rbw1966

True dat! I may be at Smith this weekend.

Forrest birngs up an EXCELLENT point: flexibility. Life moves to a different tempo is euro countries. If you create a cooky-cutter itinerary you will soon be pulling out your hair in frustration with trying to adhere to it. Develop a general idea of what it is you want to do and flow with it. Remember you are on vacation and go with it. Adapt to changes. Oh, and if you are wearing shorts the day you decide you want to go to the Vatican there is a small cart outside the gates of the city that sells these crappy scrub-like pants. Tres chic!

Sure you do--you can use it whilst role playing "Lost in Space" with Trask. "Warning! WArning! Danger, Will Robinson" I'm guessing by your choice of fashion that you play Dr. Smith.

Some dipshit riding one of these things down the sidewalk in my neighborhood almost ran me down. Bummer he won't have it around anymore.

In Oregon, bicycles have the confusing distinction of being considered as both vehicles and pedestrians. In other words, they are supposed to follow the rules of the road ascribed to drivers as well but cars should treat them as pedestrians. Cops in Portland are not afraid to ticket cyclists either for pulling stupid shit like running lights, riding in the dark without lights etc. A friend of mine got a ticket yesterday for riding in the dark without a light and almost got a DUI for riding while intoxicated. Is it being a self-righteous dick to want to retaliate against someone who risks your life? I've been on both ends of the car-bike near misses, more frequently I am the cyclist than not. The time I almost hit a cyclist the idiot was in the crosswalk coming the wrong way and ran the light. He got indignant with me (as he had every right to be since I should have been watching more carefully) however, he was also in the wrong for essentially jaywalking. This debate is old and tired. Cyclists should be more cognizant of how their actions are perceived by drivers--for instance riding between cars downtown, running red lights etc only serve to increase tensions between cars and cyclists. Drivers should be more aware of giving cyclists a wide berth on roads.

Having the naked chef over for din-din? Bon appetit!

I've been to europe many times and am heading back again over christmas. 6 weeks is a bit short for thinking about the hassles of car buying. Great idea for longer trips though. Renting a car can be a nice alternative. Some places are pretty cheap but keep in mind that gas is way more spendy over there. Travel light. As light as you can get away with. Hauling heavy bags around the train stations etc really sucks. Take night trains so you can consolidate travel and sleeping arrangements. I took a sleeper train from Rome to Venice, Amsterdam to Paris as well as a night boat from Split to Ancona. You wake up in a new city and ready to go. You'll want to check out the huge toursty cities like Rome, Paris, Frankfurt. Go for it. But try to stray from the beaten path. Your experience will be so much the better if you can meet some of the locals in the smaller villages. Try to experience some of the central and eastern european countries if you can. Prague is an awesome city, so is Dubrovnik, Bratislava, Budapest, Warsaw. I'll be climbing in the Tatras this winter and I can't wait. And finally, I can't stress this enough: buy some phrase books (Lonely Planet makes some great ones) and use them. Even if the people you speak to know English, it means a lot if you show even the smallest efforts at speaking their native tongue. I've heard the same complaints about Americans in Germany, Croatia, Czech etc: we refuse to learn any new languages or honor the native language. You can spot American tourons a mile off: they'll be the ones speaking loudly but slowly--in english--to the locals thinking that somehow volume and cadence will magically turn a non-english speaker into one. Have fun!

You must live in outer NE portland. In addition to that listed by others I might add the following: rock=carver ice=freezer hiking=clackamas gorge biking=oaks bottom running=my favorite loops is waterfront park through oaks bottom and back through johns landing bars=depends on your flava.

Gee, any guesses on who is succubus? Rather appropriate choice of avatars Sphinx.

control-alt-delete then "end task" on iexplorer. I am weak. Kill me now.

See you in hell.

How do you do that? Sounds like fun! Ask and ye shall receive: Order your copy today!

I trashed my shoulder recently and the doc gave me Bextra. I don't know whats in it but man does it work. Aside from some stiffness it feels a lot better. I've done accupressure for back pain before and it worked quite well. There is a local naturopathic college that gives treatment on a discount which was nice since insurance diddn't cover it. They'd rather pay for PT, drugs and doctor visits all of which resulted in no relief. One accupressure treatment and I was symptom free. I am sure I will do the same after my shoulder has quieted down. Best of luck to you.

I bet that piece gets fixed easily.

Some states have repealed their helmet laws. You can choose to live in those states. The wonderful thing about choice is it works both ways--I can choose to live in a place that makes helmet use mandatory or I can choose to not care about the subject, or even choose to move to a state that allows me to ride without a helmet. Another choice is to do something to change the laws I don't like. If enough like-minded folks choose to feel the same way then my choice may become a law. We live in a dynamic political system and change occurs constantly reflecting changes in social values and concerns.

Get a living will. Make sure your family, friends and doctor know about it.

See attachment

Stoic philosophers such as Seneca felt that suicide was the penultimate expression of freedom. I think that if one is suffering from a terminal illness, one should be able to choose to end the suffering at will. Ultimately it is an individual choice. What I find incredibly dissonant is the republican emphasis on state rights, individual freedoms and limited government yet their interference in a measure that was popularly elected by the citizens of Oregon.

Uhh. . .maybe because you wrote this:

I also find it interesting that its the gun ownership supporters who resort to epithets, slurs and personal assaults. Whats up with that? I'm not so narrow-minded that I can't appreciate a different point of view but when you preface it with some nasty invective or racist remark you lose any credibility with me whatsoever. I'm still left wondering how one can come to the conclusion that our forefathers envisioned assualt weapons when drafting the constitution but its not health care, privacy, etc.

Our glorious, dead-letter Constitution states that the "right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." I know this will infuriate you statist heathens with an ax to grind, but 'not infringed' means if you're tall enough to put your money on the counter, you can have a gun. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it you anti-gun anal buccaneers. Aside from the absurd "tall enough to put your money on the counter" extrapolation, you still didn't answer the question about how you go from "arms" to "handgun." If you can interpret the word "arms" to mean extend to handguns why can't I also interpret universal healthcare from the right to life? Oh--and just in the interest of full disclosure, I own a handgun.

I think he means like the right to bear arms? If he can interpret "handgun" from "right to bear arms" then why cannot someone else interpret right to healtchare from the right to pursue life, libery and happiness? I think Greg is being selective in his intepretive skills.

Where does it say in the constitution you have the right to own a handgun?

Thanks for the information! I just had a Book of Mormon sent to his chambers.

I read him as saying the kid was the problem, not the gun.