Lady_Rin

I saw that, "Tongue in cheek". I didn't do it by myself I had a lot of help and it took a long time. [quote name='Baron Samedi'] I'd assume that most people would be aware of the effect society has on them.[/quote] I would like to be able to agree with you but I don't think that is the case. In the last few years city-zens have moved here; these new families though they live here don't really participate in the community. Their children are ill mannered and run wild with little if any guidance from their parents. Their parents are totally unaware or don't seem to care about what is happening to their children or what they are doing. This has had a negative effect at local schools. I have never seen a city-zen parent at any school function or community event. They don't even come to the Alamo which is the main place to socialize here. I could go on and on however I think I made my point. [QUOTE=Lady Rin][SIZE=1] Approximately 1/2-2/3 will stand when a lady walks into a room. local schools now teach manners and etiquette in the classroom. Most have stopped wearing hats indoors, even in restaraunts. Many hold doors open for the elderly and women/girls. You don't hear anyone calling women/girls "'Hoes and b____hes... [/SIZE][/QUOTE] Those that don't are invairably the the children of the city-zens. There are two city-zen families on our road with teens. Ky doesn't want anything to do with them. He told on of them, a boy his age, if he ever came on our property again he was going to take him into Pinto Basin and leave him there. Pinto Basin pre-historically is where Pinto Man was discovered. He lived there 9000 years ago when it was a shallow lake. It is the most inhospitible piece of real estate within 100 miles of here. Being told your are going to Pinto Basin when said seriously means you not liked and don't belong here. The local families on our road have tried to make friends and welcome them yet are rebuffed everytime. A child cannot be raised by the village if the parents won't take the responsibility to be part of the village.

[QUOTE], I really don't approve of people unnecessarily providing information on weapons here at[/QUOTE] I can understand that James, and you can be assured that Ranger will be admoinished for what I also consider a less that acceptable post. Unfortunately firearms are fact of life. As we discussed I do not approve of them, yet from Rangers point of view, if more people knew about firearms then perhaps there would be fewer gun accidents. A few weeks ago there was a story from the low desert about a 14 year old accidently shooting his sister. He is being charged for her death. This is something else that has been increasingly in the news, the death of a sibling through the improper handling of firearms. My children started shooting at eight, so have many of their friends. I watch them carefully when they handle firearms. All of them, without exception, check to see if the breech is clear as soon as they pick up a weapon and before they lay it down. It's automatic; since this is what they have been taught from that very first shot at eight years old. There are few gun accidents here, they always occur among the children of the city-zens who are now moving into this area and papa buys a gun for some reason. There has never been a gun accident among the local children. I agree with Ranger and other gun proponents that gun safety should be mandatory. Whether you own one or not. Whether you like them or not. If you don't know how to check to see if it is empty and safe... [center] [color=red] [SIZE=6]Leave it alone![/size][/color][/center] There is another thing Ranger bangs people with very hard, so I am going to do it to you. [FONT=Tahoma] [size=2] [COLOR=Red]There is no such thing as an unloaded gun.[/color] Even if you just checked it, there is still no such thing as an unloaded gun. Most gun accidents occur from someone who says "I didn't know it was loaded". Of course it was; know why?[/size] [center] [COLOR=Red][size=5]There is no such thing as an unloaded gun[/size].[/COLOR] [/font][/center] A firearms safety course gives you the knowledge you need to check to see if a weapon is clear. Contact your police dept for course information. Can I hit you with it again. I am going to hit you with it again until you learn. [center] [COLOR=Red][size=5]There is no such thing as an unloaded gun[/size].[/COLOR] [/center]

