pvtmorriscsa
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Posts posted by pvtmorriscsa
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Many liberals and moderates already label themselves as progressives. Using this less inflammatory language could make it easier to attract potential converts. Though again in private I refer to them by many colorful and explicit names, I would never do so in my daily business. Besides calling them “Progressives”, rather than commie fucks, won’t get you dismissed nearly as quickly during ones day to day conversations.
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Here's an idea, next time say.. "I think it was Gandhi who said..." and have some fun with the reaction.
That is Genius! I am going to have to do that.
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I'd like to read a book about the impact of the first world war on human civilization. My impression has always been that, although WWII gets all the attention because it was more apocalyptic, WWI resulted in more fundamental changes in how human society operates. I'm not so much interested in a book about the events of the war itself. Does anyone have a good recommendation?
As a history junkie may I suggest this book?
http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-World-War/dp/0688001297
It's my favorite one book history of the Great War. The author's other "Short History" books are also very good, but don't let the word short imply the books are.
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I agree with what Nick said.
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Since Anthem is no longer copyrighted, I would like to make a public domain audio recording of the book. I have the necessary technical skills, but not the voice talent. Is anyone interested in this project? It's a short book, so it would not take very long. Even though I plan to give away the recordings, they could still be professionally packaged and the profit shared.
I would offer, I have a good voice, and a face for radio; but I don't have the equipment. Furthermore it's already been done.
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That’s really cool. I especially like the parody of Fiddler on the Roof.
Was the art hand drawn and scanned in, or created on a computer? In either case it’s well done.
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I thought the only reliable way to get rid of a troll was to burn the body?
"Nuke them from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
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Howdy All,
I am male and I voted, “Neutral, I don't care:”
As an avid backpacker, all indeed is my trowel, a roll of toilet paper, and a patch of obscured ground.
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Long Live Lady Liberty!
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The officer is wrong in one regard. It is not illegal to own fully automatic firearms as a civilian, at least from a federal point of view. They are damned hard to get, and very expense. Not to mention all the paper work, background checks, and government snooping required to obtain one.
Cool video though.
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Ha! Spring Chicken. I still have my Advanced Dungeons and Dragons books floating around--that was 1st Edition.
1st Edition Steve? Somewhere in my attic I have a copy of Chainmail, would that be the “0” edition?
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Howdy All,
I thought police, and military forces were one of those things we all pay outrageous taxes for.
Don’t get me wrong, as an avid hiker and long distance backpacker; I have little patience for those who do stupid things when in the wild. As Rand said, (I think), “Nature to be commanded, but must be obeyed.”
Since there is no link to the story for me to read, I am going to offer some speculation. I bet the douche-bags that had to be rescued were improperly dressed and there was a sudden change in weather.
Cotton Kills, stick with synthetics or wool when you go into the wild.
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Howdy All,
I just got home from work, and checked my email. I got a message from my little brother Jeff, and I am feeling a bit choked up with pride. Anyway, read on:
http://goupstate.com/article/20080529/NEWS/805290364
It may seem strange, but I had to share it with someone, and I figured the denizens on this forum would be likely to appreciate it.
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Howdy All,
I have lived in many homes in which the water was provided by a well. In which case the only real cost for water was the electricity to run the well pump, and the occasional maintenance or repair it required.
Rob
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Howdy
Let me start by saying I have 15 plus years of experience in restaurant work, and when you boil it down that is all Starbucks is; a restaurant. I’ve played the role of both boss and minion, and though I have a great deal of experience; I would never claim to be authoritative.
Now my answers to your questions, take from them what you will, but understand that while I value the core tenants of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, I will never claim to be an Objectivist.
As to your first question, should you question your immediate supervisor? I would say yes, especially if you have more experience than your supervisor does, but even if you don’t you still have a brain. If you can provide helpful insight that will provide a more efficient work environment by all means do so; it will be in your own self interest.
However you do need to follow the “chain of command” and your immediate supervisor is your first step in the chain. Besides even if they won’t listen you can later on say you at least tried.
On your second question, I would first politely approach the slow person to see if there is any way to pick up the pace when “closing”. If that fails then by all means go to the next link in the chain.
I cannot really answer the last question, since I do not know the specifics of how you are paid.
Are you an hourly or salaried employee?
If you are an hourly employee, and Starbucks has some sort of weird, (in my experience), policy of clocking employees out right at closing time; then I would already be looking for another job if I were you. That is some pure straight up bullshit. Oh, and working off the clock is a big no-no here in the States, you should consider checking out the labor laws in Canada.
