mind, let's look for yours!"

If your dog's barking at the back door and your wife's barking at the front door, who do you let in? Well, it's your call... but the dog'll stop barking when you let him in.

Please, as the opening poster, provide some discussion points. Calling our attention to articles we can find ourselves is unnecessary. Please set the tone and the stage for a productive discussion.

I think this is an inaccurate assumption that places your argument on the shaky foundation of a False Dilemma. The conclusions you are drawing are based on the assumption that we and our ecosystem can't adapt quickly enough to keep pace with technology and I don't think you've given much evidence of that.

Please refrain from calling another member of the forum a "loony". Unless it's true, of course.

What is this, like staking a claim on a topic without putting any investment in it? Or is it more like wishful thinking, titling the thread with an unfulfilled promise? Remember this is a forum for discussion, it's not wikipedia. Closed, please try again.

Watt a load! I'm positive you could be brought up on battery charges for eating an electrician.

OK, I'll play along, since you've given us so much to work with. What reactor? Was it training or the real deal? How did it happen? How was it handled? What was your part in it? Was there any real danger? How often does this happen? How much cannibalism is there in the US Navy as opposed to the British Navy? Have you found any toothmarks on your body? Did anyone tell you the Navy frowns on leaking critical reactor stories over the net?

And the Moderators descend. Why aren't you answering YT's question? This is one of the most poorly constructed Opening Posts I've ever seen. You ask for an answer but have asked no questions. Please try again and try not to bring any more Moderator's mothers into it.

And we don't plagiarize the work of others. I found that letter at Positive Atheism and it sure doesn't read like anything else you've ever written here GIZMOHOTEL. Your other posts are title-cased text speak. Bad, bad GIZMOHOTEL.

Is size the only factor in determining what passes through an ion gate?

I suspect ulterior motive whenever someone joins just to lead us to his own site.

Too bad you can't make it past that third day. Your body will have flushed most of the nicotine from your system by that time so the cravings change from physiological (your body wants you to smoke again) to psychological (your mind wants you to smoke again). Why wonder? Is it that expensive? More expensive than smoking or dying of cancer or emphysema? Try some. Quitting now increases the chances you won't get a cancer that usually attacks smokers. Every day you don't smoke increases your odds. Think of it that way. I'll tell you how I quit. I smoked for 20+ years, 1-2 packs/day. I just stopped one day (I picked a special day for me; for you you should pick a day when your chest is really hurting) and told myself smoking was no longer an option. Like you, I would quit for a bit and then go back to it like a crutch. Metaphorically, when I stopped I didn't just shut the door on smoking. I didn't lock the door and throw away the key. I ripped out the door and put a nice blank wall where the smoking door used to be. Smoking was no longer an option for me. It's a crucial distinction, imo. This allowed me to go out and enjoy friends and family who were still smoking. I was no longer eying someone else's cigarette and wondering how long I could hold out before asking for one. I moved on. Once my health returned it was easy to justify the choice I'd made. I felt great, like air had just been invented, that food was better tasting and mornings weren't all about coughing and emptying stinking ashtrays. I made a list of all the crap I no longer had to deal with, from the expense all the way down to wiping that scummy film off the inside of my windshield. It's easy to justify a smart decision. I think you should see a doctor about the way you feel. Better to know the truth than to imagine all sorts of horrors. The doctor may have some tips as well on how to quit. Best of luck

Use the fireworks for entertainment; 6 kilos of your chili should be enough to incapacitate Parliament.

You must first reach into the Sack of Communication before you can make yourself understood using the Sack of Argument. I'm giving you just a pinch from Pity's Sack so you'll know I'm sincere.

Vigilance is necessary. There are some cultures that are being exploited. Often, though, we hear about someone being paid $3/hour and we transfer ourselves into that situation without realizing it's more money than the individual has ever made and he supports several family members very well on $3/hour in his culture.

Conclusion: Title Case Rots the Brain.

Hannah looks great but you should have made more of an effort to dress up, YT.

I think Americans who fear globalization worry about what they have to offer the world. Any job that involves a computer has the capability of being done by anyone in the world. For a while there will be money to be made in arbitrage between differing economies. Companies that outsource their marketing to call centers in India or China save money so they can expand their operations in the US, purchase competitors or pay key workers more money (the best US companies these days are building performance bonuses into pay structures). Non-essential services like bookkeeping are outsourced to reduce overhead (not always with foreign firms either). New markets and profitability points are recognized (did you know that an architectural firm can make more profit with a new blueprint plotter than they can with a new CAD technician?). On the other side of the world, foreign workers making more money demand more US goods. They go to see US movies and buy clothes and accessories from US companies who've placed their products in those movies. Instead of whining about globalization we should embrace it and lead by example. Don't gripe that another job got outsourced, be glad that a US firm was able to make a profit by using smart, strong strategies that actually created three jobs for the one it outsourced.

I think science should ignore both groups. Creationism defines itself in terms science is unprepared to measure. GW deniers attempt to reinterpret what science has measured and experimented with to get a different answer. Both groups are misusing what science is trying to offer them in order to create a False Dilemma.

Typically an objection is made to a Staff member other than the one who made the decision. The Staff member then alerts one of the Admins (assuming it wasn't an Admin decision in the first place). The Admins discuss a solution and bring in the Moderators if they feel a need for more input. Then the Admins give their assessment to our Supreme Leader who makes the final decision.