[QUOTE= Baron Samedi]I still can't see that you're 'saying' anything. ... how a phrase touched you[/QUOTE] I does say something, it says that raising a child whether 1 or 100 is the responsibility of everyone who touchs that childs life, it works. Here's a good example; Ranger is talking about a another forum I belong to and the apparent effect I have had there. [QUOTE=Ranger - Nov, 16?] ...The use of "coarse language" has diminished and Rin stomps you of you don't show some manners. Am I right? When she shows up some place here (at home) where there are kids gathering, even the HS kids say "Good Evening, Miss Rin". ... She insists that all the children here have manners and has infected the local schools with it starting back when our kids were in kindergarten when she was a volunteer. She never let it go and mostly it worked. at least when the kids here are in public.[/quote] I have children in high school (15 & 18) that's your age. I have watched and help raise many of them. What kind of effect have I had (I had to think about this, Ranger and Wendy gave me some of the answers) This is in addition to what Ranger said. Approximately 1/2-2/3 will stand when a lady walks into a room. All of them stand when a teacher walks into a classroom because the local schools now teach manners and etiquette in the classroom. Most have stopped wearing hats indoors, even in restaraunts. Many hold doors open for the elderly and women/girls. You don't hear anyone calling women/girls "'Hoes and b____hes like you hear on TV and radio. That is totally disgusting. The first time Ky said it I washed his mouth out with soap. Many of the boys, the tough kids or homies as Ky calls them no longer where their pants with their underwear showing. The HS has re-instituted detention as discipline and that seems to work. Zero tolerence, a program and atittude that dosen't work, has been replace with working off the offense around the school and other help to the community. Tagging has drooped off. Most important, it seems that there is more respect and tolerence here than in other places. Do I need to go on? "It takes a village to raise a child". That says volumes in itself.

Chi is a focus for our energy. Energy is measured in joules and the human body carries an electrical charge of between 6.000 and 30,000 volt. The nervous system is a network of synapses that carry electrical signals from one point to another in the body. My questions is how do you define what chi is or does. After reading the entire thread I now have questions. Is chi a focal point for your being or the energy that is that being? Ranger has something the military call situational awarness. He always seems to know what's going on around him. I've watched this for years. He seems to hear and see everything. He knows when to act or react and when to ignore something. He has an uncanny ability to avoid traffic accidents with all of the toursits that drive here in an area with a very high accident rate. When we go flying he knows where every plane is weather he can see it or not even if his last update was ten minutes ago. He's never startled, never jumps or panics. He says it's focus and situational awarness then shrugs it off. Chi (not a chobits)? Your aura, chi, tao, energy does exist, it is part of Gaia the earth and you can't separate from it. Some people can focus it extremely sharp, like Ranger and aren't even aware of it. They may not even know what it is that gives them that abiltity or how to use on command. I think that Ranger and I may have short circuited that energy once in N. Wales at a set of faerie rings in County Canaerveon(sp). Stone rings like those and at Stonhenge have great power and are focal points for energy. Ranger says there are many such points here in the desert and has taken me to a few. He's right, Pinto Basin is such a place. Incredible power in the middle of nowhere. I still don't understand it. It is there, and it does work.

Most of you have the idea. It means raising a child is the responsibility of everyone. At one time it did mean a village of extended families. We find that in the Indian history here. Today it is no longer an group of extended families but it does take the community, the school diistrict, emergency servces, shopkeepers, ranchers, rangers and even the bikers have a share in the responsibility. In this particular case I think it means the family of extended friends who help as well. I just had another thought. Since we are surrounded by the military here, are they part of our village? We certaintly help them a lot. In the last year and a half we have sent 500 mil spec body armour vests to Iraq, 1000 care packages, hundreds and hundreds of letters. We are helping their families with repairs to their homes, food anything we can do. Did you know that the average American trooper up the rank of major lives well below the poverty level? :flaming: :angry2: [COLOR=Red]What are you doing for our troops?[/COLOR] I send a care package to deployed troops every month. It cost me about $200 personally. Yes, they [i] are[/i] a part of our village which now stretches into unfriendly places yet they are still part of our village. [COLOR=Red]So just [i] what[/i], are [b][i]you[/i][/b] doing for our troops? [/COLOR] [COLOR=darkRed] Even if you don't believe in the war; What are [b][i]you[/i][/b] doing for your brother/sisters, friends, classmates, and neighbors?[/COLOR] Of the permenant party marines stationed at the base here 35 are not coming home to mothers/fathers, wives, lovers and their children. [COLOR=dodgerblue]So [i]what are you doing[/i] for our troops?[/COLOR]

Heero Darkangel have you read the thread in firearms? Taking a life is abhorrent to me. I have always thought I couldn't do it even to save myself. However after recent discussion on this forum and talking to Ranger I am no longer sure what I would do. I have certainly given it more thought recently than I have in the past. [quote=Ranger] you have been told by Rin what I would do; do not hesitate and blow him in half. Your life is at stake here so kill them all. I defend my self with Lama Omni .45 auto pistol loaded with Hydroshocks and I don't miss; so if you get hit anywhere your going down permantly. Incapaciting someone is Bravo Sierra. If you are attacked and in fear of your life you have the [B]legal and moral[/B] right to defend yourself with lethal force. That may be how she is being charged. excess force. If she had killed them all and then said I was afraid for my life more than likely show she would have been cut loose. If you go to a fight don't bring a knife, bring a gun. [/quote] He can be so charming in the morning.

