CoolWaters

Oh, sorry...I didn't mean to pay them...I meant to assign a certain wage and then show them where it all went.

It's not such a stigma in today's society to be seen 'in the orange' alongside the road. I doubt that many were embarrassed. One of my adoptive grandpas was on a chain gang. Whatever they did to him, he didn't mess around with people in general society ever again. Screwed up his wife and kids, though. Anyway, because of his chain gang experience he was able to get on a crew building the highway system...and there he retired. It's been proven that in men (and sometimes women) it is a great anxiety reducer to work hard. I'm as liberal as they get in most people's eyes, but I'll tell ya, I don't know what else can be done. If the prisoners are out of the institution, they need to be restrained...especially alongside the road...because it's been tried and failed to do otherwise. I don't know that I see a need for weapons once a prisoner is restrained. The mind and soul rot if not exercised hard in fresh air. I know...I'm fighting the battle against the results of doing otherwise. I've also been held in solitary confinement for 4 days (yeah...I know...nothing like actually being in prison...but it was bad enough to me), and locked in other confined situations for days at a time. It's not the same as solitude, I can tell ya that! My husband works with a whole lot of parolees. Many of them have done 20+ years. There's no such thing as preparing them for the outside. Being out just does not compute. Especially if they were not allowed out on work release...because they do not comprehend how free people think, act, interact, live, etc. It literally does not make sense to them that people on the outside get away with so much horribleness towards one another...so they don't expect it when it happens...and don't know how to handle it, either. The majority of stuff people pull on each other outside would be worthy of many horrors on the inside. The problem I see with the chain gang (and other work programs) is the pay. People need to know how what they do is valued. I am NOT advocating minimum wage work or something. I AM advocating that an hourly wage be assigned to the job...and then the cost of keeping them be figured and shown to them much like expenses (insurance, 401k and other stuff) are shown on a pay stub. As it stands now, people mostly see something like $20/month pop up on their in-house account so they can buy candy, stamps, paper, and other stuff in the commissary. This isn't teaching anybody a darned thing about how to live outside. I could go on and on about this...so I'll shut up now.

I like! And it's only about a 10-12 hour drive from us...and if we go with one of the larger cabins with you all...like #20 or something...we can certainly afford to do this. We wanted to come last year and things didn't work out. This year things might possibly work out. :D Oh...and maybe renting a vehicle for several of us to go together...? That would certainly help financially. Wouldn't it?

What an idea! We could make T-shirts...and sell them to Abi...see if the one liners are successful...

My reply would have been something like this: Me: "Oh! You like? (giggle, giggle, wink, wink)" He: "Yeah! (drool, slobber, pant): Me: "What's your name, big boy?" He: "I'm Dick. Hehe." Me: "Well, as you can see, Dick, I am a parent. I am a very concerned and protective parent. There are a whole group of us concerned and protective parents in this community. We've been very concerned about how to protect our children while shopping. One of the most problematic situations when trying to protect our children is identifying the creeps and pervs before they have a chance at our children. You just proved that my soultion works quite well. Now, Dick, I have you ID'd and on the list. Thank you and enjoy your future shopping experiences here. We'll be watching you." BTW... Yes, I've practiced this over and over again...and even used it once.

Cowgirl, If I have come across as chastising or judging or something like that, I am sorry. I simply meant to be protective. I know you're a grown woman and all that...I just like you a whole lot and wouldn't want to see you hurt in any way.

I LOVE those "As I've Matured" lines!!!!

I am not a believer in internet dating sites...just because of the inability to verify someone's reality. Have you given him your first and last name? Did he ask for the information or did you volunteer the information? What information have you given him about you that he won't give you about him? Did you know that more than 35% of those registered on such sites are married? That's more than 1 in 3. What would Dr Phil say? I think he'd say that if you can't find out about this person BEFORE you go on with any interactions with him, then DON'T BOTHER going on. Someone who is well known doesn't need...and more than likely doesn't want...to be on an internet dating site. ESPECIALLY if this someone has some $ behind him. IMO, this stinks, stinks, STINKS. IMO.

Trust...such a slippery thing...ya know? When I first got on the internet and was shown trancechat...well, I was still VERY twit-brained...so I approached it the same way I approached going to twig... Learned the hard way what is wrong with that approach to life!!!! But the next step in my evolution was to trust only those who agreed with me...which was really a side-step of the original issue. Found that out the hard way, too. Eventually I actually started to move forward in my evolution out of the mucky mire tar pits of twi. Then I realized that trust is not something I'm willing to give to many folks. Ya know? BUT... What I define as trust is probably not what anyone else would define as trust. There are LOTS of things I talk about here that MANY people think I ought not talk about. So what? I don't trust their opinions, anyway. Where I've finally arrived is that I trust myself. That's all I need to trust, imo...because now that I can trust myself, I can be my own best friend...and I will take care of myself.

"...hot/sexy/asian/nude babes..." :o :o :o I had no idea!!!!! I saw NOTHING LIKE THAT!!!! I'm sorry. OK...that's a Dr. Demento song...so you gotta understand it from the pov of a fan of the good doc...hehehehe...

