Mister P-Mosh

I've got the Weber Genesis E-320, and I love it. Yes it is more expensive than some others, but it does have the functionality I wanted, will last a long time, and was voted #1 best grill by Consumersearch.com. http://www.consumersearch.com/www/sports_a...-grill-reviews/

I've had a lot of cheaper grills before, which all were fine for what they were, but when I decided to upgrade to something more permanent, I'm glad I went with the Weber Genesis. Good luck wit your search!

That's the exact model I was looking at, actually. I will continue looking into it, but I want to check out the other brands too.

While I tend toward liberal policies when it comes to social issues I know that surprises about this many people ><, I in no way believe the act was caused by this man's hate for the church's endorsements. He, like most mass shooters, was a sick individual, end of story IMO.

edit: never mind I dfidn't change anything.

The same could be said for any terrorist, technically. Nobody in their right mind is going to fly an airplane full of innocent people into a building full of innocent people either. There are a lot of sick individuals out there, a few of which get to a point where they are willing to act on it like the piece of garbage that shot up this church did. I do think that his hatred for "blacks, liberals, and gays" was probably stirred up by outside sources, there are lots of people who listen to Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity every day and don't go out and murder. In a way, I see it like how video games are blamed for kids going on rampages. It's sick individuals that latch onto some fantastical stuff not meant to be taken seriously, and bad things happen as a result.

Thanks for the info folks. I'll start looking at other brands too. I guess I'll see what the local Home Depot has in stock, then read reviews of them on amazon and a few other sites.

Unitarian Universalist Church, and this crap happens! :(

Shooting

It sounds like the shooter was not a member of the church, and was mentally unstable so he committed this random act of violence.

Something I'd like to make note of is that one of the dead in the shooting was a true hero. A gentleman named Greg McKendry, who attended the church, jumped in front of the gunfire to protect children from being shot. It is horrible that he died, because we need more people who have a selfless and heroic attitude like him. There is a local Fox News article that provides some more details.

Good morning folks,

I am looking into going ahead and getting a gas grill since it will be cool enough to start being outside some in a month or two. From everything I've read, Weber are great, and that is the only brand I should consider. However, they are extremely expensive in comparison with most of the other brands like Char Broil or the others. Is it worth it to get a Weber? What features are essential and which can I do without? Is it better to get stainless steel, or is another material better?

I was considering spending $700 or so on a grill, but I would prefer to spend far less if I can help it. What do you all suggest for a family of three who would grill a few days a week?

The big bang theory bothers atheists. It means a cause.

I was trying to avoid responding to you because of your arrogance and bitterness in previous posts, but it is dishonest of you to attribute ideas to people that you clearly know nothing about. As one of the atheists on this site, I can tell you that it doesn't bother me at all. Just because you believe the big bang was caused by God, Jesus, Buddha, FSM, or whatever doesn't mean everyone has to believe it. You have every right to believe whatever you want, but when you start telling others what they believe, especially when it's not true, you cross the line.

Most don't argue other theories with quantum physics because there are too many ifs, they argue we don't know what caused the big bang. I say I do ---This sends the atheists screaming for the hills.

Atheism and agnosticism is an honest expression that we don't know everything, and won't make up answers or believe things without proof. Many religious people feel as you do, and that is fine. We think you are wrong, but most of us respect the views of religious folks. That is far different than "screaming for the hills", it's just that we don't wish to debate religion with you, especially when you mix it with science.

The word arrogant seems to pop up as well. But, I always say the big bang is consistent with the creation story of the bible--I never say it proves it.

Actually it's not consistent, unless you can somehow prove that there were whales, birds, and humans within six days of the big bang.

Anyway--the Anthropic Principle is 100 constants--I know the arguments--Nature Vs. Intellegence, but there has to come a time that you look at this and wonder--

right?

Not everyone wonders and comes up with the same ideas you do. There seems to be a certain sense of entitlement amongst the offshoots of Judaism (Christianity and Islam) that everyone has to believe the same thing, or that the concepts of their religions are somehow natural and intuitive. Many people will look at the universe and attribute it to natural processes we can't understand and nothing more. Others will attribute it to Zeus or the titans. There are infinite possibilities of what people can believe in, so I don't think it's necessarily true that people will lean towards intelligent design, especially the more educated they become.

God is confirmed to me everyday--when I use words like awesome-amazing-incredible--it is because I have seen Him in His design--just talking about this stuff should make one pause and wonder about the idea of God. How big must He be--How able? To consider hurts no one.

