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Just Chat! / Why should the free world tolerate socialism?

« on: 15/12/2018 18:40:15 »

the free world generally consists of democracies, republics, or constitutional monarchies.

these forms of governance are proven to be the most successful, in allowing free thought and opportunity for the people.

although these concepts are an anethema to socialism, they demonstrate the failings of socialism; and without such a clear example of a failing concept, those people of the free world might be tempted to vote in socialism (due to the allure of "free" benefits to the lazy and unproductive)

as such, socialism benefits the free world as a foil against a failed concept duping them into losing their individuality.

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Just Chat! / Why doesn't the USA elect a woman leader?

« on: 12/12/2018 19:30:26 »

Countries about the world have elected women to the highest political positions of governance.

Lady Thatcher, Theresa May, Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, and others less well known.

the best potential candidates currently in the US political arena are Hillary Clinton, Maxine Waters, Elizabeth "Pocahantas" Warren and Nancy Pelosi.

despite the freedom to vote by American women, men are always elected.

altho the USA has a large number of women supporting womens rights; no woman has come forth with the credentials necessary to win in a republic that has voted by constitutional amendment to allow women the right to vote.

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Just Chat! / What will happen if the US government shuts down?

« on: 11/12/2018 22:34:02 »

president Trump today again stated that he would shut down the US government if the house and senate did not approve his request for funding to complete the building of a wall at the US/Mexican border.

will the post office discontinue delivery of mail?
will the security forces at the southern border leave their posts?
will the driver license offices close?
will US citizens be unable to obtain pet licenses?
will dog catchers allow unlicensed dogs to run free, threatening people?
will the IRS cease pursuing tax evaders?
will all the services US citizens have come to rely upon suddenly cease to be available?

let us suppose the worst...that our elected officials do not come in to work; and are unable to continue their endless debates over who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys

suppose they all go home for a vacation (salaries will be continued to be paid, of course). no new laws will be passed, no new wars declared, and US citizens will be permitted to go to work and live their lives as usual.

personally, I hope funding for the wall is kept on hold forever; so long as all the government bureaucrats simply go away and leave us alone.

as Will Rogers said " thank god we don't all the government we pay for".

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Just Chat! / Has the PC movement gone too far?

« on: 10/12/2018 19:56:08 »

it is now politically incorrect to think that adults of either sex offer sexual opportunities to those younger, especially if the older is in a position of superiority over the younger.

my feeling is that it is wrong if the older male entices a younger person (either male or female) into a sexual situation. however, I believe it is proper for an older female to offer sexual favors to a younger person (especially if the younger person is a male...don't ask me "why"; this is my topic and that's the way I feel)

in some societies, primarily more primitive; older women were schooled/trained in the art of teaching young males in the art of love/sex. (again, don't bother asking my sources...this is my topic).

recently, there have been a number of reported instances of school teachers being brought to trial for "assault" of younger male students.

where were these female teachers when I was a young student?...I certainly could have used the expertise of that sort before I offered my fumbling attempts upon an unwitting female!

if i could, rather than bring these brave women into a court of law; i would give them a medal.

(where is #metoo in this...don't they have any opposition members willing to defend those women who believe that they have the right to use their positions to avail themselves of a bit of pleasure for themselves?)

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Physiology & Medicine / Do you have "anger issues"?

« on: 08/12/2018 17:36:23 »

I must admit, I do.

I could recite the occasions that have accumulated over my life time; and resulted in the feelings of anger that arise in me, going back to my childhood.

I choose to not allow myself the indulgence to blame others, but rather to accept my feelings as being those of my own difficulty in self-control.

when I feel the sense of anger rising, I find my best response is to either walk away from the person or situation bringing on my anger response; or reply to the occasion with humor.

fortunately, my self-defense has avoided me getting into any serious problems with the law etc.; and I continue to practice working on my issues.

my purpose of this topic, is to ask how any others deal with their personal angers.