DarkSerena: [color=royalblue]I believe love is something that shouldn't be used loosely. There are different kinds of love. There's romantic love, brotherly love, and the kind of love/respect you have for your parents/mentors, etc.[/color] [color=deeppink] Love either is or isn't you can't quantify it. [size=1] haven't we been here before?[/size][/color] DarkSerena: [color=royalblue] The only thing that all this shares is selfless concern/meekness for others. Not just pleasing them BECAUSE you love them, but also because you're willing to, without really expecting anything in return.[/color] [color=deeppink] Absolutely 100% correct. A hug and kiss for Dark Serena. [/color] [color=royalblue] I'm kind, not a pushover. I'm forgiving, and generous. I hate it when people see these things and use them for their own benefit.[/color] Dark Serena: [color=royalblue] Oh, there's free hugs?! That's odd--I'm not used to getting any, lol. *nabs one* X3 Oh, yeah...*gives a bunch to random members in turn*[/color] [color=deeppink] You may have as many as you want. I can fill you with kisses too. *proceeds to do so until they fall on the ground* Here take these and put them in your pocket and when you need one you have it.[/color]

ChibiHorsewoman is absolutely correct. Here's your hug for today and a star that glows in the dark as stars should.

I have dinner to play with this. Do you know why there is a separation of church and state? Even being English I took the time to learn why after the dabacle over the words "under god" in the American Pledge of Allegance a few years ago. Two words that someone thought were improper for his daughter to say so he sued the government to have it remove from the pledge. After all of this it actually turned out to be nothing more than a bid for publicity by the girls father in a hotly contested divorce. Yet it drew the entire country into an argument over nothing. You know my beliefs. What is wrong with" under God" being in the Pledge of allegence(sp). The purpose behind the separation of church and state is so that the church cannot have an undue influence on or control over the the government. A good example is the Spanish Inquisiton. The church told the state what to do. People who argue over the words "under God" and "In God we trust" orfor the removal of the Ten Commandents from a courthouse lobby should be sent back to school to learn about it what separation of church and state really means. Given to me many years ago was a scroll now framed and on a wall. It's not old or anything special yet the subject matter is telling. It shows the Ten Commandents for several religions. While they are the same fundamentally there are differences in each in the way some of the individual commandments are written. "Thou shall not kil"l instead of" thou shalt not murder", there is a definite difference between killing and murder. This is what the argument is about. Not separation of church and state but who says what in the non-secular world where fundamental beliefs tend to run rampant. Unfortunatley for the world that fundamentalism infects King George IV. If you want to read the original text of the Ten Commandents look in the Torah, the holy scrolls of the Jewsih people. That's where it all started with Moses [size=1]Played by Charlton Heston with Yul Brynner(sp) as the Pharoe Rameses II[/size] Befoer you argue church and state see what it says in the constitution. I think your going to be surprised. To further spur you on; how many of you have read either the Decalration of Independance or the Constitution of the United States? These are two of the most important documets in history and the most important documents of your country. They are akin to the Magna Carta and you should know about it before yo start an argument over semantics. .