No more than it hurts people to consider the idea that there is no supernatural presence, and that the things that are "wrong" with the universe are because there is no supernatural designer. Seriously, couldn't you come up with ways to improve upon what you determine to be "creation"? If I were the creator of the universe, I probably would have left out things like Down's Syndrome and Sickle Cell Anemia, for one thing. I would have made the transition from life to afterlife a less bitter thing as to not torture those left behind when someone passes away. I would have never given mankind the ability to make things like nuclear missles or cluster bombs with the ability to kill millions remotely. I wouldn't have created the capability for people like Adolf Hitler, Usama bin Laden, or L. Craig Martindale to have been born and ruin the lives of so many. There are many, many, things that are bad, and if you attribute all the good things to your gods, then you have to look at the bad too. Even if you believe in a devil, if your infinitely powerful god created that devil, then you have to ask why he would do it.

So again, I think you've made up your mind, and that's fine for you. Just don't expect the rest of us to agree with you, and you certainly have no right to speak on behalf of others and attribute beliefs to people you disagree with incorrectly.

I find it unlikely that there is life on Mars, but at the same time, find it highly likely that there is life out there on other planets. I would say that it would be more strange if we could somehow determine that there isn't life anywhere else than if we did discover life elsewhere. I see no reason why our planet, which is smaller than a speck of dust in the universe, were somehow more important than everything else out there. The universe is simply too big for life to not be probable elsewhere. As Carl Sagan said:

We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make up the Milky Way Galaxy which is one of billions of other galaxies which make up a universe which may be one of a very large number, perhaps an infinite number, of other universes.

There are more galaxies in our universe than there are human beings on Earth. The idea that we are alone in the universe doesn't seem to make sense, given the probability of the situation. We may never know, as life on our planet won't go on forever, and the vast distances required for us to travel just to check out the nearest star (even if we could go at light speed) would take multiple generations. Still, anything could happen, so I think it's good to consider that life elsewhere is possible, if not likely. Without proof though, it is meaningless.

Why doesn't everybody who's within eye-shot of this Internet posting register on Facebook.com -- what the heck, it's free? Then you'll be eligible for sure to log on and participate on my Way Believers group forum. If you can register as a member on Grease Spot Cafe, I'm sure it's no more difficult than registering on Facebook. Just a suggestion.

I don't want to register for more than one facebook account. I don't want anything of TWI associated with my real name, so I won't use my normal account.

I read within the past two weeks that Facebook has already passed MySpace in terms of popularity, so it's probably a good thing. Additionally, there are a lot of people who will use Facebook, but don't necessarily have the interest to search for sites like this directly. I think as a result, we may be able to see people coming here as a result of the Facebook group.

Intellegent design and creationism are not based on the bible----they are consistent with it.

I see no evidence of this.

Well, I hate to tell you this, but. . . . . . . . . . what do you think shook Einstein so much? He called it his greatest blunder--the theory of relaitivity--because. . . . why? It meant the universe was not static--it had a beginning. After going to Mount Wilson to look through Hubbles telescope--at the EVER EXPANDING universe--Einstein said--he wanted to know how God did it--Science does support a beginning--but if you or Richard Dawkins want to say it was aliens who seeded the planet--or "flying spaghetti monsters" be my guest.

I disagree here as well, because the theory of relativity has nothing to do with the big bang, and much less proving any religious texts.

I said science supports the bible's Genesis style creation narrative--and it does. I didn't make it up.

You've offered no evidence to support this.

This is called the Cosmic Rebound Theory and there is a bit that has caused many to discard it. There is no evidence for a Big Bang X infinity. There is a question of enough matter in the universe to pull everything back together over and over again. The universe seems to be expanding indefinitly. It also contradicts The Law of Thermodynamics --- assuming no energy would be lost with each contraction. I am not a "New Earth" kinda girl--why are we still here, if we were contracting and expanding? What caused the first big bang if this theory is true? We still have an original Big Bang and the idea of creation.

My point in raising the questions was to suggest that there are many theories, but there are no ways to prove what exists outside of our universe, and what happened before the big bang, or how it came to pass. If you want to attribute it to "intelligent design" then that is your choice, but it is nothing more than an opinion. It can't be wrapped up in the name of science.

Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind. I didn't say that Albert Einstein did. I just like it. Where did the "Law of Physics" come from? The flying Spaghetti Monster? Must be a very intellegent designer?