6

Geek Speak / Why do some posted links "fail"?

« on: 04/12/2018 16:20:02 »

when I read an interesting article or see an interesting video, I copy and paste the link to the forum.

this usually works, but at times clicking on the link brings up a page containing more items than the specific one I posted.

a recent example is a humorous video on YouTube which I found by googling "woman with a nail in her head". for me, this brings up the title I am looking for, and when I click on it the video comes up.

however, if I copy the URL that is displayed in the http field and post it, that specific video does not appear.

do I have to modify the URL (shorten it, perhaps)?

edit: tried the copy/post once again, and this time it worked:

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=oKkGXIzgI4zSrgToqbjoBA&q=woman+with+a+nail+in+her+head&btnK=Google+Search&oq=woman+with+a+nail+in+her+head&gs_l=psy-ab.3..35i39.7311.17578..19643...10.0..0.415.7640.2-25j3j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....6..0j0i131j0i10j0i22i30.4tCrY1Fhh_Q

this problem has happened at other times as well, so i may have to come back for consil at a future date.

thank you

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Just Chat! / Should there be a "Universal Passport"?

« on: 30/11/2018 18:06:55 »

I have a passport, issued by the USA, that has always been accepted by countries I visit.

could there not be a similar kind of passport, issued by an organization of countries, such as the UN, that would be accepted by any other country?

this would negate the need for such things as "Green Cards" (as issued by the US). my daughter-in-law, a Canadian citizen, has lived in the US since marrying my son and bearing my grandson, for many years; however she can not obtain a US passport.

passports are generally accepted by border entry personal as proof of the character of the holder; and usually no further documentation is required. a "Universal Passport" would serve the same function, permitting the holder to enter any other country without delay.

further, a Universal Passport could eliminate the problems occurring around the world of immigrants being denied entry to any country. Universal Passports could, of course be denied to undesirable persons of bad character.

this entire process could be administrated by an office of the UN; and the cost of vetting and cost of issuance be shared in common with all other countries.

this solution may not only solve a world wide problem of criminals, smugglers and undocumented aliens crossing borders illegally, but remove the horrible conditions of many desperate people currently living in makeshift camps.

there would be, almost certainly, those who do not hold a valid Universal Passport; who attempt to enter a country illegally. methods of dealing with this problem could be dealt with mild forms of enforcement, such as detention and deportation, to the more extreme (as has been used in a number of socialist countries, by execution.)

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Just Chat! / Does "good" ultimately defeat "evil"?

« on: 26/11/2018 22:57:00 »

of course, first we must define "good" and "evil".

my thinking is that the concept of "good" and "evil" is irrelevant.

"might makes right" trumps (no pun intended) either. history appears to support my belief that might wins.

(altho I would like to be convinced that "good" is better than "evil" or even "might" in the battle)

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Just Chat! / Will Trump be re-elected?

« on: 26/11/2018 20:56:31 »

just for fun, since we have a few months to "rassle".

I am putting my money on T, mainly because the dems have no viable opposition candidate.

(ok...I know I am almost certainly going to be asked "why?" ...so my response (in the spirit of the thread) is:

because he may be an asshole; but he is OUR asshole )

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Just Chat! / Why has the concept of socialism failed?

« on: 25/11/2018 18:32:48 »

with the (possible) exception of China, why has socialism failed?

without going into the many attempts to create a successful socialist society; I would appreciate hearing from those who have studied the repeated failures.

please include specific examples of "why"; in order to educate any readers who may still be under the illusion that a viable form of socialist government is possible.

(and incessant and redundant demands of "why"; by those unable to understand the obvious)

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Just Chat! / Where is the UN in the current refugee crisis?