I think I'm missing something. The deleted/edited posts sort of lose the trail/thread for me.and may have been relevant. Go back in time a to the turn of the 20th century and start looking at photos of the women of that time. Look at Jean Harlow, Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich. By todays standards, and I here this from Ky, they're fat, overweight, obese, not attractive? Take your choice. On the other hand we sit here watching some old movie from the 30s and Ranger will say about someone like Mary Pickford, Ruby Keeler or even Una Merkle, She's a hottie or some other comment that says he thinks they are very sexy. I have asked him if he could would he take any of them to bed? [size=1]Most women would get jealous being told this[/size] He said yes without a doubt. He has also said the same about women from the 40s while our son, Ky, says... you know.. too fat. When you get married you shall notice your husbands eyes wandering, Ranger does and he's not always looking at girls with tiny arses and big tits. [size=1]Lore, if you edit this I'm not going to be very happy. It is relevant and is art.[/size] I've watched other men, same thing. Nancy and Amy , sisters, are what your would call big girls. Amy dresses in tight clothes that make her look terrible. She does he get "hit" on, mostly by the bikers, costruction people and the marines. Amy is a UPS driver. Nancy on the other hand wears clothes that fit properly works in a doctors office and looks very attractive whenever I see her despite the fact she weighs about 150. You can ask her husband about that, they can't keep their hands off each other. Girls who are worried about your weight or appearence should be aware that being attrractive is a curse as w as it always attracts undue attention. Sometimes I think it's my curse to be attractive, I really do. I 'm petite, a B-cup and Ranger can pick me up since I weigh ~105. I am also 41, the mother of 3 and a new grandmother (six months, her name is Talia). Still I am the subject of catcalls from men/boys not only older but much younger than me and I am really tired of being grabbed and having my bottom felt by anyone with wandering hands when we go to the Alamo (local pub). I like to cosplay, that's the term used here, however I do it anytime I want, even at work. It's not the way anime cosplay is. I can wear school unforms, (one of them is from where my school) such as a skirt, bolero and blazer or a pretty sailor type dress, not the schoolgirl sailor uniform with midi blouse, and that makes other women in my office jealous of me. Then there are the geeky types where I work. We go into the field and I find them trying to look up my dress or down a blouse and the hands again even in a place where I get told if I hug someone it's sexual harrassment. My dept head, Mrs H, doesn't like the way I dress or appear at all, she also doesn't like my popularity, I'm just naturally friendly that's all. That may be one of the reasons I have not had a promotion in three years and my raises have been minimal. BTW. Mrs H is a good looking women. *thought* and that may be the reason. She's a woman and I'm a girl. Amy's a woman and Nancy's a girl. Laura (a hottie according to my son) is a woman and Wendy is a girl. I just realized; of these women/girls, married or not, attractive or not, overweight, big boned or not, the "girls" are the ones approached by men. Ranger has been reading this as I write it and he agrees. He says, "Men would rather hit on girls than women". That is something that has never occured to me. If you feel you're unattrractive do something about it. Lose weight, if you can't do that try clothes, a new hairs style, a change in your makeup. Watch the makeover shows. Instead of buying a new DVD work spend it on what makes you attractive. Try to do what I and my friends do. [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue][CENTER]Be a girl! Use that "gurl" power I see everywhere. [size=1]I don' like the spelling[/size] and remember... [COLOR=deepPink]Lady Rin may not always be a lady, however she is always a girl.[/COLOR] [/CENTER] [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] This took too long and have to go to work. Ta

[quote=Adahn] ...it was just that there wasn't much of a community to begin with.[/quote] I didn't say it was original and many people may have never heard it. On the other hand; that is the point. Adahn understands; do you now see what I'm trying to say?

[quote name='Adahn'] I have one thing to say to all of you. Love is not so predictable that you can be sure of finding it while you're looking for it. It is possible that love will find you. If it does, don't push it away because you think you're too young. True love is ageless.[/quote] He can be taught, Adahn finally gets his gold star and a big hug and kiss. .

I think it's time I started a thread to see where it goes. Today we went to nonsecular naming and blessing of baby Ella brought into this world by my friends Elise and Andre. I think they are similar to Christain Scientists or a new age sect. That doesn't matter. Their spiritual advisor Lisa performed a beautiful ceremony as the sun went behind the western mountains (about 4:00). Ella was annointed with rose oil from a single white rose symbolising purity and innocence. During Lisa's sermon(?) not the right word but it'll have to do, she said something I though was quite wonderful especially considering that we are a small community for the most part and those of us who were there are very close friends. What she said not only had a special meaning it was also very simple. It takes a village to raise a child. It takes the community to teach love, compassion and acceptance. That's all she needed to say. [IMG]http://img14.photobucket.com/albums/v43/desertranger/kisses.gif[/IMG] Goodnight, it's time I made dinner.

Does love of that kind have to be for one person only? Can't love be shared? Do yo walk up to your friends and go" hug hug kiss kiss". The upscale set are good at doing that, "Hi, luv you too!". I try very hard not to do anything I don't mean. If I hug you or give you a kiss I mean it. Most of what I write here is about compassion and love for others. Sometimes I get written up for it at work because I gave a hug to someone and someone else (Mrs H the dept head) interprets it as sexual harassment. I have only been here a short time. I find some of you stuckl in the mud and others freewheeling but I have some fondness for all of you. So this hug is for all of you, I have a whle bag of them and taake as many as you like. And please share them with others. [center] [COLOR=DarkOrchid][FONT=Lucida calligraphy][SIZE=4]Lady Rins Bag O' Hugs[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/center] .

I think you should all replace the word "religion" with "belief". "Religion is like a crutch, it's only good for as long as you need it. - George Carlin (?)

