The one reason I really love Dan and his advice is that he totally gets the "spectrum". A handful of folks are totally straight and a handful are totally gay and everyone else falls in somewhere along the spectrum.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 7:22 PM on November 8, 2011

I think part of this movie is autobiographical for Sly in that he has some kind of speech impediment and is always worried that people perceive him as dumb because of it. The movie is pretty unwatchable except for the parts with Tim Curry as his "voice coach".

So anyways, pens're smart, right? Smart people use pens and there's art on it, right? Smart people like art. I mean it's tough art though, right? Like tough smart guys will like my pens, right?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 6:41 PM on November 8, 2011

This makes me very happy! I've been with my CU for many years and still managed to get screwed by the big banks, albeit indirectly. I had a really awesome very low interest HELOC that replaced my credit cards entirely. I was able to easily pay off debt and manage emergency spending. It was the best financial ass-covering ever.

In '08 when the housing thing hit the fan my line of credit was cut off in short order and it wasn't easy. I had to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 6:14 PM on November 5, 2011

.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 3:38 PM on November 5, 2011

What is the motivation to coerce educators into being lenient and give passing grades to failing, unwilling, crappy students?

It makes sense in public schools where there are no resources to recycle kids who can't or won't learn, but at the collegiate and university levels it only serves to degrade the value of the earned degrees of hardworking, goal oriented students. Such a shame.

Also, what made "going to college" so compulsory... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:18 PM on November 4, 2011

My thought after reading all of these comments is that I'm so glad so many here were able stop the cycle. It ain't easy, so BIG KUDOS and HUGS! Not kidding.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:17 PM on November 2, 2011

Jeez. All of this stuff is heartbreaking and if any of it was any closer to home I...really just can't talk about it.

Fuck. I will say that sometimes it's difficult just to deal with/interact with people IRL. Sometimes you just feel broken, damaged, disabled.

I try not to blame my parents though. The ordeals they went through in the '50s, while no excuse, was much worse than what left me a trembling wreck of a human. There's a story that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 7:55 PM on November 2, 2011

*packs bags...heads to India*
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 3:14 PM on October 30, 2011

Housing would be much less of a problem if these folks could find decent employment. There are already hiring practices in place that favor vets and especially disabled vets in the civil service and else where, but there is no current connection between the VA and Civil Service HRs. I'd love to see that happen.

I know MeFi isn't a direct line to Uncle Sam, but if I could make a suggestion it would be that here in San Diego alone, we're going to lose about 30% of our... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 7:06 PM on October 22, 2011

For generations Americans have had opportunities to rise above and climb the ladder through hard work and education. In less than a generation, in less than ten years, that American dream has been all but demolished. Suddenly college degrees aren't worth a squirt of piss. It was done on purpose too, through manufactured wars, corporate control of the government, outsourcing, reduction in force and a manufactured economic melt down.

So forget about trucker hats, PBR... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 7:31 PM on October 17, 2011

chrisgregory, you're wrong about that. Here in the U.S. the ladder really does start at the bottom. For a very quick and easy example, "new Americans" children who have just arrived in the U.S., if they qualify through some testing, can go to schools that guarantee college or uni acceptance. Then it is only a matter of funding which is usually taken care of by grants, tuition assistance or scholarships.

I'm very familiar with this and have personally... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 7:29 PM on October 18, 2011

Right now, Generation X just wants a beer and to be left alone. It just wants to sit here quietly and think for a minute.

Seriously. I was born in '68 and feel like I've been taxed pretty heavily if only because my boomer mentors were all like, "I worked for mine, fend for yourself." I'm sure it has everything to do with Vietnam and the '70s which was totally fucking ME time. I did feel a little left out in the cold.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 7:00 PM on October 18, 2011

Being human entails enduring so many mind-fucks already without having to worry about being loved and appreciated or not because you're trimmed/shaved or not.

There's nothing at all wrong with wanting to be "sexy" with makeup, clothes etc., but at least some of that stuff is just a throwback to when Men were the breadwinners and Women had to do subservient shit in order to find and please a man who would take care of her.

Times they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:07 PM on October 15, 2011

I've been close, on paper, to being a millionaire a couple of times in real estate. I could never seal the deal though because I'd have to talk to real people and tell them that I was there to help them while knowing that in a few weeks I'd be taking everything they owned. It's dirty.

Our banks and elected officials don't have to work one on one though. It makes ethics a theory that's easily dismissed and replaced by dollar signs.

Think... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 2:15 PM on October 9, 2011

Big difference between what's legal and what's ethical or financial sound for the economy as a whole.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 2:26 PM on October 9, 2011

Thanks jack_mo.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:28 PM on October 6, 2011

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posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 7:29 PM on October 5, 2011

A few recordings of number stations. Creepy stuff. Thanks for the post!
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 1:21 PM on October 4, 2011

Great. Now I'm so hooked I have to get an FCC ham radio license AND start learning cryptography!
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:21 PM on October 4, 2011

When I lived in Naples in the '80s one of my fellow students got a 15 year sentence to Poggioreale (sp), a very harsh prison, for buying a piece of foil-wrapped potato that was supposed to be hash. It was both a sting operation and a message to the American community there to settle down. He was also released after a couple of years.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if that was thinking behind indicting Knox and Solecito. It seems pretty clear to me that the actual... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:59 PM on October 3, 2011

ciderwoman, I have been following the trial and my summation is posted just above.

