Recent Comments


  • November 22, 2006 11:12 PM on 30 and still idealistic (1)
    useEvil wrote: You lost me at DangerAdam, although I've heard that term used in your presence. I'll call again in 5 years.

    June 25, 2003 03:09 PM on Adult Swim is ruining me. (108)
    K99999 wrote: Does Anybody know the song in the background when Inuyasha is fighting Bankotsu? In the Adult Swim Commercial not the episode.

    December 14, 2005 12:28 AM on ][ (1)
    obigabu wrote: Is this a conversation between the rational and irrational of your own consciousness? Or rather, thoughts shared with an anonymous friend? Where does the conversation lead? Do tell.

    December 17, 2002 06:44 AM on Strange places in Boron, CA (26)
    Leah Lataille (Hayes) wrote: My father, Enos Hayes, was stationed at 750th in the early 70s. He retired from that base as a lifer. 20 yrs. dedicated service in the USAF. We were a family of 8 and everyone of us has a tale to tell about living in Boron. Loved it! I knew Derrick and his brother Robert. We all had such a good life there, swimming, bowling and hiking in the desert. Remembering the Teen Club and the trip to Disneyland. Our Christmas Play and the time it snowed. So many memories and so long ago but, it is still a fond place I go in my mind and it always makes me smile. I miss it.

    April 30, 2005 03:02 PM on Common Sense (3)
    Zack wrote: I think you make an excellent point. I would also like to point out for the benefit of others reading this thread that you were very clear about the inappropriateness of 'common sense' as a point of argument. I think it's significant that you make this distinction. I know that nothing bothers me more than someone who doesn't know why they've taken a certain position.To say that something is "common sense" is a cop-out, not a reason. This is true even if you accept the existence of such a thing as common sense. There must still be a reason why the common sense approach is a good idea besides "it just is."

    March 13, 2005 12:13 AM on Writings from the 395 (1)
    Andrew wrote: Ending in a question always makes it feel unfinished, unless you're expecting someone else to answer it. Are you?

    April 10, 2005 04:27 PM on Religion, The Bible, Absolutes, Bias, Politics and Terri Schiavo. (2)
    Wonko wrote: Anders, While you make some valid points, I do not think it changes the basis of my argument. No matter what written material you use as a source, you still need people to decree what the real interpretation is. The example of the catholic church is a more extreme one. I believe the whole invention of the Pope was in response to the need to be able to have a living person who was the ultimate authority. Having said person removes all sorts of issues with 'who' to believe about what different texts mean and how they should apply to the present day. This is likely why the catholic church has remained so well organized and cohesive. The prodestant church has seen far more dissent as denominations continue to splinter off from each other. With no single authority, they can all claim to teach 'The Truth'. Your point about Martin Luther is a good one and is why I said I believed it WAS possible to have religious organizations without the issues I presented. However, at ths point it would take quite a cultural shift for the church's leadership to relinquish that authority to its parishioners. Finally, you're right about how we did not explicitly give the judges that power in that they are not elected. However, we implicitly did when we decided on and decided to follow this form of government. By agreeing and believing that this form of government is sufficient we are giving the judges that power.

    January 02, 2004 04:51 PM on Thoughts on America from a foreigner (8)
    Peet wrote: Well, it's more than a year ago, but I found the questions of Wonko: "Pete, I went to your blog and noticed it was in German. I'm assume your not American. What are your thoughts on America, Americans and Americans abroad? Also, what are your thoughts on American Capitalism?" So it’s still time to replay: I’m actually Swiss like you interview partners. I worked several years abroad and spent significant time in India, Russia, Sweden and the States. There are a couple of things which makes the Citizens of the States very special: - They seldom speak another language beside English. - They do not have a clue about international affairs beside war in Irak and Israel issues - They do not know other cultures American Capitalism is now in a very dangerous phase: share holder value is the only thing that counts and the system only works if economy is growing to the sky! About the share holder value: The people seem to forget that shares originally represented an ownership of production equipment. Nowadays the share seems more and more to be representing virtual value. Companies in trendy business sectors like biotechnology or IT can issue shares which are not backed up by a real production but the value still starts to rocked in the sky. These sort of investments produces only bubbles which will bust sooner or later. About the growing issue: There is nothing in the world that is growing without end except the time. So forget all economy models which only work if there is a constant grow or did you ever see the endless growing tree? There must be a new sustainable economy, which take care of environment issues and does not just produce more and more vast. The growing debt: In long term it is dangerous to have debts. Once a day, the other countries like China or so will not pay any more and this could be the big bang for the world economy. Healthcare system: Even some people do not believe it: Switzerland has one of the best in the world. It is quite efficient and is not really expensive. Ok, ok, some Swiss folk will blame me definitely because of this statement, but this is also required. All things in Switzerland are in a permanent improvement process driven by self-critical public discussions. Public transport: In the States public transport is only useful in large densely populated areas, every body else need a car. In Switzerland you do not need a car. In case there is not petrol at the pump anymore, the economy does not come to a complete halt. Are Americans arrogant? Not really, but they can not imagine that somebody can do something in a way which is not American. So think twice abroad before you say something or act. For several things in daily live there are different solutions, most of them are not the American Way! The Democracy Emergency Brake: The democracy in the States does not have any emergency brake under control of the citizens. This means once your government / president is elected you do not have any direct influence on their politic. In Switzerland we can stop any action of the government as long we find enough people with the same idea. This puts much more responsibility to the citizens and made them more actively participating on political issues. Education: In America there are no real educated craftsmen. No wonder all production is going to China. Same problem start to rise in Switzerland. The university degree is much overrated compared to hands-on jobs. Well, that's it for the moment. (sorry, but I do not know why I've got all text in the center.)

