winston,
i think we can agree that we have differing philosophies.
that being said,understand that what i say here is in no way an attempt not to change your viewpoint but rather to give historical context.
1.in the 1800's a corporation was a temporary venture between different companies to achieve a common goal,the charter was only allowed if it was for the "common good".when the goal was achieved the corporation was dissolved i.e:the brooklyn bridge.
2.after the civil war a few creative lawyers used the newly written 14th amendment,installed to protect newly freed slaves rights,to create limited liability corporations that would not have to dissolve but rather flourish and have rights as a person.even though a corporation is not an actual person.
3.in the the 1960's (if i recall correctly) lawyers once again got creative and lobbied to have the "for the common good" removed from the corporate charter.which in essence took any morality out of the corporate charter leaving profit as it's sole impetus.
4.a governments role concerning business should be fraud protection.why?because the government is for the people and by the people (in theory at least) and with corporation no longer bound by law to do "common good" it is the last line of defense.
a.the reason i state this is because many people echo the "free market" line.what we have now is nothing close to a "free market".when a corporation can buy legislators to enact laws that benefit their own bottom line in the form of lobbyists we move closer to a plutocracy rather than a people run government.
b.i use adam smith and milton friedman as examples to make my point.for both of these men were huge proponents of the free market but for both of these economists plans to work there needed to be an equal playing field.how can we have a free market when international conglomerates own our political leaders?they own the media so they control the message.

we are a republic.what makes us a democratic republic is our right to vote but if the message is controlled the vote will be slanted by that propaganda.the last thing our government,corporations and financial institutions want is an informed citizenry.

there are two more points i would like to make.
1.you state that you are immune to such manipulations and indoctrinations.
ok.if this is true then why do you constantly use terms like "lib" or "leftie"?
you my friend have been snookered into buying into a polemic paradigm that does not, in reality, exist.the message has permeated your views on people who may think or feel different than yourself.humanity is a far more diverse grouping than TWO ways of thinking,feeling,being.
2.i also saw that you put the responsibilty on the borrower.that in itself is not an entirely incorrect statement BUT according to the GOA it was only 20% "stupid borrowing" while 80% fraudulent,predatory and deceitful lending practices.i could go into further details but there is plenty of information out there to back this statement up.

in summary:
corporations can,and do,much good but they can also do incredible amounts of damage.the way the system is set up it comes down to cost/ benefit every time and maybe that needs to be changed,but when the government and our representatives are in bed with the very same companies that can create/destroy on such a huge scale we should all sit up and take notice.

on a personal note.winston,you sound like a pretty stand up guy but do not project your integrity onto a corporation.they would eliminate you in a heart beat if it profited them.also...dont be so quick to judge those who you do not know,understand or walked one inch in their shoes.life happens and sometimes it aint pretty.
i enjoy our conversations winston.
till next time...peace.

I'm with you truck. But I'm agnostic.

I'm just tired of (literally: this is partly from Junior High) immature people who seem to be unable to do anything with atheism other than flip the bird at Christianity.

I don't look at their complaining as actually constructive. Gay rights movements are fine, but bitching about religion and complaining like a little child about those damned Mormons bugging you all the time is just plain stupid.

Realize that if you are one of these people you probably have issues from your past that you need to get help with FROM A PSYCHOLOGIST.

IMO... and you may not be ready for this.. ready? YOU HAVE TO LET GO OF GOD!

You are likely a victim of domestic violence in a so-called "Christian family" that forced "religion" down your throat.

Don't blame Christianity or God for your evil fucked up parents. Don't blame yourself.

The above is an edit. Here's the rest of my post talking about what atheists SHOULD be doing if they're going to be publicly dissing Christianity:


If they're going to diss religion, they could at least be talking about how stupid the concept of a guy making a universe and sitting up there pre-programming himself apparently to endlessly get his jollies off on boring repetitious shit in some endless struggle between his all-powerful self and the imprisoned by him but apparently still able to influence people due to him (God) Devil in Hell.

If God is all-powerful, why the hell did he FUCK UP?!!

"God works in mysterious ways."

GAME OVER IT'S RIGGED!

Here's my atheist rant: If God exists and things are as they seem to be (see above), then God can KISS MY ASS TO HELL WITH HIS FRAUDULENT, EVIL, RIGGED BULLSHIT! Also, NICE JOB BEING THE BENEVOLENT LOVING GOD BY BEGINNING THAT LITTLE SAGA BY TORTURING YOUR SON TO DEATH AT THE HANDS OF THE EVIL PIECES OF SHIT THAT HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE SAVING.

THERE!