Appearence is more than you think. It is not weight or looks that is the problem. It is one of how you present yourself to another in a manner that says expresses credibility, "you may have confidence that what I say is true". Anyone visiting the desert believes everything Ranger says. [b]Statement:[/b]Water from a barrel cactus is suitable for survival. T/F [size=1] Make a choice, the answer is at the bottom. Think about what you might know about barrel cactus from TV, books, movies, school. No cheating and no googling the answer.[/size] If you are talking or listening to Ranger in uniform you would accept that statement, even if it's the red t-shirt of a Desert Adventure guide you would accept that as fact. The uniforms and the word guide says credibility, even though that may not be the case. Would you accept the same statement then if Ranger was a wearing a purple Tinkerbell t-shirt, even knowing he was a guide of some kind? It would at the very least certaintly colour your thought and maybe raise a question or two about what he is saying. Always look and do your best. I wish I could get Ranger too. Now the answer to the above statement. What was your choice? True or False. The answer is false. While a barrel cactus (ferrocacti) can hold as much as 15 gallons of water, the water can cause death very quicky. The water is usually very alkaline or filled with Oxalic acid. Even a healthy person drinking the water may get very sick, spewing chunks and so forth. There is one species that does have potable water. Rangers never seen one.

People do care, see the thread I started. Balance is reachabl,e keeping it is the problem, ask Ranger; he could write an encyclopedia on the subject.

Lore and Azurewolf may go to the haead of the class today. Chaos is more a natural occurrence than something concieved artificially; hence the law of entropy. - Azurewolfe The dinosaurs didn't survive. I think that can be considered permanent irrepairable damage. Something else took it's place. The los of fossil fuels will be considered permanent irrepairable damage. Waht will thake it's place? Adahn, Ranger says next time don't move as much, an apple at 1000 yards is a difficult shot at best.

[quote name='Zeta']I am curious as to why you won't shoot? What if you are the only one there and Ranger isn't? You would have to shoot otherwise you will be dead. Sorry, I just don't understand why you won't protect yourself when you have every right to.[/quote] That's a good question and we have talked about it for 20 years. I don't know and I'm not the only one who feels that way, I have friends who do as well. I honestly don't know if I could take a human life. I certaintly can't kill and animal even one that's suffering. I know that I could shoot and probably hit an intruder but the actual taking of a life is abhorrent to me. I asked Ranger about wounding a bad guy or as discussed earlie or using martial arts to disarm someone. That answer is always the same, even when I think about it. Someone has to die. I just don't know if I can do it.

Sara I gave you lots of hugs. [quote=Adahn] I am apt to change my acutal opinion alot ...and am not so fond of settling on one thing or another. I can and will argue both sides of topics other people are passionate about. The reason for this is that most things I argue about aren't really that important to me. [/quote] King George IV would call that flip flopping. I think I am beggining to understand the broader scope of your posts and questions. Many people who meet me at first think I'm a bit ecentric because of my lifestyle, behavior and beliefs. Over time as they become friends and aquaintences they ask, "How do you it and how can I be more like you?" I have actually come to loath that question and am amazed how often I here it from people my age,especiall the upscale set, like Todd and Laura down the road. In reality there is a simple answer. In practice the results are difficult to obtain. It is obviously not based on material wealth. It is based on completeness. If I understand/interpret Adahns' writings correctly he is searching for that answer. I also think Adahn knows the answer, yet fears to acknowledge it for some reason, possibly because of what it takes to reach the goals that answer provides. We have actually been talking about this for several days across many different threads. If you go back and look carefully you shall find a cord made of these threads. It's like climbing the hill to enlightenment and I am by no means enlightened. The answer you seek is one of [b] balance[/b]. That is all. It is by it's nature a very difficult to achieve. We have, all eight of us, acheved some sort of balance together. It's not perfect and it does teeter totter. Occasionally someone falls off, Ranger more than the others. The doctors call it PTSD mixed in with a healthy dose of ADDHD. The rest us are here to help him back on. I'm curious, am I close at least? *hug and kiss*

