Styles2112

It still holds true. Between the high costs of college and low paying jobs there's virtually no way to afford a decent home (at the very least, in CT.) Heck my wife and I make decent money, and we can't buy even 3 acres and a small house for under 250,000. (though we did find a nice 60 acre plot with a huge house and indoor arena for 160,000 in South Dakota, but what the heck is in South Dakota?????) Granted, I'm not saying that one shouldn't try (because, obviously, they should), but, in certain areas, the market is somewhat against them.

Generally, how they act towards said creature. I don't have a bunch of SCIENTIFIC evidence, I just have personal observations. A horse knows the difference between a dog and human (by nature that the horse might approach the human for food, and run from the dog...being a natural predator). I'll try to pull up some sites that might offer insight. Besides, it seems you're suggesting (I could be wrong) that animals have no cognitive skills whatsoever. Basic concept forming MUST exist for cognitive skills to exist (otherwise there's no purpose in them.) How does an herbivore know to avoid poisonous plants without having some form of recognition (via measurements - shape, size, smell, sound)? How does my dog know the difference between all three of his toy bones (the tennis ball bone...his rubber bone....his spiky bone...). How does a horse know the difference between hay and straw? They must have, at least, BASIC concept forming. http://www.acoustics.org/press/150th/Bee.html reference site Memory in Monkeys More info Hopefully, some of this stuff might shed some light on it (or create more confusion...)

You may need to break that down a little further for me...since I didn't understand a .25 of that. (remember, i'm a drummer). I know that Horses/dogs/cats can do the first two you listed, but I don't think I understand the measurement omission part. I CAN tell you that a Horse/dog/cat CAN tell the difference between me and you, another person from another person, and even species from species. I can't really speak about measurement omission until I understand it more.

IN the Army we still use typewriters for some things. I have to admit, I felt pretty young (and pretty stupid) when I sat down at it and said,"now how does this thing work?" I had used them in my youth (my dad STILL has his), but not from about 10 and on...so at 21, sitting down to one was a frightening experience.

Oh, my...don't say that....Alec's only a week and a half old....I don't even want to think about that now...(or what it means for me....)

On this note, what about horses (which is where most of my experience lies). Some horses may like one person, or even one horse over another. Each horse knows the difference between me, my mother, my father, my wife and acts accordingly. (i.e. there are things that my horse Cris, knows he can get away with with me, but not my wife). For the longest time, no one could even touch my mother's horse (except her) as he would, basically, try to kill anyone else. He's calmed down in his old age (26 now...yikes) but he still carries preferences. I would think that if a horse goes through the effort to pin his ears back/try to kick one person, but not another...that would be concept forming. The same would be true of dogs and cats (who can recognize their owners from strangers and will react differently even to different strangers). Now, I can't speak for birds (other than maybe chickens, which I used to have) and their recognition faculty, but I suspect it would probably be, more or less, the same within a limited grasp of their interactions with humans.

I think you answered your own question here. If you put no value in human life, how can you value (and be subsequently happy with) your own? Also, you know that by killing, you forfeit those rights, which are also a value you seek to earn and keep, so how can you be happy with losing those? Doesn't this seem like a bit of a contradiction? Also, killing in self-defense (i.e. you're being mugged) is MUCH different than cold-blooded murder. In the murder, it would seem (by the above statements) you're already losing those values.

I disagree...I can totally get into many Classical works even more than I could get into metal. Maybe I just "listen" to classical wrong, but there's some stuff that can be as/ or more rockin' than much rock. On the other hand, I think trance/house music is some of the worst stuff out there.

I see that. Actually, the point about Miles Davis was purely a personal opinion. I did not intend it as fact. I will however admit poor phrasing as the idea of Jazz "being BUILT upon previous music" would have been a better statement. And that was my opinion on improv vs. compo. I like both equally. But I disagree with your "two different standards/beasts" thing. Improv is merely on the fly composition. While I (personal thought) think some "slack" should be cut, I would still judge the music by the same standards. You may also be thinking along the lines of the differences between speaking and writing, but even then, many of the same standards still apply.

IN case number 2, I would still judge the man evil (at least, with the facts presented). He's a cop, right? That means he's paid to save people in those situations. So we take his personal life, in which he's sexually molested people, and his professional (i.e. PAID) life where he saves lives. Which one do you base moral judgement on? I know which one I choose.

I've seen a couple birds and horses that could do basic addition and subtraction. I think animals can form concepts (I think any creature with a BRAIN does), but I think those concepts are limited to the intelligence and anatomy of the animal. i.e. if a dog comes to a wall, it has several options that it can come to. It can; dig under the wall, try and jump the wall, try and go around the wall, or just go back the way it came. I also think it requires concept forming to learn (even on smaller levels) basic commands or actions.

The day after, my mom said,"Now you can start working on a grandaughter." Who does she think I am? >

Yeah, he's already getting past that....a bit more time, though... Thanks everyone...

Well, we finally had our baby. A perfectly healthy baby boy, that we named Alec Michael. He was born 11 April 2006 at 10:14 pm and was 7lbs 8ounces and 20" long. So far, he's pretty reserved. Last night was the most crying he's done since being born, but he's still a pretty quiet baby (much like his parents). He's already doing short head lifts and pushing himself up with his arms, so I suspect he might be mobile quicker than the average baby. He's got his mother's blue eyes and will probably look a lot like me. Max, our dog, as already taken well to him, though is still getting used to the whole (as are we, actually). Athena, our cat, doesn't really seem to care, as long as she still gets her daily allotment of petting. What a weird feeling this is...Pride, curiousity, fear, frustration and more pride....oh...and exhaustion.... Here you guys go...

Welcome to the forum! Man, more Ohioans....what is this world coming to?

I'm so glad I don't live there anymore. Not that CT is better.

You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always understood Rape to ALWAYS be the crime. I.e. Rape is always a forced sex act on an unwilling person. I would have thought the term for Roark would be Ravish. An equally powerful word, but doesn't point as much to criminal intent.

This makes me a bit curious as to how old your are. My father-in-law is in his mid-fifties and has built his own house. Does all his own repairs. Is a master-welder in NH and is just, generally, and all around fix it guy (except for electronics). I mean, he's a maniac...works all the time. I WISH I had the drive that he does. He built a 1929 Model T from a pile of metal scrap (I'm not embellishing either!). He's also one of the more intelligent people I know (in fact I plan to lend him Atlas Shrugged, as I think he'll enjoy it). I don't mean this to be offensive in anyway, but from what I've read (which has been the whole thread), it seems you now use the cover of "Objectivism" to put the blame of your position on the government, instead of maybe a little more where it needs to be. Maybe there's more to it, but I'm not sure. Anyways, just my thoughts on the matter....take it as it is, I guess.

Sweet... I fit 3.5 out of 5. I'm definitely not number 1, and only about half of 3. Definitely have the horse and truck thing down. (<closest thing to a cowboy smiley)

Wait a second.... So if the essence of feminitity is hero worship, and and worship is a devotion to something SUPERIOR, how, exactly are you NOT saying that men are better than women? You're making conflicting statements.

What books have you read?

Would it change anything if she weren't? Or was? I believe this has been discussed before, so you might want to do a search on it....I'll try and pull it up if I can. I believe the answer is around here somewhere.

Good point. The rest of the states can't be NEARLY as stupid. (But, I've been known to be wrong before)

So, Men are inherently better than women?

What is strength? Physical strength? mental strength? Are women not strong? What is strength?