RobBob

I noted the cheating in engr school by middle easterners because I think it is a symptom of a society that does not function well in a higher-tech world. I have noticed a higher incidence of these traits in countries or regions that appear to be more prone to human disasters, incompetence, and bumbling: -a blind eye or higher acceptance of "cheating," especially among elites -in technical matters a hesitance to deliver factual news to superiors and instead spin news positively -corruption accepted by society There are only a few evil Saddams and Bin Ladens in the world. There are a Hell of a lot more greedy and/or incompetent people in the world that are responsible for death and destruction. One quick example: The policemen in Mexico City who accidently killed people while chloroforming and robbing them. They didn't intend to kill them. But a combination of greed, incompetence, and corruption caused them to kill just as evilly as other murderers.

...eine kleine schweinhund [ 11-25-2002, 01:51 PM: Message edited by: RobBob ]

quote: Man, we sure know how to pick our allies. Here in the last month, it's been revealed that Pakistan shipped nuclear bomb technology to North Korea in exchange for missile technology as recently as this summer. Uncle Trickster, You been smokin that Oaxacan stuff again? We give $6 bn a year to these guys' adversaries...but it's all on "Goatland is a Binary World." One observation I have after viewing a small sample size of middle eastern Muslims (in engineering school in the late 70s): They cheated like Hell. We had two brothers in one classroom that would sit apart during lectures, then side-by-side during tests. The rest of us students knew they were cheating. They were not the exception for the middle-eastern engr students; a bunch of them appeared to be doing that. We figured that if they went back to Iran and their structures fell down, WTF? Maybe that's the attitude our profs took, because none of them were busted for it. Maybe it was the middle eastern culture and nothing to do with the religion, but those guys were unabashed cheaters.

quote: Rainier was pretty easy so maybe I'll break a sweat on Elbrus Easy as opposed to Ben Nevis?

I still like these Scott'tryx woollies:

some of us 'hounds were born in action suits.

ChucK, I agree...so I intend to ride, like Paul Revere, on a snowmobile throughout Yellowstone to warn everyone ASAP!

Wooly Chap seek Harry Pi:

Most likely causes: 1. bad water supply (you heard about the state of the airline industry's water) 2. bad food item 3. 1. or 2., accelerated by a psychosomatic wave

Sports Illustrated & Heidi, proud sponsors of RobBob's endurance swimming career...

Hey, you guys are both lucky! Not to pick, but just as a point of interest, there is a ton of info on air crashes, air safety, etc out there. You can extrapolate your own risk analysis. All the 'flots spook me...but what do I know, I used to think Swissair was infallible.

Thanx!

I was told in gym class that Wun Hung Lo was a disease that you got if you had a bad landing on the pommel horse.

Gentlemen, start your engines...we're going to see Old Faithful!

The objective danger of a Russian commercial flight is a hair-raising thought.

Was this a one-day survey? The website is 'not found' this morning. quote: But I don't support a ban on an activity that's been going on for generations. Freeclimb, you must be talking about families whose branches are mighty close together on the family tree!

Jim said: quote: I would also say they are getting something out of - not nothing - but a more meaningful life, less stress, more time with their families, better health, etc. It's not all about money. You could also (partly) make this argument for eastern Europeans under communism. Traveling through eastern Germany immediately after the wall came down, I got the distinct impression that while the Ossies didn't like communism, they were probably having a lot more sex, doing and thinking a lot more about non-work-related things than the Wessies were.

DFA, just what kind of salacious exchange of PMs have you and trask been having? I wonder if trask's "new, smokin'" PC just smoked cc.com with some porn virus??

Saw Jackass yesterday...now I have put trask's face with a name. Anyway, saw an ad for a new movie, Extreme Ops, coming out in a couple of weeks. It looks like a goofy movie about some extreme sports guys/gals who are making a movie in the Alps, who come upon a Serbian war criminal. The online description says "Accidentally catching him on film, they become locked in a life-or-death chase through the mountains that includes skiing, snowboarding, sky diving, white water rafting, helicopters, motorcycles, and base jumping... MPAA Rating: PG-13 for (for violence/peril, language and some nudity). Release Date: November 27th, 2002." I'm sure the plot will be stupid, but the mountain scenes in the trailer were cool. It looked like they might have filmed a lot of this on the Shilthorn or a similar peak in Switzerland.

A number of environmental issues are complex, with unclear science, and often filled with hypocrisy. Individuals who have no clue how industry or agriculture function will pontificate about the need to control them, all the while failing to change their own behavior and unwilling to confront our planet's biggest threat: the burgeoning population in the third world. Snowmobiles, on the other hand, are a no-brainer. They are bad for the environment, a scourge to those who seek a wilderness experience, and they ought to be banned from national parks and wildernesses. [ 11-15-2002, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: RobBob ]

quote: If all it takes to "appear" thoughtful is to agree with someone else stance regardless of the reasons they don't agree to begin with, it's not really worth doing IMO. Maybe *all* sides should "appear" thoughtful by taking into account the fact that substance actually matters on issues. I just came back to this thread, and saw this brilliant comeback from Mr. Goat. What you are saying is exactly what I was getting at...that substance, and making your own decisions, really matters. Okay, if you are worried about a few snowmobile concessionaires, then let's buy 'em out when we ban them. It'll be a Hell of a lot cheaper than the tobacco farmer buy-out that we are all paying for.

You yobs miss the point of trask's thread. Back in our day, that young lout would've been properly flogged, and told to quit his puelin', eat his gruel, an' get back to work like a good lad.

I say, Dr. Amazing, your avatar looks as if you're ready for the horse-race party in the parlour of the Queen Mary...

MtnGoat said: quote: J-B has yet to show us the rights guaranteed in any nations opposing Israel. WTF? I know I said I was leaving this issue...but your insinuation, that citizen rights are a more-important criterion to judge a nation on than its predation of neighboring land...is utter bullshit. You are too smart for that, Goat. You have a biased attitude on this, and it is becoming more and more transparent.