I've experience the "scene" there. What you/we see as official is whatever Italian courts come up with to support their real motives. I don't think Knox was ever actually a suspect for the murder.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:08 PM on October 3, 2011

The reason I followed this case is because I lived there for five years as a student and was there long enough to almost become a local and definitely long enough to understand the culture. (Visiting foreigners thought I was Italian, Italians couldn't figure out what region I was from, for whatever that's worth.)

I don't think the court was wrong OR biased. It's just that in some cases, like this one, the story really isn't about absolute guilt or innocence. For... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:35 PM on October 3, 2011

Justinian, consider that they're meting "poetic" justice and not the letter of any law. So being right, wrong, or biased is totally moot. I think the point of the convictions was to make a very clear statement that involvement in criminal activity will get you locked up. Guilty by association. The fact that the convictions were overturned makes their original intent very clear to me. They made an example of the kids.

Also, unless one is very familiar with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 7:32 PM on October 3, 2011

Whenever I talk about HST I feel like Dennis Hopper's character in Apocalypse Now.

"He's a scholar, maaaaannnn! He KNOWS things, maaaan! He's not a stooge for the man, MAAAAAAANNNNNN!"

Seriously, educators should use him as an example in English classes. "Write whatever the fuck you want, but do it well, so I'll want to read it and not think that you're wasting my time."
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 2:52 PM on October 2, 2011

Quick fix: instead of hauling laser offenders off to jail and fining them thousands of dollars and charging them with felony wreckless endangerment, they should make them do hundreds of hours of community service by lecturing at schools about the proper use and dangers of lasers.

Helicopters are a tantalizing target for folks who don't know any better.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:03 PM on September 29, 2011

I love Life Aquatic. There, I said it.

Spielberg's Empire of the Sun could probably knock something off of that list and I love that movie too.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:22 PM on September 21, 2011

Ah, dick jokes...can't get enough of 'em!

Seriously, are they competing with Jack Ass or something? (Surely not demographically?)
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:59 PM on September 20, 2011

Well this is how they stay competitive and profitable. They could choose to take a hit with their profit margin or they could raise prices for consumers. Neither sound likely, even though I'm sure that their level of profit leaves PLENTY of room for adjustments.

This is why unions are so important. They bridge the gap between what is legal and what is ethical or even common sense. (As was mentioned about Costco making more by providing more to employees.)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:38 PM on September 20, 2011

Is this the part of the thread where someone is supposed to post the intro to Idiocracy?
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:18 PM on September 13, 2011

Yo, we *are* just like all the other animals. I agree with this except for the fact that many other animals or insects, life forms, are much more adapted for survival than we are.

I made up my mind a long time ago that we humans are no better than any other primates that succumb to their instincts for survival. Those instincts that so often in humans override the great "intelligence" and "language" we're so proud of.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 6:40 PM on September 13, 2011

This is great, I LOVE that show and still easily recall and hear the music in my head.

Dumb but true story. I was walking my dog today and guys my age kept looking at me like they saw a ghost or something or couldn't quite make out where they've seen me before. It was really uncanny. Seeing this post I immediately realized that it's because I've cut my hair and beard to look like Jonny's Dad, Dr. Quest! (That's my theory anyway.)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:55 PM on September 3, 2011

Cowell's wiki. Daddy got him his first job at EMI. Nuff said.

What pisses me off about Cowell, and yea, I read the whole thing...he talks about himself, is that he has no fucking clue what it's like to be a kid and to get on a stage in a shitty venue in a shitty neighborhood and play your fucking guts out for a couple of hundred angry, drunken, malevolent fuck heads who "gobb" at you and throw stuff.

He doesn't have the first clue of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:17 PM on September 1, 2011

FWIW, I haven't read all of the comments, but I'd have to say that the Modern Marines have the upper hand psychologically. It would only take a couple of bursts and a couple of exploded bodies to have the Romans cowering and praying. If any of the Modern Marines speak a latin based language, Spanish or Italian, and were able to make commands over loudspeakers, the Romans would just STFU and lay down as ordered.

Sounds like a very quick win to me. By the time they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 6:08 PM on August 31, 2011

That's a good point, TWF, and I'm actually speaking from my own experience being in trouble in Mexico and speaking Italian to get out of it. Most of the root words, nouns and even verbs sometimes are incredibly close to their Latin roots. It may sound bizarre and foreign to a Latin speaker (someone back then), but I'm pretty sure that the major points will be pretty darn clear.