[FONT=Comic Sans MS] [COLOR=hotpink] Adahn, I aoplogise about shooting the apple off your head. last night. I hope it didn't graze your scalp. LOL because it did seem to scramble your thought processes for a bit. LOLX2 Let me kiss it and make it better.[/color] [quote=Adahn] Nature, however, is not chaotic. Nature is balance.[/quote] [COLOR=dodgerblue] Nature is in balance, all the way up the food chain. The little eat the big. And then the earth shakes and volcanos erupt. For apparently no reason the alpaha male in a herd, pack, etc suddenly turns and attacks another member; why? In a hive a second born queen is given time to leave. Any that stay are hunted down. Water flows downhill, yet you can't step on the same piece of water twice even in a still pool. That's chaos. There is balance in chaos.[/COLOR] [quote=Adahn] Whenever man attempts to control nature, the result is simple and decisive. Nature wins. We may do very little damage in terms of the planet as a biosphere...[/quote] [COLOR=dodgerblue] Not really. East of Joshua Tree National Park is the Eagle Mt. open pit iron mine that: is in the middle of an endangered species habitat, the Desert Tortise. is on the edge of a wilderness area to the north and west. and sits on top of an aquifier and a fault zone along the San Andreas fault. (1) The city of Los Angeles wants to use this mine as a landfill and make it the worlds largest garbage dump. For 200 years they want to dump the refuse and detritus of a city 150 miles away into an area where nothing deteriorates. {Sidebar: There are skeletons of trees standing here that are over 100 years old. If you would like more info pleaseask } the result of this invasion will destroy that part of the desert. (2) Hoover dam on the Colorado river was completed in 1936(?), almost 60 years ago. The concrete poured then is still curing and will not finish curing for another 50 years. The dam itself strides Black Canyon where the force of water and gravity hold it in place controlling the Colorado. Other dams along the river include, Glenn Canyon, Davis and Parker. This actually caused the Colorad River delta that to flowed into the Sea of Cortez to dry up and changed the ecology all along the river by eliminating the silt deposits needed by plants and animals to keep the river in "balance" The dams are expect to stand for thousands of years. Much of that water is being wasted in watering lawns in the low desert cities.[/color] [COLOR=red]Who wins? [/color] [Quote=Adahn] We may do very little damage in terms of the planet as a biosphere.[/quote] [COLOR=dodgerblue] I know a few people who say that. Yet we do make irrepairable damage to the environment. Very dramatic changes. Clear cutting a rain forest changes global weather patterns. Developing a desert uses valuable resourses that takes tens of thousands of years to replace. Man raises global temps without even thinking about it. You contribute as well and not by emmisions from planes, trains and automobiles [size=1]esotric reference[/size]. It is done by pumping heat into the atmosphere. Every thing we do that uses energy only utilizes a portion of that energy to do it's function with heat given off as a waste product. A light bulb uses 30% of its' available energy and the rest is heat. Fossil fuels; when they are used up they are gone. No more dinosaures to make it for us. POL is one of those things a civilazition needs to function. Without lubricants the world stops being civilized. There is a also a finite amount of water. Of all the water in the world ~2% is fresh. Of that ~1.5% is available for our use. The rest of it is ice. Anything you do is going to change the global ecology, from greenhouse gasses emmited from the back end of cows to waste heat from your TV, all of it goes into the atmsphere. The temps have to change, permanmently. Yes, nature does repair itself in many instances .Look at the area around mount St. Helens. It was desolate after it blew in 1982(?). Today there is a burgeoning forest there. Many mineral resources shall eventually return to the earth as scrap heaps become mines from the deterioation of steel. On the other hand finite materials like fossil fuels, rain forests, and many animal species are forever gone from this planet.[/color] [COLOR=red]Who's winning now?[/color] [quote=The Free dictionary.com] 6:31 AM 11/14/2004 [SIZE=1][COLOR=deeppink] In mathematics and physics, chaos theory deals with the behaviour of certain nonlinear dynamical systems that (under certain conditions) exhibit the phenomenon known as chaos, most famously characterised by sensitivity to initial conditions (see butterfly effect). Examples of such systems include the atmosphere, the solar system, plate tectonics, turbulent fluids, economies, and population growth. [/color] [URL=http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Chaos%20theory][COLOR=dodgerblue] For more information on chaos theory click here[/COLOR][/URL] ][/SIZE][/quote] [COLOR=darkorchid] [size=1]Lady Rin read degrees for Art and Geology and works for the USGS. Desert Ranger read degrees in engeering and geology. Some of the above materials were taken from papers written in school reading for our geology degrees.[/size][/color] [/font]

