Velocity_Boy

LOL on the new and rightful location of this thread. I bet myself a drink that it wouldn't last more than thirty minutes before getting shot down here to the nether regions. WTG Swannie!

Congratulations on your recent freedom to explore New horizons. As I think that's truly the best and potentially most productive way to view a job loss. Also, kudos on deciding to drive a rig. Great opportunity to see the country and take some time to decompress a bit and decide what you want to do for the Long haul. See what I just did there? LOL Who knows? You might dig driving otr so much you decide to make it a career and just indulge in those other interests like geology as hobbies! And with trucking your really be able to travel to some cool sites. Go on your own digs when you have a layover or some time between trips. I have a good friend, brother in law, actually, who took up trucking after being canned from his high paying financial consultant job. He was just gonna drive for a couple years till the recession got better and then return to his MBA type of work. But he sound up living the travel do much he and his wife decided to make a life of it. Did you know the average age for long haul truckers is 50? You're a youngster! Also you're too young for a midlife crises, bro. Forty be the new thirty. Your just making your first career change. I'm only four years younger than you and don't think I'll be hitting midlife...As least in a mental and emotional sense...For at least another couple decades of so. Again....Best of luck. I'm actually sorta envious. I live travelling and driving.

Mickekson-Morley proved to us all we need to ever know about your ether. And your rambling and hear incoherent post, along with your obvious lack of science background tell us all we need to know about the veracity and credibility of your claims and hypotheses. Thanks for understanding.

Shouldn't String Hypothesis be more like it? I don't believe it has been proven in enough tests and observations to really qualify as a theory in the scientific sense of the word. To me all that stuff peaked and had it's fifteen minutes with Brian Green and his Elegant Universe. Are not the string apologists just using QMs probability waves as evidence for their hypothesis? And they've nothing else from observations or experiments to base ST on? Maybe I'm overly cynical but to me it's all part of Pop Physics. Or even philosophy? As posited here........ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-string-theory-science/

Vitamin D synthesis from exposure to sunlight actually consists of a series of biochemical steps. So, first... When you expose your skin to direct sunlight...actually to UVB rays...Those wavelengths penetrate your skin. And then, your body activates the precursor for vitamin D3 that's found in your skin cells. This is the first form, or prototype, of vitamin D goes to your liver, where it gets extra hydrogen and oxygen molecules. After the liver..this newly manufactured vitamin D compound then goes to your kidneys where it picks up one more set of hydrogen and oxygen molecules. This be the form that make the ACTIVE type of vitamin D..The version we really utilize...that's called Calcitriol. This is the finalized form of vitamin D helps your bones absorb calcium and keeps your immune system working in optimal fashion, in addition to other beneficial physiological actions.

Are you sure that everyone agrees that bring carnivorous is the reason the earth is being destroyed? Or that it even is being destroyed? And perhaps not just amidst a cyclical warming trend? I, for one, certainly do not know any of that. And I'm a Biologist. So, please enlighten me. Tell us why everything would be fine if we all became vegetarians. And disprove the cyclical theory for climate change. In your own words. I think it's against the rules here to lead a thread with a video link and to hinge your entire argument on it as well. Thanks!

Your post is filled with straw man arguments and inaccuracies. A society not only can be happy by not going to either extreme as far as it's collective morality is concerned, the fact majority of them are! The normal zeitgeist is one of moderation and compromise. As set forth by social and political theorists like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. You need to read about the former's Social Contract theory. Most people are quite content to trade a bit of their freedom for a reassuring measure of government and protection. The difference of course between killing an animal out of necessity and hunger and just killing for sport is substantial. And it is a difference of values and empathy for the animal. The fact majority of people who kill or have killed only for food do not engage in sport hunting. That right there proves there exists a difference in values and morals. And don't forget the fact that Christian fundamentalist types will claim there is nothing wrong with killing for sport. Since God gave us humans Dominion over the animals. So there is that. Thus, the fact you personally find it distasteful is merely your opinion. If you were the provider for a family dependent on game for sustenance your opinion would likely change. You claim that people who make jokes about others are meanest and Ryder and more judgemental and cruel than you, and then you quickly proceed to lose the moral high ground by calling them fucked up and greedy. Really? You also come across at the outset of your post as amazingly arrogant by claiming you know for certain the sole method for human happiness. Yet, you proceed to offer not even a hint of insight into the human condition. Only instead shoeing yourself to posses conflicting and groundless opinions.