I believe that the other worldliness while still understood, would only add to the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 6:24 PM on August 31, 2011

While much of this is painfully detailed, the bottom line I'm getting is SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY AND LOVED ONES AND HAVE FUN, on me, Love God!

The parts that seem over the top to Goyim, like me, read to me like, "No, I'm serious, spend time with your family, NO EXCUSES!"

I love it!
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 3:13 PM on August 27, 2011

I'm too young to remember blatant racism in the military. During my life people of any color or religion could all serve equally and all had the same opportunities for promotion etc.

In the last 20 years I've seen female service members rise from being restricted to being nurses and clerks to being ships company, combat fighters and fighter pilots.

With the end of DADT, gays and lesbians are up next. If what I believe about the military is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 3:30 PM on August 26, 2011

The Army is a really fucked up culture of picking on, torturing, and drumming out those perceived to be weak or slack. It's not quite like the vids of the Russian paratroopers on youtube, in which every single recruit is brutalized, but it's very close sometimes.

While I don't condone that stuff, I understand why it exists. In some units the pressure and the load are so immense that you just cannot have slack and so it's eliminated using every means available. I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:58 PM on August 21, 2011

A question for The LastPsychiatrist, do you think that there may be a problem with diagnosis and nomenclature? For example, I wasn't able to be treated for PTSD, but when I changed that up to "anxiety disorder" I was able to get meds...paxil and ativan, and counseling.

Forgive me if this is derailing, but it's important if the two different diagnoses are interchangeable and if something as simple as nomenclature or diagnoses are the difference between being... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:39 PM on August 21, 2011

Next up: do animals have souls?! I don't know, but does emotion count?

That's Micheal a silver back who was taught ASL by Koko, signing about the death of his mother. (Forgive me if I'm repeating anything posted above.)
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:54 PM on August 20, 2011

It sounds to me that the lady running the front, the chef's wife, didn't have a clue about what her job was. Total amateur. the butt smacking thing...jeez please, that's the kind of blame game kids do on the playground.

Anyway, good service is key. The food might be fantastic but if the waitstaff are assholes, not only will you not tip or tip poorly, you're gonna tell all your friends how the place sucks.

I can understand if a place is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:48 PM on August 17, 2011

A black eye eh? Could've been avoided with a couple warm cheap beers. Punkers have changed that much in the last 30 years.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 6:41 PM on August 15, 2011

That's right seanmpuckett, and the first inkling I had of that was when Reagan took office. That's when we started cannibalizing this country for mass profit. What we're reading about in this thread are the withered dried up remains we have to deal with and try to revitalize.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 2:58 PM on August 14, 2011

I've struggled for many years to get my "baby boomer" friends and family to get their info and news from outlets other than TV. Unfortunately, they are all addicted to FOX and friends and buy into every thing that's broadcast almost religiously. Their naiveness about things that are simply common knowledge to the rest of us is mind boggling.

I know that they spent perhaps an entire lifetime with the likes of Walter Cronkite who was a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 8:05 PM on August 14, 2011

This is quite a find. I actually wish this included commercials so that I could have an even more enhanced flashback. Miller time anyone?

I can definitely see how this could be offensive to modern sensibilities. The mimey "theatrical jazz" acting going on is pretty obnoxious and over the top, but I think that was the whole schtick with JCS. "Hey we're doing something NEW and EXPRESSIVE!" Or something.

I shouldn't talk... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 6:58 PM on August 6, 2011

How is this going to effect high rollers/ultra rich/corporate CEOs etc. in the U.S.? Is this something that might make them reconsider how they manipulate Govt. and policy or are they so well shielded that their wealth isn't compromised?

Serious question.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:54 PM on August 5, 2011

Or, is this so beautifully crafted that they get to raise interest rates too, to divert cost back to the consumer?
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 5:57 PM on August 5, 2011

The Whelk, you are too cute/handsome for words! Big hugs to you and everyone else who can now be legally recognized as loving couples...and keepers!
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:54 PM on July 24, 2011

Count me as actually being surprised. She was such a scrappy, tough fightin' little mofo...I thought she'd eventually turn a corner and get comfortable with herself. She had a lot of reason to.

.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 4:38 PM on July 23, 2011

I had a room mate in a barracks at Ft. Bragg who would occasionally get loaded on tequila and run around the barracks with nothing on but a giant woodie and panty hose. The first time he did that my fellow barracks rats and I beat him up a little bit until we realized that he was totally enjoying the experience. He was pretty buff and beary and pretty much looked like Mark Wahlberg.

Knowing we couldn't hurt him, he was a pal and a good guy, we just chastised him for... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 6:14 PM on July 22, 2011

Thanks filthy light thief, you just turned me on to my new favorite band.

clvrmnky, I think you're selling yourself and picking in general just a little short. And quit giving away trade secrets, people have seats to fill and shows to book!

Seriously, though, these kids really do it for me. They have the speed, technical ability and soul. Surprising coming from kids, but they work the blue notes like they actually have some life experience.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch at 2:55 PM on July 20, 2011