« on: 19/11/2018 20:32:08 »

refugees from South and Central America have flooded Mexico, and will soon be trapped at the USA border.

the UN receives money from countries around the word, but doesn't appear to actually offer much help.

why can't/doesn't the organization assist Mexico with tents, food supplies, medical assistance; and then further work with their membership to accept those refugees into their countries?

altho it was Mexico's folly to allow the invasion to cross it's border, it must now deal with the humanitarian issue...but why must it have to do this on it's own? isn't that the sort of problem the UN is being paid to address?

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Just Chat! / How can i measure the area/volume of a pool?

« on: 19/11/2018 17:33:03 »

if I were to say I sucked at math, I would still be bragging .

however given that, when my pool supplier asked me the volume of my pool, I couldn't tell him. I know the pool is oval, and I know the depth at the shallow end, and depth at the deep end.

so, I guess the question is: how does one measure the area of an oval? does Pi come in somehow?

(and curse the guy who invented Pi! why do circular shapes have to involve such a stupid number )

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Just Chat! / Do women actually have "Women's intuition"?

« on: 17/11/2018 19:18:25 »

as a poor student in the study of women, in addition to Dr. Freud's question of "what do women want?"; a secondary question has haunted me:

do women actually possess an intuitiveness that is greater than men?

my opinion is that they do not. I believe they simply throw out a great deal of verbiage, of which a certain percentage is eventually proven correct.

do any of the great minds herein have any evidence for or against the concept that women, in general, have some kind of wisdom that eludes men?

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Just Chat! / Do you lie to yourself?

« on: 15/11/2018 19:41:20 »

I am always aware of the temptation to lie to myself.
i can find many ways to explain the actions i take; i can justify them, excuse them, or even forgive myself.

i know that i have lied to my lawyer, doctor, wife and friends...but i try very hard not to lie to myself.
this requires a great deal of discipline, since it is so easy to self-deceive. question is: do you lie to yourself?

and if not, how do you manage that high degree of self control?

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Just Chat! / Will the #metoo movement dissuade men from hiring women?

« on: 13/11/2018 18:35:49 »

some male friends in business have told me they are now reluctant to hire women in fear of being unfairly accused of harassment at a later date.

will this caution on the part of male employers cause a negative result in the efforts of women to succeed in the business environment?

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / How toxic are some mushrooms?

« on: 06/11/2018 00:40:42 »

Can some types of poisonous mushrooms bring on almost immediate death?

also, how can one recognize the difference between edible and poisonous mushrooms?

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Just Chat! / What do women want?

« on: 05/11/2018 19:43:49 »

Sigmund Freud famously asked the question, but he didn't have an answer.

and, if Dr. Freud didn't know, how the hell are the rest of we males going to figure it out?

I invite any women out there to provide the answer to man's most frustrating question.

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Technology / Can a mechanical stock trade system work?

« on: 05/11/2018 17:49:09 »

I am specifying over a long period of trading.
I spent years developing a mechanical trading system, and another 15 or so actually day trading stocks.

after about 20 years in total, many thousands of dollars in equipment, and millions of dollars trading, I finally gave up when my gains had been reduced back to a break even point.

my problem seemed to be the randomness of the market; and no amount of optimization and back testing could overcome it. the final straw (perhaps coincidently)  came with high speed trading algorithms.

anyone involved in computerized mechanical trading systems?

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Physiology & Medicine / Do alcoholics have higher or lower IQs?

« on: 03/11/2018 16:23:59 »

overall, do alcoholics test over or under the norm?

there are/have been a number of people believed to be identified as alcoholics, who appear to be/have been of a high IQ.
still, many alcoholics (derelicts/homeless) appear to have lower IQs.

have any studies been made to determine if alcoholism has any relationship to IQ?...perhaps high IQ leading to alcohol abuse; or conversely alcohol abuse leading to a lower IQ?

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Chemistry / Do water and chlorine evaporate at the same rate?

« on: 02/11/2018 02:13:41 »

given a 50/50 mix of water and chlorine at 80 deg F.; does each evaporate at the same rate?