Ben I'm going to kiss you. Man lives in an extremely organised enivornment of his own making. Nature abounds in chaos Let's try this. Adahn, please be a dear stand over there and put this apple on your head. Now [URL=http://home.earthlink.net/~frogstar/50calrifle.html] [color=deeppink][/color][/URL] If this event had been ruled by chaos that shot would have gone through your heart instead of through the apple. That shot was predictable. Ranger if you would please. *Standing 25 yards from the target Ranger fast draws his Lama Omni automatic pistol and fires three fast shots* Look at the target. All three shots dead center and overlapping by at least 30%. Adahn, now it's your turn. *Adahn takes the Lama and also fires three fast shots*. Now look at the target. All three rounds are in the seven ring, that's OK, takes practice with an unfamiliar gun, but look! All three shots are overlapping by the same amont as before. That's predicatability, the Lama always shoots that way no matter who holds it. It is the design of the Lama that makes it so, not the person shooting it. Three fast shots from a Lama Omni will always overlap, even in the hands of a novice. Where's the chaos in that? I'm going to bed. Goodnight *cheerfully*

I see christians, an atheist, an agnostic and Kanojo. Ka-no-ho? I am Church of England (christains), my husband jewish. My children have been raised Jewish as I practice Judaism although I have never officially converted, I don't think I need the blessing of a rabbi to tell me if I'm jewish or not or what my beliefs should be. My husband also believes in the Earth Spirits and the things he learned from the Indians where he grew up. Gaia, mother earth and her children air, fire, and water and the spirit ancestors. He believes in the Tibetan wheel of life, Taoism, Zen and others while keeping his faith in being a Jew. He also believes in the Indian spirits that inhabit the desert and tells interesting stories some of which I have verified, of what can happen in a place that is sacred to a people and when you disturb that sanctity. As a child I sought refuge in the Celts and those beliefs which included faeries and faerie rings and all that they encompass including the danger if you tread on their sanctity. I still believe and hold faith in that as well as believing in God. As a rule christains, especially cathlolics, are stuck in a dogamatism that precludes consideration of any of the above and a suspicion of other christain religions, lutherans, protestants, and all others that are not specific to them. Many of them teach intolerance to those outside of their own nonsecular world and unfortunately I also have to say the same of Jews and Muslims whose tolerance for outsiders is almost non-existant Before I got married I asked Ranger what he believed in and he told me of the earth and sky and how the people he grew up with taught him some of their way of life at the same time he went to Shabbis school on Sundays. He was open enough to accept what I spoke of earlier and somewhere along the line I asked him if he believed in what I had said,the Celts and the faeries as I did. His response was an emphatic no. I then asked him, and remember this was the naievete of a 20 year old girl talking to someone 17 years older, if I believe in what you have told me then why not hold a belief in faeries, the power of the stone rings and what I believe. He didn't really have an answer but did admit his answer was a bit closed minded. As we got to know each other I took him on a trip to show him Stonehenge and the rings at Aylesbury. On touching the blocks at both places he said that they held great power, the same kind of power he felt in the mountains of his home at a place called Tahquitz Canyon. We also went to North Wales for a weekend to see the Celtic ruins and rings there. One evening in Bangor N. Wales shortly before dark we parked by a faerie ring near the shore to explore. I didn't want to go, I've always known it's not good to be near a faerie ring after dark while Ranger insisted we go and have a look. After awhile he came to me and said something like; see nothing to be afraid of and took hold of me for a hug, maybe a kiss? Then something happened; and to this day I'm not exactly sure what it was. Certaintly nothing I had ever felt before. I suddenly felt as if we were physically being pulled apart then hot and flushed all over, that I being violated. I was terrifed and that was something I had never experienced before. Ranger grabbed me pulling me away from there and practically dragged me back to the car talking nonsense about; we didn't belong there, guns won't work, it was the wrong place like someplace near his home and that we had to leave at once. His hands were ice cold and he was scared, something even to this day I don't see except in his nightmares. As we got to the car he started to sing something I found later was called a Wyxla, a song of great power and magic used by by some Sonora Desert Indians for protection or against an enemy depending on how it's sung. We were still shaking when we went back to the hotel and to the bar for a drink. After we were married and had moved to his home he took me into a place called Tahquitz Canyon and told me the stories of the shaman named Taqeesh, the Eater of Souls. It is a beautiful place with a tall waterfall, Sycamore, oak and cottonwood trees. It is the only place in the desert where there is water and none of the palm trees found whereverelse there is wate in the desert. He told me the reason had to do with a good shaman named Maul who became the palm tree when he died giving back to the people the good he had recieved from them and that palms wouldn't grow in a place of evil. He told me others and about the Wyxla, how it protected some and injured others and the only other time in his life he ever sang a Wyxla was in that canyon when he was 16. It didn't take much to figure out this was the palce he had talked about the night we went to the faerie rings. So there it is a belief, not a religion but a belief in things that most people don't accept because they are "faerie tales". I believe, enough so that I take white ribbons each night and tie them to the wrists of my children and husband before I go to bed. Like Rangers Wyxla it protects. Now is this all Bravo Sierra as Ranger says? Do you believe it or is this just a faerie tale I made up? Which brings me back to the question I asked Ranger over 20 years ago; if I believe in what you have told me about your beliefs then why not hold a belief in faeries, the power of the stone rings and what I believe? From what I have read here about those who practice Wicca you should but I also expect disbelief since it is outside your personal experience, and that is a very stron teacher. It seems the only people who belive are people who have experienced. You people make me work too hard. Open your window tonight and wish on a star. Then leave a place in your garden for faeries to dance. .

