tvashtarkatena

This kind of 'historical snapshot' response is fairly typical of Americans, who tend to react to headlines as is, rather than try to understand the motivations (and factionalization) of both sides in this long and convoluted conflict. Perhaps its a form of salve on one's conscience when many innocent civilians are being carelessly slaughtered in a conflict between two grossly mismatched opponents; something America has quite a bit of previous experience with.

Any discussion involving the term Big Government is likely to be a generic circle jerk all around. The world and history are just a bit more complicated than that. Regarding the NYT, which I've read every day for decades, it's probably accurate to say that the editors are centrist to liberal, but, to it's credit, the editorial section regularly prints all viewpoints, including the most extreme neocons. Their columnists are also varied in their viewpoints. What strikes me about the paper is that it's quality of journalism and opinion is much higher than most others. You tend to get opinions and news from the source more often; the paper has a deep, worldwide, on the ground reporting presence, and access to those making the news is as good or better than anywhere else. It is not without its flaws, and it has had its embarrassments, but it remains arguably the most respected newspaper in the world. In any case, a well informed person should read more than one source, but, personally, I don't waste too much time with sources that have an agenda (as think tanks invariably do) or blogs, where anything goes and there is are no consequences for conjecture or inaccuracy.

....given the current environment. Rapid environmental changes can and have thrown a monkey wrench into this process: winners suddenly become losers. Early methanogens, which may have once been the dominant organism on early Earth, and are now anomalies relegated to a few hot springs, come to mind. Paleolithic megafauna are a more recent example. What's interesting about the evolution of intelligence is that it enables all species, not just the intelligent one, to transend their physical boundaries. By way of example, the genomes for all life on earth could be transmitted to another star system and 'reconstituted' there (presuming there is someone on the other end to do the reconstitution). Even more interesting than biological evolution, which is amazing but a product of a fairly well known and well tested mechanism, is the inorganic evolution of the universe to create the conditions of life. Why do we live in a universe of physical laws and constants that just happened to have created galaxies, stars, supernovas, organic molecules in amorphous interstellar life, solar systems, earth like planets....? What mechanism created or selected such an ideal universe (from many other hostile universes)?

I can only imaging that was said with a choking Ghhhrrgggg sound there? I think T must have actually been reading our stuff or something different, cause he's starting to agree with what we say and also make sense as well. :-) I've always made sense. You've just evolved to the point where you can comprehend it.

Don't even think about going mano a mano with me here, Porter. It could get ugly.

I'm a huge fan of FF bags. Several days ago a spilled a pot of hot water all over my bag: didn't soak through at all. Whatever brand you get, probably the most important criteria is to get the highest fill down you can. Aside from being warmer for the weight, it maintains it's loft longer and revives better after washing. I had a Marmot bag years ago, so my information is dated on that brand. I hated it: clammy, poor quality down. Perhaps they've improved in the last 10 years. A friend did me a favor by borrowing and subsequently losing it. I also purchased a Marmot pack 4 years ago. Absolute piece of shit. I don't know whether it's the brand or the individual model, but I've crossed Marmot completely off my gear list.

I really don't think so [video:youtube]NbhXmSBlS_U

By observing the stalking, you've become part of it. Room for 3, please.

Did you try motoring without the outrigger? Your triple should be pretty stable, but I don't know much about slapping a motor on a kayak. You can sail downwind (Spirit sail or kite) without an outrigger, but any other point of sail requires additional stability and a keel of some kind. My boat has a 4 foot long leeboard on an tilt up axle. The drag on my inflatable sponsons is significant, but probably not anywhere near as much as your extra kayak. Easy Rider also offers hardshell outriggers, but both options are a bit $$$...way cheaper than building or buying another kayak, though. The Batwing sail, leeboard, and outriggers came from here: Balogh Sail Design

Escape...if you can, avid consumer of my bullshit.

I've got a pair of Karhu approach skis (120 cm, integral skin, universal binding for any boot) I'm selling for what I paid for them: $120. PM if interested. They've got great floatation for winter and the bindings afford excellent control.

Well, here's where you and I go our separate ways. I grew up in a family of very modest means. My father was certainly anything but lazy; he was a career Navy man, and they just weren't paid much back then. He grew up very poor; not because his father was lazy, but because his father was killed in an industrial accident when he was a young boy. He worked his way out of poverty, much to the benefit of myself and my siblings, but was stricken with a chronic illness, which drained a good deal of his savings, despite his military benefits (which are not as comprehensive as many of us might think). I think you should closely examine your remarks and the harsh sentiments behind them; I'm not sure the problem is with the poor. Frankly, the laziest group of people I've ever worked with were very well paid software engineers. Get to work at 11:00, leave by 5:00, surf the net while at your desk. Many of the poor work several jobs and lead brutally hard lives in comparison. And get out a bit more. You might find that your assumptions may well be nothing more than someone else's propoganda.