Here's another Einstein quote:

It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religous convictions, a lie

which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal

God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something

is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration

for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."

At first, then, instead of asking what religion is I should prefer to ask what characterizes the aspirations of a person who gives me the impression of being religious: a person who is religiously enlightened appears to me to be one who has, to the best of his ability, liberated himself from the fetters of his selfish desires and is preoccupied with thoughts, feelings, and aspirations to which he clings because of their superpersonalvalue. It seems to me that what is important is the force of this superpersonal content and the depth of the conviction concerning its overpowering meaningfulness, regardless of whether any attempt is made to unite this content with a divine Being, for otherwise it would not be possible to count Buddha and Spinoza as religious personalities. Accordingly, a religious person is devout in the sense that he has no doubt of the significance and loftiness of those superpersonal objects and goals which neither require nor are capable of rational foundation. They exist with the same necessity and matter-of-factness as he himself. In this sense religion is the age-old endeavor of mankind to become clearly and completely conscious of these values and goals and constantly to strengthen and extend their effect. If one conceives of religion and science according to these definitions then a conflict between them appears impossible. For science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value judgments of all kinds remain necessary. Religion, on the other hand, deals only with evaluations of human thought and action: it cannot justifiably speak of facts and relationships between facts. According to this interpretation the well-known conflicts between religion and science in the past must all be ascribed to a misapprehension of the situation which has been described.

For example, a conflict arises when a religious community insists on the absolute truthfulness of all statements recorded in the Bible. This means an intervention on the part of religion into the sphere of science; this is where the struggle of the Church against the doctrines of Galileo and Darwin belongs. On the other hand, representatives of science have often made an attempt to arrive at fundamental judgments with respect to values and ends on the basis of scientific method, and in this way have set themselves in opposition to religion. These conflicts have all sprung from fatal errors.

You can see that he clearly defines religion not as a supernatural thing, but a way human beings think to keep ourselves within a moral framework. By his definition, atheists can be "religious" too, as can anyone who simply wants to work for the betterment of mankind.

Good! They should have read their bibles!

What is the chapter and verse that talks about the planets having an elliptical orbit?

Yes -- agnostic astronomers are writing theistic quotations.

They only appear that way to religious people that want them to be theistic. The term "god" can have many different meanings. To many asian religions, gods are just spirits that live in everything. To scientists like Einstein or Sagan, it is a shortcut for discussing nature. There are many different ideas about what gods are, so you can't really apply your beliefs to someone who uses the word without verifying first that they believe what you do. In the case of Einstein, it's easy to see that he didn't believe as you do.

Except, I have seen people actually healed in the name of Jesus--and MANY real physical unexplainables--but hey. . . . call me a daydreamer--you could have said worse.

Doctors have a much better track record than praying does. It seems like every few months you hear about a lawsuit from where some person dies because their family or religious group prohibits seeking medical care and instead wants to pray around them. Studies have also shown that the "power of prayer" serves no better than the power of "thinking positive" without praying. Additionally, the proponents of basically all major religious claim that people have been healed by their faith. What's to say that they didn't just get better through natural means, but you all attribute it to your religions?

Anyway, I don't mean to appear hostile to your religious beliefs, but I don't believe it, and I think you're incorrect about your attributions of scientific proof of Christianity. Still, I don't mean to be mean towards you, so don't take this post personally. I am debating ideas instead of people.

Yes, I would have to say we would be unjustified in our disbelief of certain biblical narratives---or recheck the mounting evidence.:) If you and I can agree on a few things it would be GREAT!! I bet you anything that you are familar with the big bang theory? Putting aside the "Fudge Factor" and looking at the theory of relativity--Einstein--Arthur Eddington--no loophole. The expanding universe--Willem de Sitter--Hubbel checking it out---yada yada--The law of causality--big bang--beginning--a cause. The law of thermodynamics--an end. In other words-- We have something instead of nothing? Created--boom there it was, out of nothing--all you and I know--was once made.