Adahn, please PM me and tell me about yourself. [quote= from "The Quick and Alive Tourist Guide to the Desert" By D. Ranger] "Nature doesn't care about you. The animals don't care about you. All the animals want is to do is be like the surfers at the beach. Have somethng to eat, catch a few rays, get some sleep and chase the ladies."[/quote] Here we go again trying to quantify the unquantifiable. How close do you live to nature? Is it in your backyard? Do you see it everyday. It is here, it comes into my house. right now it's trantaula season and they are everywhere, including my kitchen. We could live in harmony with the Earth Spirits; without and any of the comforts of cvilization, the internet or hot water. Or you can do as we do here; adapt to nature and do your best to live within the ecology, that's possible too. That's the way we try to live here. I like my intenet and I love hot water. There is no classic argument of Law vs Nature. It's like a relationship, it is or it isn't. [IMG]http://img14.photobucket.com/albums/v43/desertranger/lol.gif[/IMG] Your argument has no grounds. Try again. Ben.. You get 10 pioints and a hug and kiss.

[quote="Freude"] You could always try disarming the one with the .45 with, let's say, judo. Pin him down, break a bone (preferably a vertebra) and take his gun.[/quote] a) If you know judo or some other art. b) How do you do that from across a room? [quote="Freude"] My answer: I won't shoot. I'll knock him unconscious with it.[/quote] Then we die together. Oh no, that's not true, Ranger's here. :laugh: If you try to take it away he'll shoot you. Best in that case is to surrender unless you prefer death. Even then he mght kill just to do it. They do that you know. [quote="DerelictDestiny"] What happens if Ranger isn't there to shoot the guy for you?[/quote] We talk about that. Where we live it's not a problem. We are separated by distance from the town and to get up here you would wake up every dog in an area where dogs are quiet at night. That in turn would wake up everybody in the area. I addition we are in the middle of a ranch and we have the absolute best security system the world. Dogs! By the time you get through the dogs, if you get through, Ranger's awake and armed. He always wakes totally alert. Frankly I think the chances of the house being invaded are little and none. That means I never have to lock the house. Together in public, depending on where we are, Ranger is usually armed, especially if we go to the city. He is always armed when we travel. In town here he doesn't carry. Even alone nobody here is gong to touch me, the "bad guys" here learned years ago to keep their filthy paws off of me. I feel safe here even when I do what you call cosplay, which is normal for me. I rarely leave town except to go to work or major shoppng. when I do that I go with friends, not so much for safety, it's a social thing. There is old adage that is suitable here though. Safety in numbers. Self defense in a case involving lethal force is a decision for the sheriff and the DAs office to decide. Yet you should know, most law enforcement officers say shoot to kill and if the body falls outside drag it in :laugh:, besides it saves hospital, court costs and keeps you from being sued. :laugh: Seriously, if the bad guy turns and tries to leave you have to cease fire and you may not reload when empty. Laws are very specific on that. Ranger has said that I might be able to do it if under enough duress, no one really knows untill it happens and the need arises. As I sit here in my mind I could not. Until you are actually in the situation you aren't going to know what you can or would do. Rangers has tried to explain it to me yet I can't grasp the concept. I truly do not like guns in my home. On the other hand they are here. The experts say, "Do not let the bad guys get into knife fighting range" and that means firearms". Even as a person who is morally against killing of any kind I see and know there is a purpose for them. More importantly I understand that purpose. What would happen to me if I was under attack and had a gun? I truly don't know. Enogh today.