Allamorph

[quote name='chibi-master']I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be telling them. If I DO end up telling them, the story is going to be that I slipped going down the stairs and fell on my knee funny. I WILL NOT be taken out of Karate over a stupid little knee injury.:animeangr[/quote] [FONT=Arial]Have they threatened to remove you from it if you get injured? Do they have a history of reacting over-protectively to you getting a boo-boo? If so, then I understand. I just don't like to sacrifice straightforwardness on the [I]assumption[/I] that the worst reaction will be had. Heck, one of my good friends was hit on the head by a saber during a marching band practice session, grew a cyst at the point of impact, and had to have it surgically removed several weeks later because it wasn't diminishing. My father knocked a guy out cold in karate once, and they held sessions in a place with a concrete floor. (Fall down go [I]boom[/I].) He also had a record of falling out of every tree he climbed (he claims he never figured out how to climb down), so kids and semi-adults get beat up all the time so long as their butts are off the couch. I mean, I know [I]you[/I] know this. I'm just saying, so you (and your little sister) have something to point at for arguments.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]As indicated, the post is not complete at the moment. I will toss something here when it's updated. Until then, plan of action is basically reaction-mode, and time to take care of regular business to show that we do actually have to deal with it still. Bit of a break from the constant action, room for some more potential deep stuff, if you guys feel the need. Or just regular interactions, daily things, etc. Also, Christine is in Isen's personal area and It Is Not Appreciated. [B]Edit:[/B] And edited. Also, I cut out about a good third of what I saw because the damn thing was just getting fracking long. Cripes.[/FONT]

[quote name='Korey][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][Color="Navy"][SIZE=1] So what actually [b]does[/b] happen at band camp?[/SIZE][/Color'][/FONT][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Drill Downs. Last time I was in one, I held with one of the tubas up to tempos as high as 216 bpm, got bored, and took second. I figured the tuba deserved to win, since he was 1) a freshman who 2) kept pace with me. Not to sound arrogant. But I get kinda in a zone. [quote name='Affliction][FONT="Tahoma"']Allamorph you dog you, I had no idea you had become such the ladies man. ;)[/FONT][/quote] Trust me, it really makes things awkward sometimes. I'm especially potent around four- and five-year-old girls, who have no problems discarding their inhibitions to capitalise on leg rides and shoulder rides and all sorts of silliness. And to those of you whose minds went elsewhere, shame shame. I can't wait to have a daughter. :p [quote name='SunfallE][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][spoiler]fictional men that are older than you and not real [I]*is shot and maimed*[/I][/spoiler][/COLOR'][/FONT][/quote] [spoiler]As opposed to the fictional men who [I]are[/I] real. *coughblondecough*[/spoiler][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Nice try.[/FONT]

[quote name='chibi-master']YES! I knew you'd reply! My sister owes me $3.00!!! I knew I should've bet more...:animesigh Sorry for not having more faith in you, Allamorph!:animeswea[/quote] [FONT=Arial]It's not a legitimate bet unless your sister knows who I am. Shame on you for taking advantage of someone else like that. [COLOR=#EDEDED]You're supposed to take advantage of them in spite of their knowledge. Then they can't complain at you. =D[/COLOR][/FONT]

[quote name='chibi-master']Psh! I'd get annoyed, why shouldn't YOU?![/quote] [FONT=Arial]Because some of us prefer not to be reactionary. At this point I'd probably see about if I could get ahold of them and talk for a while, just to check in. That way I couldn't be accused of not making the effort, either. Everything is now peachy for going back to school. I went through a small frustrating hassle today, stemming from requesting the Financial Aid office to do something for me last Tuesday, bothering them again yesterday, and then talking to them today to find out that they want me to send them back their email that they apparently didn't know they sent to me (which I did yesterday) so they can get in writing what I want to do (which I gave them last Tuesday and yesterday both) and get my file going. Then I was irritated because the website the students use to pay for enrollment was being a bugger about letting me actually set up a payment schedule. Our school is great for engineering and amazing for music. But our administration has all the effective working power of a half-paralysed slug.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]I was going to buy a headset mic and Guild Wars today, but then I got to Wal-Mart and remembered how much it sucks. I mean, it's got a nice food thing and a massive and mostly unnecessary home furnishings department, but it also likes to hide and rearrange and remove its merchandise, so you can never get anything you want. I'll wait until I get back to campus. [I]*AAISHOO*[/I] [size=1]@_@[/size][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]I much prefer Mexican fried rice or rice cooked in ham gravy, myself. Buttered rice is just kind of boring. Needs stuff. Actually, white rice is [I]best[/I] with a good meaty chili on top. :animesmil[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]I wasn't aware that vinegar or chili sauce were considered Asian.... But I have yet to acquire a taste for soy.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Remember, kids, before you go start assuming everything has turned against you and abandoned what you love, talk to the guy at the top first. Often, the Why of a situation will help you understand the necessity of the What.[/FONT]

