hafilax

I think Kask is approaching this from a "The medium is the message" standpoint and I think it is a valid argument. Obama has isolated a captive audience of soon to be voters. This wasn't a speech to the children at prime-time, this was presented in the classroom. How is that not at least a slight abuse of power? The content of the motivational speech is all warm and fuzzy with personal anecdotes and heart wrenching stories but you have to admit that it will have an effect on the political thinking of the audience even if the motives were entirely innocent. To me, the stay in school speech is all fine and dandy but it will ring hollow without a follow up commitment from the government in improving school services (which was mentioned a couple of times). Smaller classes and more resources will do far more than a "pull yerself up by yer bootstraps" speech. Kids do have to do their part but they will have an easier time with more support. I am a wholehearted Obama supporter but I do think that they have crossed a line here and just because Bush did it before him does not justify it.

The thing that struck me about the content of this speech was the overwhelming emphasis on going to university and higher education. The trades were completely left out. I don't know if this was on purpose or an oversight but I believe it detracts from the message. I would probably feel left out if I were a senior who intended to train as an electrician, for example. I'm not sure that the target at risk group of the speech, the potential dropouts, will feel inspired by the examples and may even feel further alienation by the education system. The examples are all of people at the extremes of changing society. He doesn't talk about the small contributions that are necessary for a healthy society, like social work or teaching, but focuses on the big paradigm shifts. Those are going to come from very few people and they don't need speeches from the president to be inspired IMO. They will get there on their own. I'm not sure what the political motivations were for this speech and I'm not sure that it will have any kind of effect on the drop out rate. Overall it was a disappointing read. Maybe it would have been more inspiring in the presentation. Clearly, Obama thinks becoming an electrician requires no "higher education". Clearly, Obama thinks becoming an electrician is easy and that any idiot can do it without trying very hard in school or washing their hands. Clearly. Does he explicitly have to refer to every trade or career path to justify himself to you morons? You've got some serious reading comprehension issues. I said nothing of the sort. I simply believe that the people that he is attempting to reach out to may not be very inspired by this speech. I read it again and he does touch on community workers, police, military and teachers. I also admit that as a Canadian, I may be misinterpreting the US collegiate system. Are trades taught at colleges? In Canada we have separate trade schools. I understand that the most inspiring stories are usually at the extremes and a few of his stories were of people overcoming adversity to get to college so it's not as biased as my first impression. I still think it was an exercise of questionable value. How much did this thing cost anyway? I can't find it with a quick googling.

The thing that struck me about the content of this speech was the overwhelming emphasis on going to university and higher education. The trades were completely left out. I don't know if this was on purpose or an oversight but I believe it detracts from the message. I would probably feel left out if I were a senior who intended to train as an electrician, for example. I'm not sure that the target at risk group of the speech, the potential dropouts, will feel inspired by the examples and may even feel further alienation by the education system. The examples are all of people at the extremes of changing society. He doesn't talk about the small contributions that are necessary for a healthy society, like social work or teaching, but focuses on the big paradigm shifts. Those are going to come from very few people and they don't need speeches from the president to be inspired IMO. They will get there on their own. I'm not sure what the political motivations were for this speech and I'm not sure that it will have any kind of effect on the drop out rate. Overall it was a disappointing read. Maybe it would have been more inspiring in the presentation.

Pete's Pile?

I stand corrected.

For an HMS biner the loading away from the basket might not be as big of a deal as compared to an asymmetric D.

Thinking a grade is wrong implies that think that you somehow understand the rating system better than whoever came up with the grade in the first place. It's like arguing about figure skating.

$13.50 at MEC.

Either way, I like the move that DMM is making. The new Shadow Secure biners look like a slick speed locker for first bolts and anywhere else that a biner breaking would mean disaster. They have a little thumb toggle that switches from free to locking.

Since DMM bought Wild Country it seems like the DMM branch is the high tech and expensive side. DMM biners are the most expensive of the lot at MEC. The cams just happen to be the least expensive to produce as far as I can tell. My gut tells me that the cams will be tantalizingly more expensive than the C4s.

Any word when this may be fixed? Some days I like spray. Some days I don't have the time before work to sift through it all. Thanks. Bump because spray is deterring me from coming to this site.

YES!

A good guess but not at the moment. I don't want to accidentally walk up to the 1.9 Tesla field with it in my pocket.

You must be getting full by now.

What do I have in my pocket?

Mine too. This has been entertaining me for the last couple of days. I'll see if I can think of something. [video:youtube]tKKxPtP6XjQ

If the two in front both had black hats the third would know his was white and would answer so. The second, knowing this knows that if the person in front of him has a black hat that his must be white otherwise the third man would have answered. Therefore if everyone is silent then the man in front must have a white hat. I don't have any riddles.

Don't kill yourself when the inevitable "I'm back" thread rears its ugly head.

So that's why everyone goes to Norway to base jump.

She had tang?! All is forgiven.

Did anyone catch that Fox snuck the (D) in there next to his name in the initial reports instead of the ®?

Yet another argument for prenups.

What kind of asshole goes to see his mistress on father's day?

My roommates in university decided to make french fries. A few minutes with the oil on high and foof, foot high flames. Luckily I was around to put the lid on the pot and take it outside. Who knows what they would have done? I had fun checking on the pot every few minutes. Pop the lid off and the flames would pop right back up. Lasted for about 15 minutes. Glad all is returning to normal. Those inductive stoves are great for preventing fires since they only heat metal and are efficient to boot.

Felix the cat Babe the blue ox or is it a talking pig Griffey the griffin?