If you are a salaried employee, again I would be looking for another job that pays you accurately for your time. In my experience being a salaried employee in a restaurant is akin to slavery, and only worth it if there is a clearly delineated achievable bonus policy that will make up for the seemingly endless hours spent at work.
I hope this proves helpful.
Rob
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The biggest mistake the West has made both in Afghanistan and Iraq is that we did not, to paraphrase Gen W.T. Sherman commenting on his “Drive to the Sea”, “Make them howl.” We did it to the Germans, we did it to the Japanese, and oh how they “howled”.
Instead as in the Korean, Viet Nam, and First Gulf war; the West allowed itself to be swayed by the socialist/communist/collectivist leanings of its own and the world’s socialist/communist/collectivist media, government, and people. This has led us to the self fulfilling prophecy of “quagmire” which realistically is where we are at today.
We truly put a thumping on our and freedom’s enemies in the Second World War. The Western force’s assaults led our antagonists to face a no win situation, submit or die. Although to be objective we did ally with an openly communist government to win the war, but by VE Day, and the eventual VJ day, we had pummeled our enemies into submission. It was not through negotiation, but through unrestrained brutal use of force this outcome was achieved.
Furthermore after the Second war, we did not give the Germans or the Japanese any real say in how their new governments were going to be formed. Instead the Western powers, with corruption from the Soviets dictated just how their new governments were to be constructed.
I know for a fact that it was MacArthur’s staff that almost single handedly wrote the Japanese Constitution. Despite a lot of political, traditional, and cultural opposition it was actually MacArthur, and his staff that guaranteed the right of suffrage for women in Japan. Unlike the double speak, err… I mean politically correct definition of “nation building” that we in the West are sadly afflicted with today; back then we told our vanquished foes what we expected from them, or else.
If we had done something like this in Iraq and Afghanistan; forced them to modernize despite their traditions and cultures, I contend that things would be much better not only for Western troops “occupying” these countries but for the citizens of these “occupied” lands as well.
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Howdy All,
I stumbled across this and I had to share it. I know it is a bit off topic, but I thought you all might enjoy it.
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Talk about reviving a slumbering topic.
Anyway,
Howdy All,
I started listening to Eragon as an unabridged audio book tonight at work. In fact I am listening to it as I type this post.
It’s a pretty good yarn; so far I am enjoying it. I was shocked to learn that the author was a 15 year old, home schooled, D&D gamer. Damn I wish my writing ability was that developed when I was 15. If it was, I sure as hell would not be driving my 1993 Nissan Sentra; instead I would be driving a 1968 VW Karmann Ghia cabriolet, red of course.
After scanning the previous post a few things popped into my head. I tried to glean what I could without ruining the story for myself, so if my responses are not directed at specific posts or have actually been mentioned I apologize.
Somewhere up the list someone commented that his writing can only improve. I agree completely. If he keeps up his trade, I think we see in Mr. Paolini a budding author that may someday rival Stephen King in popularity.
Up the thread someone mentioned that his writing will improve if he goes to college. I suspect Paolini is an autodidact, and the last thing he needs is a writing professor that has never written a best seller or had a novel made into a major movie before he could legally buy a handgun. I would suggest that instead of college he needs a shit hot financial advisor.
In my quick glance over the previous posts in this topic one thing struck me. Am I the only one that sees the influence of George Lucas’ “Star Wars”? If not that then maybe he was influenced by Kirosawa’s “Hidden Fortress”. Of course maybe he just read a lot of Joseph Campbell’s work. At any rate Eragon really reminds me of Luke Skywalker, although that could just be a lack of objectivity on my part.
Furthermore those that compare him to Tolkien, really annoy me. Tolkien didn’t just create an elaborate setting deep with history. He did that and created the languages of that setting carrying the history of his world back to its creation. If you want to compare Paolini to someone; I think Lloyd Alexander or David Eddings would be more appropriate.
I am really digging this story and will be moving my weekly pilgrimage to the library up a day to Sunday so I may get the next book in print or audio form.
Rob
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I just wanted to point out that it is not illegal to own “tanks”. They are however very expensive, and of course the weapons are inert.
http://www.armyjeeps.net/armor1.htm
Furthermore if one is willing to spend the time, toil, treasure, and privacy Federal law does allow for the private ownership of some pretty hardcore firepower.
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Ok,
As a bit of a firearm enthusiast, I felt I had to chime in on this. I am one of those weird people that enjoy disassembling, cleaning and assembling weapons to see exactly how they work almost as much as I do shooting them.