    February 14, 2004 11:18 PM on Conservatism vs. liberalism: What do we believe? (19)
    The WeeBee wrote: Beautiful! My response is simple: I am apolitical (NOT antipolitical).

    August 13, 2003 12:35 PM on The New Diamond Age (15)
    tracy wrote: Yes, where can I get one of these? I am very interested! WickedCribClothing.com

    February 01, 2005 09:45 AM on ebay and alcohol UPDATE (2)
    wonko wrote: Good news! I went on ebay and bought it anyway! Should have it in a week or so.

    January 28, 2005 04:02 PM on ebay and alcohol don't mix. (1)
    useEvil wrote: that's grrrreat!! Looks like you paid top dollar for it as well.

    January 08, 2005 01:23 PM on Retrospective 2004 and a look ahead. (3)
    wonko wrote: I don't feel like I'm back on the path, but I don't feel like I'm going in the 'wrong' direction either. The future is completely unknown.

    January 16, 2005 11:14 AM on mIpod (1)
    t wrote: http://www.i4u.com/section-viewarticle-50.html

    November 30, 2003 11:30 PM on Social Ineptitude (21)
    hormoneica wrote: A more positive view on this would be that, if you consider yourself socially inept, and your ineptitude seems to be plaguing those around you then you can consider yourself socially adept for those moments because you are now part of an inept society meaning that you are adept in that society.any views, im not even sure if that makes sense.It does to me but im socially inept so...

    January 07, 2005 12:28 AM on Double Uncle (1)
    t wrote: yay and congrats!!!! :->

    November 27, 2004 07:58 PM on A Treatise on Debate: Part II - Bias and POV (4)
    dragon girl t wrote: i was just kidding. :-P

    November 25, 2004 11:09 PM on A Treatise on Debate: Part I (2)
    wonko wrote: I disagree that logic is 'completely relative'. I can disagree without saying that what is logical to you would be logical to me by definition. It is not logic that is flawed, it is our view of logic. Given identical premises and facts, we would come to the same conclusion. However, none of us have identical premises, and we often see things differently. We often declare things as 'facts' that are not 'facts'. The variables are variable. Given the equation, 2+2=?, we will all come to the conclusion that the answer is 4 if we all have perfect agreement on the definitions of the members of the equation (the number 2, the +, the =, and the number 4). If someone came up with 5, either they did it wrong, or they had a different definition of the symbols. That said, it is more or less difficult to remove bias from our application of logic depending on the question. Maybe we can answer math questions without logic, but it is difficfult to impossible to answer moral questions without bias. In this case, you are correct that what we state as conclusive truth, is often just our opinion. As to your second point, I have to think about it. I still think its instructive to tell the other person why you thought they believed what they did, however, perhaps it is better for them to tell YOU why they believe what they do first. The purpose of the excersize was to point out to both people how their bias changed their perception of the other. I did state, however, that you must believe the reason the other person tells you is his reason in order to have a fully productive debate. If you do not believe your opponant believes what they are saying, you probably can not debate clearly.

    November 28, 2004 02:16 PM on Punishment of NBA Brawler Un-American (1)
    Anders wrote: yowzers... that's really funny! Anders

    November 02, 2004 02:49 AM on Prague (4)
    kasei wrote: The reason to say "contrary to my optimistic premonitions," instead of "I thought things would get better but I'm still bummed out" would be that words like "premonition" have clear, concise meanings. (Although, I'll grant that premonition is generally used in a negative sense.) Moreover, your suggested replacement sentence doesn't have the same meaning as Adam's -- Being "bummed out" wouldn't indicate that things aren't getting better, only that he wasn't feeling better.