The problem is that you are trying to use science to justify your religious beliefs. That's fine for you, but you have to realize that doesn't work for everyone. Just because we don't know what exists outside of our universe, or prior to the big bang, that doesn't mean it was created by gods, or more specifically, it doesn't prove anything of the bible to be true. Even if we could prove that everything was created (which only creationists believe based on opinion and faith, not science), there's nothing to say it wasn't created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster (may you be touched by His Noodly Appendages.) There's also nothing to say that the universe isn't part of a cycle where universes explode, then collapse, then explode again, each with different physics and life happening differently each time. There are a lot of ideas out there, with no real answers and as of yet no way to know. What I do know, however, is that as our knowledge of science grows, our need for religion diminishes. We no longer believe that Zeus is throwing lightning spears at us when there is a thunder storm, we understand how the particles are charged in the clouds differently from the particles near the ground, and that they follow the laws of physics. We no longer believe the Earth is flat, that orbits of the planets are perfect circles, that the Earth is the center of the solar system, or any of the other "scientific" things the church told us in the past. As we discover the truth of nature and the universe, our religious beliefs change. We become less focused on religion as a real physical thing, and more of it as an abstract philosophical belief system. That's why the Yahweh of the old testament physically appeared in front of Moses, and why today's Christians talk about prayer and daydreams as the source of talking to their god.

WG,

Whatever TWI told you was pure B.S. Even their doctrine supposedly doesn't line up with what you said they told you, so it sounds like it was just a jackass Way Corpse trying to make you afraid.

Anyway, as to funeral arrangements, I guess I haven't thought about it much. I should come up with instructions, because one of my greatest worries about the whole thing is that it would be cheesy or too lame. Whenever I go, I don't want it to be a boring time with everyone crying. In fact, I'd prefer the viking funeral, it's just that finding a young beautiful virgin to get stoned chain to my boat while it's on fire and pushed out to sea is currently illegal. I'm joking about that part, but actually being sent out into the ocean in a boat that is on fire does sound kind of like a cool funeral to me. Especially if everyone gets drunk and eats a lot afterwards.

Anyway, I feel sorry for you and your family, and I hope that none of us have to face death anytime soon.

Contrary to popular opinion a low carb diet (you're right Cynic.. I meant Atkins) should not be a meat and cheese diet. What you give up are unhealthy starches.. potatoes, corn, flour products etc. What you should be doing is eating the healthy low carb vegetables.. Brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, greens, zucchini or other squashes etc... salads I can go on and on but Man... I'm talking high nutrition. Low carb especially when combined with the Mediterranean diet (add olive oil and lots of fish instead of red meat) is very very healthy, IMO.

The problem is that the Atkins diet everyone I know has gone on is basically bacon, cheese, hamburgers with no buns or condiments, and occasionally steak. The diet you mention is definitely the way to go, but I think most people won't or can't do it for various reasons. My "diet" (in the scientific term, not an attempt to lose weight) is basically what you described. The only difference is that I eat a lot of fruit, and a fair amount of dairy too. I can modify it some to where I can lose weight, but I have less energy with it so I'm fine with my stable diet that I'm on now.

Lots of things. I don't drive to work most of the time any more. My company reimburses me for taking the bus, so I'm saving about $400/month in gas and tollway charges. It takes longer for me to get to work, and on the afternoon sometimes there is this smelly woman that makes the whole bus smell like death and body odor, but overall it's ok.

Also, eating out has been severely curtailed. Not just for saving money, but it's healthier too. I look back at how I ate a year or two ago and see huge differences. Lunch every day for $10 to $20, with more spent on the weekends. That alone makes a huge difference too.

We also are trying to keep our entertainment and fun stuff closer to home. It used to be no big deal for me to drive 30+ miles away just to hang out for an hour or two, now we try to stay closer to home on evenings and weekends.

Other than that, we aren't doing much. My wife has always been fairly frugal, and I learned from her. So we're trying to save money even more where we can, but we're doing good.

One study doesn't make it completely true. While there is definitely a need to reduce carbs tremendously, that doesn't necessarily make the Atkins diet (e.g. only meat and cheese) the healthiest diet, nor the best way to lose weight and keep it off. There is a need for more tests, and more clarifications. From what I read about the recent study, they did a low carb diet, using lots of lean meats. So in effect, the diet they tested was both low carb and low fat, which is quite significant.

The most amazing thing about the study, which is a positive thing, is that the low carb diet reduces cholesterol levels extremely fast. Still, more tests, especially ones that are controlled more, need to be done before we can completely say what is causing the results that were gained in this study.

Take the word "football" in English, and it's cognate "futbol" in Spanish, and you have the potential for misunderstanding: both words sound alike when spoken, but the sports being represented are quite different.