The M-16/AK argument is a very long and very old one. If one takes the time to study the creation, design, and sadly eventual standardization of the M16 in the US military it becomes blindingly obvious that it is nothing more than typical mid to late 20th century corporate welfare.
While the rest of NATO switched over to the Fn-FAL, so they may have a standardized rifle and ammo in case the Warsaw Pact decided to get froggy in Europe, we in the states changed over to the M16, a weapon that shoots a completely different and arguably inferior cartridge. Think about that for a minute. Does that even make the least bit of sense?
This story is a few months old, and I thought then about it what I think now, it is yet more corporate welfare. I think it is a sop to Colt because of the Pentagon’s purchase of the HK416 upper receivers to be issued to the fellas at the pointy end of the spear.
The HK416 is an upper receiver replacement for the M-4, the M16’s newest incarnation. It changes fundamentally how the bolt on the rifle cycles. In fact it makes it operate in a way similar to the AK, thereby making it much more reliable in a “holy shit” situation.
The only good thing I have heard was from a fella on another site that claimed to be a two-tour veteran. His take was if everyone on “our” side is shooting the same type of rifle it might ameliorate friendly fire casualties.
All I can say is not matter how many times you repaint, or rearrange a pile of shit; it is still going to be a pile of shit. This goes for the supposedly vaunted M16 as well. It was a turkey when it was a designed, and it will be a turkey no matter how much we spruce it up.
I could argue, throw facts, and cite sources ad infinitum on this subject. When the engine of the world stops, and the lights go out; if I am not in the Gulch, I am going to rely on my 1911A1, my AK-47, and my High-Standard 12 Ga., to get me through.
Rob
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Howdy All,
How about an image of Ms. Rand, similar to this one of Ronald Reagan:
http://www.thoseshirts.com/reagan.html
Then change the caption so it says something like; “Still Shrugging”, “Join the Strike”, or “Don’t be a scab”.
On a similar note I stumbled across this site several months ago:
http://www.jordan-river.com/?doc=151313
I realize there would be copyright issues, but how cool would it be to have a similar pendant, perhaps with a dollar sign motif, and Galt’s speech instead of mystical drivel?
Rob
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Howdy All,
Saw the trailer for this movie back before it had a name. I have not yet seen the movie. However my first impression of the original trailer was that it was a Godzilla movie. I may be completely wrong. Most likely I am.
If it turns out that it is indeed a Godzilla movie I will attempt to catch it at the theatre. Of course if it is true that there is a teaser for Star Trek XI as part of the previews for Cloverfield I will make point of going.
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Howdy All,
Personally I think that we ought to complete the sculpture as the artist originally intended before we even consider adding another face on such a powerful symbol of America.
As for Reagan being added to the monument; I am not so sure. Certainly he was the greatest president of my life time, but sadly that is not really saying a lot. Politics and policies aside one thing that I can say about Ronald Reagan is that he made one proud to be an American. That pride in America has been sadly lacking in modern times.
Rob
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Howdy All,
Moose; I must confess today is the first time I ran across this thread, but thank you for starting it. I have been chuckling over the year plus worth of posting on the topic. The reason I laugh is that it brings too light one of my favorite recreational activities, the fine art of Xian Baiting.
Being an “Ex-Fundie”, myself; there is nothing more pleasurable than a faith emboldened Xian when I am in the need for rhetorical sparing. Not rhetorical combat mind you, but sparing only. With the average Xian, it makes good practice for arguing with tough foes like collectivists, and their ilk, especially if you are prone to extemporize as I am.
Of course their discourse is all too easily shut down. It is especially easy if you can quote scripture at them as I can thanks to my indoctrination, and if they foolishly leave you the open of, “Prove there is no God”, the contest is all but over. Of course the easy answer to a statement along those lines is, “I am an unbeliever, prove to me God exists.” After all the proof is always on the believer in supposed truth, is it not? Of course this leads back to the circular argument of faith, and if your knowledge of Xian theology is tapped now is the time to just walk away.
As I said Xian Baiting is good practice for a real intellectual battle and one of my favorite sports, but too much is like hitting your head into a wall; after a while you get bored, and your head starts to hurt. Personally I take it in small doses.
Rob
What did you think of the first Presidential debate?
in US Elections 2004/2008/2012/2016
Posted
I agree, doesn't history say we nailed down that whole States Rights/Tenth amendment shit, back in 1865?