Once more, with feeling: "The courts of the State which carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships, aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith." That would be our courts. Your solution would be cheaper, that is true, but more prone to embarrassing failure. What if the pirates kill the marines, either by sinking the vessel or outgunning them? After all, they are acquiring more sophisticated weapons by the month, given their increased success in the past 2 years. All it would take is one such incident, and that would probably be the end of that; black hawk down redux. Probably better to use overwhelming force. I think it would be a good thing if the rules of engagement for our Navy were normalized with most of the rest of the world's fleets. It would remove any ambiguity with regards to going after these fuckers. Heavy patrols for six months, then spot patrols thereafter would probably mop up the problem pretty effectively.

Your logic is seamless. Your stereotype of the mentally ill is as borrowed and 2 dimensional as your cardboard cutout view of humanity in general. Fortunately for the rest of us, you're all talk and no action.

What's the top speed of your rig when the motor's cranking in flatwater conditions? One of my boats is an Easy Rider sailing kayak (trimaran rig with inflatable sponsons). It maxes out at about 6 knots in perfect conditions under sail.

PP: What key words did you input on rhetoricagenerica.com to create this hard hitting paragraph?

Some time ago I read a book about the use of L Dopa to successfully treat catatonia induced by encephalitis (Sachs?). What struck me was the lack of correlation between physiological damage and quality of recovery and function, which seemed to depend more on 19th century terms like 'strength of will' and the 'force of character'. The author wrote extensively and sympathetically about the unique nature of each individual's condition, and how much it informs the experience of those who do not share the same perspective. Thankfully, we are primarily value based creatures with unique, unpredictable natures, rather than members of a sophisticated insect colony. Or perhaps we are the latter and fail to realize or refuse to accept it, and are therefore all delusional? We could never be entirely logical animals, because our existence is neither likely nor logical. It is meaningless until we give it meaning, and even then that meaning is entirely subjective and dependent on observers who never entirely agree; a situation which, by its very nature, is absurd. Thankfully.

I have a Tarptent Cloudburst and it is pretty good in the rain. Didn't do so well in a blowing spindrift storm, though, but hey, that was stretching its design limit a bit.

Strong work on an interesting adventure. I'd love to see a detailed picture of your outrigger kayak if you have one to post.

It should also be mentioned that the U.S. still has the best college and post graduate education in the world. That's why everyone else sends their best and brightest here. I'm sure that a layer of generic, standardized 'credentials' would make it even better, though. I should also be mentioned that, apparently unbeknownced to certain posters, a myriad of established development disciplines already have their own credential programs that are kept up to date by practitioners.

It would seem that the 'HIV doesn't cause AIDS' gene is being efficiently removed from the gene pool.

Deep or not, it's a nice place to visit, but a dump by any measure compared to Washington. Love's me sum a those babybacks, though.

'Credentials'? For what disciplines, exactly? And how would such 'credentials' be determined 'objectively'. By whom? 'Experts'? Essentially, you're advocating for a higher level of No Child Left Behind, a program which has really REVOLUTIONIZED our education system. It's an idea borne of someone who views human beings as standardized units of production, rather than unique individuals. There was no correlation between the productivity and creativity of the many designers and technologists I've worked with and their 'credentials'. Zero. People are good at what they do because they love it, they work hard at it, and they start with a seed of innate talent for it, not because some national academic oversight committee determined how much they were worth. THe most talented design engineer I ever knew got his electrical engineering degree from some podunk college in power (as in the grid) engineering (that was his 'credentials') He built an custom IC development department from scratch. How would such a committee, far from the cutting edge of invention, develop and maintain 'standards' for such invention, particularly at today's pace? Yeah, you get the idea. Credentials beyond standard college degrees (which are themselves dubious at times) are excellent gatekeepers for none-creative professions: doctors, pilots, and the like. These disciplines are already more than adequately saddled with credentials, of course. Apprenticeships and a more robust system of credentials might benefit some non-academic vocations: machinists and the like. For creative pursuits, such as the develepment of new technology, they are time, energy, and money wasters. By way of example, and there are many, many more, Bill Gates never even finished college.

A simpler solution might be for the U.S. to just ratify the U.N. Law of the Sea which states: "On the high seas, or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State, every State may seize a pirate ship or aircraft, or a ship or aircraft taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the persons and seize the property on board." According to Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress may define punishment for piracy. If pirates are captured: "The courts of the State which carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships, aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith." Pretty clear and simple. No American Express necessary.

Madeja look Got my down sweater on right now. I wear it all winter. Love that thing.