individualistchick

Love the computer, David!

Wait a minute!!!!! Masturbation = sexually pleasuring oneself. Sexual intercourse = engaging in sexual activity with someone else. But going by those definitions, isn't "mutual" masturbation just a contradiction of terms. You're either having sexual relations with someone else or you're not.

iouswuoibev - Dude! Chill out! Guys, like people in general, may or may not be good at communication. For example, I'm a public speaker and have no problems talking in front of crowds or that special someone. In contrast, most people dispise and fear getting in front of other people and *speaking* about what they think and feel. It has little to do with a person's value, but their communication skills and self-confidence in relation to their audience. Frankly, I'd rather have a shy guy that is passionate and intelligent as my boyfriend than a guy that has nothing to *say* when he's talking. And since your binary (uptight or whore) view of the world excludes a whole lot of girls, allow me to clarify some points for you. One can be a moral girl by laughing along with a pickup line. Taking a girl (or accepting the invitation) isn't proposing marriage! It's more like saying "I want to find out more about you." I've got to say that you are way off in your assumptions. A guy that is joking with a creative pickup line is up to a girl whether it is worth finding more about. It's actually the opposite reaction as the one you described. I'm confident in myself, so what this-guy-I-just-met really thinks isn't important to me - - - because I draw my confidence from me. Does that make me a whore for thinking the pickup line is creative and the guy worth finding more about?

As far as the fourth best smile is concerned, it all depends on the tone he uses. Sure, if a guy approached me with that line being dead-serious, I'd likely walk off. But if he's joking or happy, he'd get my attention and bonus points for finding a creative way to do it. "Resume talk" is a definite bore. Any guy that thinks it's important for me to listen to his entire high school and college transcripts on the first date is almost certainly going to get the "Can't we just be friends?" speech from me. It's important later on in a relationship, but that implies that he already got my attention. Even then, accomplishments don't have to be listed. Stories that go with them are much better to listen to. Talking philosophy with a guy is great, and is usually fun too. But once you establish that there are fundamental values in common, it gets really boring to talk about the same thing over and over again. So for a relationship, there's got to be more in common than an interest in Oism alone. It would be miserable to be in a relationship where you could agree on philopsophy (and all of its branches), but nothing else.

"Government proposes, bureaucracy disposes. And the bureaucracy must dispose of government proposals by dumping them on us." (P. J. O'Rourke) "Destiny. A tyrant’s authority for crime and a fool’s excuse for failure." (Ambrose Bierce) "To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others." (George Orwell)

I am aware the movie is supposed to be a comedy. And there's nothing wrong, per se, with laughing at losers. But I see no point in spending time watching a movie that is presenting nothing of value. Losers have no value to me - not a disvalue either. It's hard to laugh at something you don't think anything about.

The movie was among the worst I've ever seen. It presented characters that weren't of any value, didn't make me care why I should continue watching the movie, and presented a stumbling plot that begins and ends in boredom. Napoleon himself brought the concept of loser to a whole new level ... he had no purpose other than stumbling through whatever life tossed his way with an occassional effort to pursue a value. All of the characters were like that, and it made the movie a dull waste of time. Certainly not a movie to watch twice.

As a native Texan myself, I'd certainly go back home on a mere moment's notice. I'm considering moving back to go to college there. It gets too cold up here in Virginia for me. And while Texas hasn't been a free country in quite a long time, it's a culture and society all its own. But since Texas doesn't count, I'd have to pick somewhere that speaks English and has a fast-paced culture that can keep up with me. Years of life in the backwoods leaves a desire to find a niche with high population density. I second the pick of Australia or England - leaning Australia for political preference and warmer climate. An interesting observation on Canada and New Zealand is that all the lefties want to go there. They get enshrined for their welfare system (Canada) or environmental policies (NZ) or any other number of pet lefty regulations. And for all the hassle of being taxed to support welfare bums or banning dihydrogen monoxide, I could put up with that crap in a smaller amount here in the states.

As far as US history, do not read anything by Howard Zinn. It's just rehashed Marxism. "A People's History of the United States" is one of my history textbooks this year, and I have come to hate it thoroughly.

The group behind the National Retail Tax (aka Fair Tax): http://www.fairtax.org

Hmm ... yeah, I'd tour the world as a non-tourist. I can't stand being in a tour. I'd rather be on my own or with friends to look about the world. While working my way around the globe, I'd study anything it is I want to know. Oh, wait ... I was going to do that anyways.

I taught myself to speed-read while being taught to read in too many ways to count. I was started in phonics, then "look-say", then a weird process of memorizing the shape of a word and a picture beside it. I've found speed-reading useful for reading something with little substance. I comprehend less if speed-reading through something that has a lot of knowledge in a small word count or a piece where my total understanding of it is important.

I love Monty Python! My fave movie is "The Meaning of Life," which makes fun of all varieties of living for other people. The satire in most of their skits/movies is really good. Terry Gilliam is a political twerp, but a comic genious. Mmmm ... Monty Python and Mel Brooks' movies ... the greatest comedy ever! ~~~ King Arthur: "I am your king!" Old Woman: "But I didn't vote for you!"

Blink-182 is pretty good for the most part. Some of my faves: "All the Small Things" "First Date" "Give Me One Good Reason" "Mutt"

It sounds to me, searching, that you're making excuses for why he has never pursued his dreams. *Pursuing your dreams is not a cakewalk.* You have to prioritize what you like to do and then find how to make money doing it. There will almost always be some sort of obstacle somewhere along your path. Computers, like any other career field, require that you love what you do, or else you will be miserable doing it. But it is unlike many other fields in that it doesn't necessarily require formal schooling (although it helps a great deal). You can teach yourself or learn from a friend. I'm a part-time computer tech - but everything of value I have learned about computers I either taught myself or was taught by the guy I've come to love. He should use the fact that formal schooling is not necessarily required to his advantage. Some well-chosen reference material is not very expensive in comparison to formal schooling and should be enough to get him started on the career he wants.