Not to try to nit-pick too much, but this is an invalid example. "futbol" originated from the English term "football", otherwise in Spanish it would be called "balo de pie" or something. In fact, the term "football" or "footie" is the proper term for what we call soccer in English. We are the only English-speaking country to refer to our modified rugby as "football", while everyone else calls soccer "football." It's probably easiest to call our sport "American football" so when you talk to people from other countries, they know what you're talking about.

Whew, that's a lotta questions. I live in Fort Lauderdale, about a half hour north of Miami.

If you're coming after October 15 and you want to try some really good seafood, I suggest Joe's Stone Crab. Stone crabs can only be harvested from Oct. 15 to May 15, so if you go on the 10/16 or later, you're guaranteed fresh (not frozen) stuff.

If you get the babysitter: Because I don't know your age, I can't tell you whether South Beach would be any fun. I haven't been there in a long time: it's not fun for me anymore. Call me old.

I will be there right after October 15th, so it sounds like it's the place we need to go for sure. As far as my age and my wife's age is concerned, I turned 30 recently and she's a couple of years younger. So it would likely be fun if we can get a babysitter.

With the family, try to carve out some time to visit the Miami Seaquarium. Think of it as a low-rent SeaWorld, without the ride gimmicks. There's also the MetroZoo and (a kid-favorite) Parrot Jungle Island.

Do you think those would be interesting for a child less than two years old? My daughter really digs animals, but I don't know if she could make a full day of it or not.

And, of course, you've got the Everglades nearby, too. One thing I haven't done in a long time is a bicycle tour of Shark Valley (deceptively named: you won't see sharks). You basically ride along a 15-mile paved path through the Everglades. It is lovely. One warning (and it's a big one): if there's an actual alligator in your path, you miiiiight want to just wait until it decides it's good and ready to move. Or you might just want to turn back. They usually stay away from the path, though. I have never heard of an alligator attack incident in Shark Valley, and I've been here nine years. It pretty much doesn't happen. But you do end up seeing them from a couple of hundred yeards, and I once saw one sprinting (not toward me), which was a real hoot.

We've got alligators here too, and they don't seem to attack people at the parks here either. I've seen them from about ten feet away with no problems, although if there was one big enough for me to fit in it's mouth I wouldn't get that close.

Hmm. I was going to direct you to the famous "Calle Ocho," but after that, I honestly wouldn't know what to tell you. I don't eat much in Miami.

While we prefer not to eat fried foods, I know that we have to make some exceptions. We're not in Miami every day, and the Cuban restaurants in Houston are not that great, or are just Tex-Mex with a few Cuban-like dishes.

Three, three-and-a-half or so. And that last leg seems endless. But there's fun to be had along the way. Stop off at Pennekamp State Park, the original Tiki Bar, or the Islamorada (pronounced "eye-la-more-ah-da") Fish Company for fun, drink and food (in that order). You may also want to pay us a visit in Fort Lauderdale: we've got a fun little science museum kids love, a family-friendly beach and a nice shopping strip on Las Olas Blvd. Speaking of shopping, be sure to check out the mammoth Sawgrass Mills Mall and, for bargains, the Swap Shop.

That sounds good. It seems like it would just be a great place to drive around in, especially when things cool down like they should be by the time if the year we'll be there.

Hope so. Look me up while you're here. We'll grab foodstuffs.

I will send you details when the date gets closer, and arrangements are finalized for the travel.

I owe a few friends down that way a visit - depending on the week-end, I might be able to swing down and meet up with you and Raf and the families for some foodstuffs. :)

Raf is the expert on the area, though, so I'll leave all advice up to him.

That sounds good. Like I told Raf, I'll send a PM once the date is closer. :-)

There's great hotels, food, night life (for the adults), and wonderful beaches.

If you want to drive north, there's also Cape Canaveral and the possibility of a shuttle launch, Epcot Center is great for adults and of course there's Disney World, Bush Gardens is nearby, and the beaches on the gulf side are picture perfect.

Joe's Stone Crab is a landmark very popular restaurant, and make sure you eat some Grouper while you're in Florida, very good fish. There's so many good cuban cafes and restaurants all over Miami, a good old, popular one to go to is Versailles, they even have a walk up coffee window, another one is the Little Havana restaurant. Search the web, local miami blogs etc for good tips.

Here's a link for some good restaurant picks: http://cuban-food-usa.com/miami-key.html

Have a good trip, bring your umbrella!