Oh...hey...let's add to the fun here: http://www.3dweb.no/galleri/stuestolbm/bilder/anim1.swf

AKA: Homeland Security ^_^

Oh fer cryin' out loud! Someone has to explain themselves over humor? Or is that the underlying humor? I sure hope so.

What don't I like about MS? Let me count the ways! Really, you said it all when you said, "Same is true of hardware. To make a loooooong story short, throw away old hardware and get new. Solves lot of problems and is easier and cheaper than trying to breathe life into old systems. Money is no object anymore." To replace the thing that doesn't work anymore is going to cost me a minimum of $50. The pi$$er of it is that the thing worked just fine...very well, even...and there is no reason for it not to work now...except that MS doesn't make its old stuff compatible with its new stuff...AND MS makes sure that trying to get the old and the new to work together is impossible if not destructive. Stupid and wasteful, imo. What if my home were like that? Say I wanted to add on a room. What if the rest of my house began to crumble once the addition was finished? Or what if my car was like that? I replace a fan belt and the oil pan falls off? Now if these things were because of my lack of skill...or, worse, my totally destructive actions...I'd understand. But that isn't the case here. BTW... $50 is a lot of money to me.

I never knew I had such a sadistic streak in me. :unsure: Too much fun.

Wellllll....I'm seriously considering Linux...but have been scared away from it because it's supposed to be very hard to maintain. Is that true?

Everything I need is there...and I can see it all...and I've reformatted before with no problems. But alas, this time something went wrong. I don't want to mess with the Bios...and don't want to pay anybody else to, either. I did get the trial of PowerDVD and that fixed the problem...except that PowerDVD stops responding after 5-12 minutes. Sigh. My computer guru shop is pretty good about keeping things on hand for reasonable prices, so I think it's just plain going to be simpler to buy a program. Sigh. What gets me the most about all of this is that I KNOW I'm smart enough and savvy enough around computers to fix this...I'm just not gutsy enough. LOL The upsided of this is that I now know WAY MORE than I EVER wanted to know about my computer! LOL I found out that I've got some outdated stuff. And I AM SICK SICK SICK of Microsh**!!!!!!! So my new task is to upgrade...maybe even actually buy a whole computer instead of pieces...? :) Tell me, please, what is the best OS if one is SICK SICK SICK of Microsh**? TYVM.

I see the drivers on the CD (Windows 2000). They were there before...even after rebooting. I just can't get the system to recognize them or something. I WANNA WATCH HARRY POTTER!!!! I've run Hardware Troubleshooter so many times I can do it in my sleep now. Nada. Help. Please. I'm whimpering. TYVM.

Tee hee!

The article says the song was written when Paul was a teen, but not released until he was 24. Even more stupefying as to how he figured it out. My, he's aging gracefully, imo. OK, I was soooooooooooo infatuated with the Beatles! We raised canaries at home. Once I had 4 new chicks..and I named them..yep...John, Paul, George and Ringo. When it was announced that Paul was going to marry Linda, I wrote my one and only fan letter to anybody ever...to tell Paul he was making a HUGE mistake and he should wait for me to be old enough to marry him. I thought about writing John concerning Yoko...but I was much older by then and realized how pre-pubescent that thought/action may come across. LOL I spent many years praying for John, Paul, George and Ringo. I still pray for Paul and Ringo and their families. Every time that PBS tribute to George comes on, I watch it...and bawl my eyes out every single time. I overcame my hatred of Linda long ago...and now I bawl my eyes out over missing her for Paul. I've forgiven Yoko for all the offenses I've imagined she perpetrated over the years. Now my tears over John's death are for Yoko. I guess I'm still kinda addicted. Sigh.

Too true, too true. It's never gonna be what he had with Linda. But he's got the memories...and the children. :)

I am crying...because the lyrics...he and Linda should have been together singing the song to one another. Sigh.

So be it! Voila! You are now Red Dove! But please take care of yourself, OK? Getting that red can be dangerous.

Well I can finally breathe a bit easier about it all and say YIPEE!!!!!!! BTW... White Dove is now officially invited and doesn't have to come in drag. I know, I know, I know... This was for the Girls... But White Dove just delivered me of some deep stuff...and this was his requested payment. What is a girl to do?

{{{{{White Dove}}}}} TYVM!!!! YES! You are now The Official Male Not In Drag to be attending GGGW. (So long as you bring some music...like the "America Awakes" album...or sumptin....) Whew! It's like my head has been living at the Western house for days and days now...and I was like fer shure I was nuts. (OK...maybe I am nuts, but not about this. Hehehe.) Flashing in and out of the living room at that house was all of these freeze-frame images I've got in my memory of those days...all to the background music of A Whiter Shade of Pale. Trust me...you DON'T want that to happen to your head EVER!!! LOL BTW... I wasn't doing anything to be mean to you! Hadn't even thought about just how pale you are until you mentioned it... Again, TYVM!