Right. But remember, I'm speaking from a general side standpoint there. Most of the resistance to the proposal comes from people looking solely at the Federal angle itself, instead of how it filters into the whole scene. Well. That, and our representatives not even having read it themselves while they attempt to sell it to us. That kind of hurts believability in my eyes, don't'cha know. There's a lot to be said for talking from the basics. Even if I run the risk of telling you something you already know, you at least tell me you already understand it and then I have that much more to go on; whereas if I start by assuming you know what's going on and it turns out you don't, we get stuck at loggerheads very quickly. I'm afraid that a lot of laypersons will argue this subject based on what they've heard from their politicians and from talk radio, and politicians and talk radio are going to be predominantly concerned with their main audience who in both cases are "supposed to" know the basic differences already. Audiences who agree with one side or the other will often use arguments they have heard others say without trying to understand any of the argument beyond the surface details. Additionally, you have to factor in the downside of relying on the media. Reading about or hearing or seeing a bunch of people discuss intelligently without much conflict is ultimately kind of boring, and it's impossible to spin to the station's or paper's own agenda�and unfortunately, every television and radio news station and every newspaper is going to have their own ideas on how topics should be presented. The people you are going to hear the most on talk radio and on the news are the people with clearly opposing viewpoints, and these people put in the same room are not likely to reconcile and talk so that other people can understand them. On television stations especially I expect it's common to have people on a show simply to make points instead of discuss them. Listen to any news station for longer than two hours and I guarantee you will hear slight variations of the exact same lines over and over again, and nothing new will be revealed. It seems to me, after observing that phenomenon on several occasions, that the people who are discussing aren't actually making their own arguments but are reciting prepared arguments without taking the time to think through them, aside from figuring out how to say them. I think the whole socialism kick is a byproduct of the entire recent election as well as the past sixteen years of white house residents, as (so far as I understand it, since I've been pretty ignorant of most large-scale workings until recently) our government system has drifted more and more towards a Federal-dominant system. That, and combine it with the Federal bailouts (which carry the potential implication of being on the Federal payroll), and the possibility that we may have a president who is not a natural born citizen (I make no statement one way or the other on that count, so all you reactionaries take it easy), and it becomes easy to see why a large number of people are beginning to get suspicious about the influx of socialism. I mean, it's quite obvious to me that our entire economic situation at the present, along with the healthcare situation, is a result of the capitalism system becoming corrupted and institutions that should be client-focused are now money-focused, and the primary reason for this decay is one that I'll get crucified for if I bring it up, hint hint, but the problem with socialism even looking like it's rearing its head is that with socialism comes corruption and easy power abuse. At least with corrupt businesses the people still have the government to fight for them, but when the government gets funky ain't nothing pretty. It is literally a DO NOT WANT reaction in that regard. I can't figure out how to end this post decently. So I'll just end it. End.

[FONT="Arial"][INDENT][I]I?ve threatened to call police before," she said. "But anyway this time, I thought he went too far so I called police and he's in jail now.?[/I][/INDENT] Far be it from me to defend the moron. But this little statement right here says to me "I don't deserve to be a parent". If your control over your children consists of threatening to call the police, someone should have called child services a decade ago on your lousy butt.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]It's called The Internet, Sam. People shorten all long names regardless of station. I find I am recommending Bichon Frises to many allergic people, despite not having one of my own [I]and[/I] despite me disliking tiny dogs. This latest rec was in part a precautionary measure for my old studio professor, since someone recommended a Shiba Inu (which we own and of which I am not entirely fond) and I didn't figure that breed would do well around his kid. Shibas are a social breed, too, but ridiculously willful and headstrong.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]My AdBlock Plus went nuts today. It's blocking any and all images a page requests to load, so it felt like I was browsing in Lynx for a while, there. I disabled it and everything works again, but now I see ads....bleh. What's the point of selectively blocking images if you can no longer be selective about it? :p[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Moderators can see both sender and intended recipient when someone is using the PM system. But regular members cannot. I don't actually hang on the Who's Online page anymore, come to think of it. Maybe 'cause I'm not at school....[/FONT]