Thanks for the information. We'll probably give your restaurant suggestions a try. The link you provided also is great, and I read some of the articles and they were very informative. One question though. I know it's not a Cuban food, but are there any places to get good, fresh ceviche in Miami? If you haven't heard of it, it's basically the latin American version of sushi. It's raw fish that has chemically cooked in lime juice for an hour or so. There aren't a lot of good places here in Houston, and gulf seafood around here is pretty terrible and full of poisons/chemicals due to all the factories.

We are definitely looking forward to this trip, and if there is a shuttle launch the days we are there, I'll want to see that.

Oh, and as far as umbrellas are concerned, I'm used to hot, muggy weather with instant random rain showers.

Don't use a Blackberry unless your employer provides it. They're not as good as the iPhone or most Windows Mobile based phones (such as the Samsung Blackjack or any of the HTC phones.) I use Windows Mobile, although it's the $50 (HTC) T-Mobile Shadow, so it isn't bulky like the others.

Dont get me wrong, Jesus said some great things but I wouldnt argue over bible inerrancy anymore than I would the inerrancy of The Four Tops.

So in your opinion, Jesus is just alright?

I just found out that I'll be taking a business trip to Miami in October. I don't know if any of you live there, but I assume at least some of you have been there, unlike me.

So basically, here's my question. What is there to do in Miami? My wife and daughter will be coming along, so it has to be family friendly (unless we can get someone in my wife's family to come along to babysit.) We're interested in typical tourist stuff, as well as good restaurants. We'd like to eat authentic Cuban food, although not too greasy if possible since we're not used to eating fried foods anymore.

Also, I'm considering taking a few days to a week off outside of the business trip. My thought was to drive down the keys in a rental car and stay in Key West for a day or two, then drive back. Has anyone tried this, and if so, what should we visit, and what should we avoid? Does it really take three hours to drive from Miami to Key West like Mapquest says?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

All of this shouldn't be rocket science. We're all human beings, and should know how to deal with each other appropriately.

There are people here who have said that VPW raped them. Now I don't know about where all of you are from, but at least where I am from when someone says that they were raped, you don't start telling them that they remembered it wrong, or that they're lying, or whatever. Unless someone says a specific lie that you have proof they are wrong, you should give them the benefit of the doubt on that topic. Likewise, since you know VPW and LCM are thought of poorly by the majority of people on this site, you should use tact in defending him. I don't think we should completely prohibit defending him at all, but those that want to do so should be careful about how they do it. This is, obviously, intended to be read by the VPW supporters.

For the rest of you, remember that the TWI supporters are human beings too. At one point, you would have been in their shoes defending VPW, LCM, TWI, or any of their doctrines. The fact is, they are here, and we have an opportunity to show them what we know. Don't view it as an us vs. them situation, but rather a chance for us to help people who have been made mentally ill from being in TWI. Be nice to them, at least until they are belligerent.

Look at this Rapture prank

Did you mean this one? If so, it was pretty hilarious.

I heard part of a pretty good little piece on American the other day. I have tried to look for it on YouTube, but since I was working and only caught part of it I don't know who did it. The only thing I do know is that it was a fairly recent recording by a Canadian man. I don't know if he was a celebrity or not.

This sounds familiar, and I think it's sort of an urban legend that goes around every 4th of July.

In it he mentioned that America sends aid all over the world - quickly - yet doesn't receive even an offer to help by other nations when a disaster hits here at home. He cited the Tsunami a few years back and contrasted it to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Actually this isn't completely true. I think we can be proud that we do help others around the world (although we give far less per capita than most other first world nations), but during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the world did send aid. I remember there was controversy here in the political forum when the Mexican military came up to the U.S. and helped. In fact, Castro even offered to send some of Cuba's world renowned doctors to help, which was rejected.

In any case, I hate to nitpick too much, but I prefer to see our nation in it's great beauty as well as it's ugliness. It makes it more complete of a picture to see both sides.

We supposedly moved into a service economy ... but I'm not sure just what that means. We can offer banking and technology, but that gets learned fairly quickly ... China doesn't seem to respect intellectual property anyway.

For some reason, a "service economy" sounds a bit like a euphemism for prostitution.

As it is now, you aren't supposed to use the CFL's in sockets with a dimmer switch, so I suppose they will have to figure that out. I'm not sure what the law says about Christmas lights and a thousand other different types.

They make some that you can, and any new Xmas lights are LEDs anyway, which are also far superior to the CFLs to begin with, but too expensive to replace standard light bulbs yet. I love my LED christmas lights though, and hope to keep them for years.