UsesProzac: I wish I would have had Wow, when my son was born, it would have given me something to do while sitting up with him in the night - What I did have was every season of Angel, Buffy and Farscape on DVD and the Space Channel (total TV overload)

**Also note, "I" was the one putting my son to bed and getting up with him, every night, not my wife - no breast feeding was done - she refused! (same, when my daughter was first born!) Once she gave birth - she was done with them - Postpartum is getting much better now 8 & 12 years later.)
PS: don't tell her I told you

heh. I like how the guy goes from - aahh! :: crazy legs ::

to sitting up just long enough to tell the clerk " Nah, man. I'm fine."

Tho yes, while someone should have helped.
Uh.. if you're trippin' yer bawls off.. you'd think he'd know it's not the best time to make a (crappy) beer run. = þ

This happened to a guy I was in basic training with when he was doing sit-ups. It looked extremely painful and he had to have surgery to get it fixed.

Haha, amen to that. The kid showed some admirable restraint after the guy was down, I can't say myself that I would have left him able to sit up.

Ok, was kinda boring, the sit up and wave "hey over here!" parts were nice.

But OMFG, instant upvote for the "WTF?" look at the camera at 1:40






The only thing that could have made it more perfect would be the cat walking away when he finally decided to pet it.

I call shenanigans, you aren't working a damn thing with just your own body weight.

Uh - perhaps you've heard of calisthenics? Pull ups? Sit ups? Yoga? Aerobics? Speed squats? Wall squats? I do the P-90X system, and there are entire workout sequences done with nothing but the weight of your own body.

If you think that you can't work out your body with nothing but your own body weight - then you aren't doing it right. The toughest sequence in my whole regimen is the plyometric sequence, and there's not a weight in sight... You aren't going to look like a juiced up steriod shooting muscleman, but you're going to be lean, muscular, and totally worked out.

>> ^kymbos:
Why on earth would you chat during a Jimmy Carr set? I'd sit up straight in perfect silence - the man is just too sharp!


Trouble is, Jimmy Carr is so sharp that he would probably find some way to make fun of you event then!

>> ^kymbos:
Why on earth would you chat during a Jimmy Carr set? I'd sit up straight in perfect silence - the man is just too sharp!


I think I would end up hopping around in circles, thumping my chest, then flee whilst screeching at the top of my lungs. I'm just not sharp enough, nor willing to accept that he is better than me, so it would end up being a poo flinging fight in the end.

Why on earth would you chat during a Jimmy Carr set? I'd sit up straight in perfect silence - the man is just too sharp!

You have three vids sitting up there with 9 votes - I'm sure one of them (and most likely ALL!) will soon make the jump to 10!

I'm no expert, but I feel compelled to comment based on the training classes I have taken recently.

Sit ups just target one area. Most of those go for different parts so I disagree with budzos on that.

I would agree with doing this once every two days for the casual exerciser. I have also read that the abs are already there, you just need to see them so I agree with budzos on not eating like a pig. There are a lot of other parts of the body to exercise so even if you are ripped I think you'd stop at multiple times every other day.

Core is important but this ignores the back. You are more efficient once your midsection can take whatever your legs and arms can dish out.

I read that muscles build through strain and repair. That is how they get bigger. Many muscle people work out to failure and then let that part rest a day to build. Some work out every day but do different parts of the body in rotation to allow healing. That would make failure in moderation the key.

I am always told while doing the ab workouts to suck in my gut. It is harder that way, but the results are better and it seems to help me target the individual muscle groups.

That's it. Flame away.

Sorry I'm late to this party, but I do have some relevant information. First, it sounds like you are only interested in Standard Definition (SD) content (no HD on NetFlix), in that case go no higher than 720p. However, if you are still curious about that 1080i/p stuff you've been hearing about (game consoles, HDTV over the air or from cable/sat, blu-ray), I worked out some numbers a couple of years ago (when 1080p was very expensive). I'm too lazy to double check the numbers.

the thing you have to keep in mind is the maximum angular resolution of the human eye. I'll spare you the details, which you can look up yourself, but for a person with 20/20 vision (corrected, in my case), assuming a 16:9 aspect ratio screen and 1080 by 1920 picture size (resolution is a misnomer) you need to be 1.5 diagonals OR CLOSER to resolve the difference between pixels.


This makes sense if you think about movie screens or IMAX screens, or a graphic artist computer work station. Most TV viewers don't think about (being that close to a screen) | (having a screen that big).

That means if you have a 32 inch TV and you are 6 feet away, you will not see all the detail on a 1080p TV, so you can save a few bucks with a 720p.

Now that the price of 40"+ LCD TVs has dropped dramatically, you should consider a 1080p screen, but keep in mind you viewing distance.

In my case I could resolve 1080p for videogames since I sit up close for that, but I haven't upgraded because we sit way back on the couch for movies. I wouldn't be able to see the detail of a 1080p blu-ray without a 42 inch (or larger) TV. Or if I pushed to couch up.

Nice! I've got three pals who we all sit up and play the Game of Thrones boardgame until 3 in the frikkin morning. We've each read all the books, helluva game, and a helluva series.

Cant wait until HBO comes out with their miniseries.