Right. And even a system designed to eliminate any such flaws can be perfect in theory and flawed in implementation simply because of human nature. Hmm. I think what you mean is that people are acting paranoid about a Federal system because it's Federal. Which would be right. (I say this because as far as I understand, the current health insurance agencies are public companies. But that's semantics.) Our nation's history of policies has been a continual balancing act between power of the Central government and power of the Individual governments. Give too much power to the individuals and the union dissolves into petty squabbling. Give too much power to the central and the union strains and fractures under the dissent. About the only other concept I could compare us to would be the European Union in that it is composed of numerous autonomous countries who decided to band together. We here call ourselves one country, but really we are also fifty-odd separate countries gathered under the same banner, and the interests of those in Oregon are going to differ as wildly from those in Alabama as the interests of those in Britain will from those in the Czech Republic. (Speaking in an analogy, obviously.) So having a Federal system means constantly balancing it against the interests of everyone nationwide, and that's not an easy thing to do. So it becomes an issue of "yes, Big Government has the ability to do this a lot better and more fairly, but can they do it without everyone getting ticked off at everyone else", and that's where a lot of Republicans get their local/personal responsibility thing. Putting health insurance in the hands of the Federal government seems like it would do wonders towards getting the people what they need. But that's still a lot of power being given to them if it happens, and the sticking point is whether that power is too much.

[FONT=Arial]I actually disagree, James. I believe that the design of the current healthcare system is actually decent, but it's the [I]practice[/I], the [I]execution[/I] of the plan where the system falls short. See, even with the Federal healthcare plan, the potential still exists for the money to be fiddled with at the top, as well as the potential for the incentives to deny coverage that you mentioned with our current system, which I am in no hurry to sidestep. Like what happened with our Social Security situation; the collected money got irresponsibly used and the system got put into a bit of a bind. It's not so much that I'm a complete cynical pessimist and believe that as soon as the system is implemented it will go stupid. I mean, the Federal system would have the clear means to get needed funds to the right people, regardless of region. I just happen to see a huge impersonal gap between the Federal system and the individual who needs aid, and with that gap comes a higher difficulty to discern who needs the money and who wants to ride the system for as long as they can. The key point to this whole issue is taking care of the needy. With the current system, they aren't getting care. With the proposed system, the chance for them to melt in with the people who look like they need care but don't rises (although I admit it's not immediately clear to me how abuse of the health insurance system happens apart from hypochondriacs, so that's a weak argument right there). But we're almost ignoring the potential for local efforts, which to me may not have the best means for moving funds around indiscriminately but at least can relate to those in need on a personal level. The Federal system will require a hike in taxes. It comes with the territory, so I'm not bothered by that. But the more the Federal system is forced to siphon off to offer its services, the less the communities have spare to help the people around them. And really, it's a lot easier to feel compassion for the people in your own city than the people a mere state over whom you'll never know. But that's really an opinion, and not much of an argument. I don't expect it to hold water with many people.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Oh so you have the same problem I had for about four months. The chatbox won't load. Have you tried opening the page in a different browser? That occasionally worked for me during that period of time.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Chibi, you realise you've been a member at TheO long enough to access the chat feature, don't you?[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]If you're going to split from the combined phone/music device, might I suggest looking into [URL="http://us.creative.com/products/feature.asp?category=213"][COLOR="Blue"]Creative[/COLOR][/URL]? It's not as heavily-plugged a brand, to my knowledge, but I've heard rather good things about them from others, and it might be a benefit to purchase an equitable product without paying for the high-brow label in the process. Other than that, can't answer your question.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]That was the only time I ever had a favorite article of clothing. I mean, not even my overcoats made it that high. And I wear them, like, all winter. I really liked this shirt.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]HOLY CANOLI I had a T-shirt back in middle and high school I wore so much that it disintegrated. (We couldn't even use it for rags. Not that I would have approved of that.) I got another one on the same day, which I'm wearing right now (nine years of T-shirt mileage yeehaw), and I got curious and searched real quick. They still sell the one that [URL="http://www.truelightchristianstore.com/fire-rescue-christian-t-shirt.html"][COLOR="Blue"]disintegrated[/COLOR][/URL]!! :animesmil[/FONT]

[quote name='Magus']As well as Ayane (Ayame?) and Rikku.[/quote] [FONT=Arial]Yeah, I have to admit I was looking forward far more to Rinoa vs Rachel and Rikku vs Ayane than either of the others, despite the awesome that Monty pulled out of the other two. (Seriously. That was a fracking load of materia.) [quote name='Magus][spoiler']Maybe Tifa was collected for a cloning process... Something like Kasumi? (If she was cloned, that is.)[/spoiler][/quote] [spoiler]Either that, which came to mind, or something a la Matrix. We'll see.[/spoiler] Not really sure about much other crossover stuff. Then again, I don't search often. I typically get told this stuff by word of mouth and then repeat the process.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]I suppose I should note that this is a parody of [URL="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023&version=9"][COLOR="Blue"]Psalm 23[/COLOR][/URL]. Otherwise a great deal of the humor is lost.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]I go back the 31st and I wish it was sooner because I am so damn tired of sitting on my butt all day. I want something to DOO and there are no JOBS and frickafrack.[/FONT]