RobBob

This, AlpineK, is a provocative statement that I agree with wholeheartedly. While I am an optimist, I don't buy this polyanna bullshit about how humanity has 'improved.' Western society is on balance more peaceful, stable, and advanced because world conditions have permitted it to be so during the past 50 years. Wait until we have for instance a major climate change (no, I'm not talking about man-induced change, I'm talking about the inevitable, longterm climate changes that occur), change that causes worldwide agriculture to convulse for a few years. Then we will see barbarian cultures in motion. But better to be a barbarian and a winner than a loser.

Okay, wayne1112, you put the bait out there...what the hell are you up to? Among my modest gumby goals- -improve backcountry skiing -climb Mt Hood, & some other stuff -triathlon

AlpineK, I agree with you, not because I think that there are evildoers in government, but because I believe there are stupid people in all large bureaucracies (especially government). Earnest, stupid people who gather momentum on an issue, and end up running off the track with their zeal.

Maybe there was a glitch last night when I checked the Who's Online...this is what I saw: Username / Location trask / surfing RetroRaunch website Dr Flash Amazing/ bound to closet climbing wall Allison / sipping Celestial Seasonings and baking herb brownies Muffy the WSer / in online spelling bee Caveman &mikeadam / barfighting TLG/ searching 'Men of Alaska' website

I must say that while Jackass had its moments, overall it was disappointing. Too much of an S&M tone, rather than the juvenile pranks that made the show, IMHO. And I don't ever want to see a movie with no girls in it again.

Guesso... has the ring of somebody who's been away from home too long!

So my kids are belting out the words to one of their favorite kid-songs on Thanksgiving, and my dad the WWII vet says to me "You know where that song comes from, don't you?" Sure enough, the google search reveals: Do your balls hang low? Do they swing to and fro? Can you tie 'em in a knot? Can you tie 'em in a bow? Can you throw 'em o'er your shoulder, Like a Continental soldier? Can you do the double shuffle, When your balls hang low? Chorus Ting-a-ling, God damn, Find a woman if you can. If you can't find a woman, Find a clean old man. If you're ever in Gibraltar, Take a flying fuck at Walter. Can you do the double shuffle, When your balls hang low?

This is one of the most troubling incidents I've read about. I have hesitated to post about this after I found it a two months ago. I was trying to convince someone I know not to go to Saudi, and looking for supporting evidence. Well, I found it. You can read the summary here (warning, it is disturbing): (summary story of William Sampson) The Hell of it is that bin Laden is the westerners' suspect in this. This guy is a climber, too, because somewhere on the web I saw a pic of him and his father on an Alpine summit. Very troubling.

Looks good! One slight glitch that I've had in the past, that continues with the new board, is that since I installed ZoneAlarm, I get no movement (graemlins, alpine kitty, etc.). I miss seeing the movement. Anybody got an idea how to fix this?

Speaking of Saudi Arabia, what is the status of that guy from BC who was being railroaded by the Saudi courts? It sure sounded like he was getting the shaft for a car-bombing likely committed by Islamists.

I was actually looking for a joke, but all I could find was the old parrot-turkey fucker one.

Dr. Flash Amazing, How you were overlooked, I will never know, because you are the quintessential corporate cash waster, my friend! Happy Bird Day to you.

Not what I expected, but this is interesting: Turkey Sex Strike

Oh......

Hey, What's this new, smart-ass version of Iain about?

quote: trask is dead RIP And let this be a lesson to you, people. The next time you get an email that sez you can enlarge your penis at home...DELETE IT AT ONCE! [ 11-27-2002, 08:09 AM: Message edited by: RobBob ]

We are sad to report that DFA expired last night in what was termed a "masturbatory accident" in his closet, shortly after logging off the Sharma thread. trask is taking donations for a floral tribute to this prominent cc.com hipster goofball.

What happened to the topic of Islam? BTW, there's a story on NPR today about Chechens (supported by Al Queda) purported to be targeting old Russian nukes for terrorism. That could be ugly.

...or is it like when a guy named Jimmy Hoffa disappears and is reportedly cast into the foundation of a football stadium?

Come and rock me Amadeus! Amadeus, Amadeus...

Er war Superstar Er war populär Er war so exaltiert Genau das war sein Flair Er war ein Virtuose War ein Rockidol Und alles rief...

quote: Hey in case you didn't notice Greg's member stuff appears corrupt and that might disable him from posting. Remember kids, when your member an' stuff is corrupt, you're likely to end up on the disabled list...

Ya mean it? Hell, I was bracin' for a sprayfest. BTW, if I were you, with your lucky number, I'd have a shirt made up that said WM#3000. I bet it wouldn't take long before somebody from cc.com would recognize you.

quote: When you start going on about noticing higher instances of these traits, it makes it sound like you've conducted some extensive global benchmarking study into behavorial traits among Muslim nations and compared them to Western nations. I suspect that's not the case however. To draw a parallel, it sounds almost like some middle class white male talking like he knows how to solve the problems of poor inner city black kids. I'm glad to hear your opinion RobBob but to think that we can just sum up these problems in a couple of sentences is not very realistic. Three points, JGowans: 1. Maybe you have the time to sum up your opinion in more than a couple of sentences. I don't. I enjoy reading and participating in this board, but I have limited time. I don't have time to write a tome, or study a full-length Goatpost. I write, then post, and I cannot edit the damn thing to perfection. 2. Maybe you didn't identify with or agree with my posts, but it's interesting that, for instance, two different people chimed in to say that they also observed middle-easterners cheating in their engineering classes. They did identify with what I was saying. 3. I believe that you jumped to a conclusion, and henceforward your mind was closed to the point I was making. The little "parallel" you drew suggests that because I am a middle-class white male, I cannot offer clear observations about social groups other than my own. You are in a roundabout way calling me a racist with that one, and I don't appreciate it. If you have some kind of "white guilt" complex that keeps you from trying to objectively view the world, that's your problem, not mine. Re-read my post. It has to do with social customs and norms (in a higher-and-higher tech world), and not race. As you say, I did not conduct some sort of worldwide study in making my points. I have had the opportunity, however, to travel and to work with and employ people from a wide spectrum. I have read and studied (out of personal interest) about large-scale industrial accidents and commercial air crashes in particular. Many people on this board have traveled more than me; but I have been lucky to have traveled fairly extensively on four continents for business and pleasure. Off the top of my head, I have also employed people from 16 countries other than the US/5 different continents. I have gotten to know a number of these people well, and trying to understand the cultures in which they grew up is something that is interesting to me. If you don't like my posts in future, JGowans, pass'em by, but please don't try to ascribe biases to me that aren't there. You don't know me.