It was all about the two countries respective speheres of influence, to coin a phrase that was popular at the time. Russia was of course our ally during the war and since we defeated the Axis Powers, it was a sort of To the Victors Go the Spoils dynamic at work after the war. Both us and Russia sought to annex defeated nations into our own politics and type of position!Iridal ideology. Which of course we're diametrically opposed. The USA was a Democratic republic with Free Market capitalist economy, while Russia was of course a Communist and State controlled Soviet. We wanted to make sure that as many nations as possible that were of interest to us and strategically and geographically desirable also incorporated our own type of government and economic system. Thus strengthening and enlarging our spheres of influence. And yes, we did really drive the USSR into bankruptcy. Their way of government has been roundly and fairly denigrated as being unviable or even impossible. But it might have survived nonetheless for a much longer time had Russia. Of spent so much money trying to keep up with us in defense and technology. And in Cold War operations. Both covert and overt. Afghanistan was their Vietnam. The paralells are remarkable. And that war also played a large part in their undoing. Russia was super by us. And our government also filed the American people in propagating cold war paranoia. Russia was never really that close to us technology or defense wise. We were far ahead the whole time and posed a much bigger threat to them than they to us. Look up Ronald Reagan and his Operation Able Archer. Or research on who really avoided nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis.

Why do you care about what the do called beautiful people think of you? And how are they construed as even being beautiful in the first place? That's an old literary term...Tom Wolf, I think..That I've always despised. Are you referring to mere physical beauty? Even that is highly subjective. And it's only important to equally superfluous people. Sounds to me like a primary source of your current depression and extreme dissatisfaction with your life is the fact that there are some people out there you think are really cool and hip but they do not reciprocate those thoughts of you. Or maybe don't even acknowledge you? If this is the case, bro,cyoure giving them way too much power. Get new friends. Meet new people. In layman's terms, just get out more! Expand your AO, if I may use an old military term. That's Area of Operations. It's the size and scope of your travelling area. Best wishes.

You mean to say that not everything you see on the internet about time travel is true? Say it ain't so, bro! Yikes! But seriously, what you should do is use an idea as to why time travel is and always will be impossible. I'll lend you my own pet Hypothesis. Which is........Since everything in our universe is moving and spinning and orbiting at thousands of miles an hour, we here on Earth, indeed, everything....Stars, galaxies, solar systems, planets, are right now not anywhere near to where they were, say, 70 years ago. Thus....It stands to follow...That if you wanted to time travel back about that many years, have to pre WWII Nazi Berlin to get Hitler into art school and thus prevent the war, you'd have to physically rearrange all those planets and stars and nebulas and other universal components to the configuration they were back then! Since, as we know, time itself is a physical fabric...A tangible part, another component, of the Universe. And that task is quite obviously physically impossible. Please don't mention wormholes. We don't even know if they exist. They probably do not. So any speculation that they can be traversed as shortcut conduits to time travel is at present purely the stuff of science fiction and fantasy. I would respectfully offer a slight modification.. a caveat, if you will, to your above post. The fastest "mode of conveyance" mankind has at present is a spacecraft. But we have in fact produced other, smaller, non transport entities that are capable of attaining far greater speeds. The photons emitted in a laser, come to mind. Any light beam emitting instrument. Hell, how fast in mph or kph are some of those machines that generates tens of thousands of rpms travelling. Like if you converted a surgical drill speed to mph? I'd have to sit down and do the math. But I believe it's faster.

Wow...That is a great turn of a phrase!....(we are) "a species that Gave up claws and fur for greater intelligence." Did you just make that up? Very eloquent. You could get that published, seriously. And you made a good point as well. @MattMV.......Like Phi and SJ have said, just because there probably is not an Afterlife....Though there could be....Does not automatically render this physical life meaningless. The world and especially your circle of friends and family, coworkers, peers, even acquaintances, would not be the same without you. Your Sphere of Influence, if I may use an old political term. There are many things in this life to enjoy, and in the long run I think it's the so called small things. The Epicurean Philosophy has always been my favorite, for the very reason you think life is not worth living. To me, your ethos is totally opposite and diametrically opposed to mine, the Epicurean thought. Which of course us to enjoy life to the fullest, indulge yourself, and whatever brings happiness and enjoyment is the right choice. Mind you this is not advocating unbridled hedonism. It is true what some psychologists say about a self fulfilling prophecy, I believe. Your attitude and outlook on a circumstance will usually bring about results that are aligned or in accordance with it. So, hopelessness, angst, and pessimism will a!Most always ensure a life filled with those very things, as well as their by products. While optimism, frivolity, confidence, altruism, and most of all hopeful curiosity about others and your surroundings will always bring the fruits of those traits. Which is fulfillment and happiness. Sounds a tad trite, I know. But attitude is everything. The human mind and your own personal condition can be....Will be...Either your greatest ally if your most pernicious enemy. So now I get a chance to offer my favorite parable ever. Since it deals with exactly what we are discussing here. I hope you enjoy it....... http://www.oneyoufeed.net/tale-of-two-wolves/

I have never been able to imagine how terraforming another planet could ever ever be cost beneficial. The cost would be staggering. I have read that the cost of each person being sent to Mars is the equivalent as if they were made of platinum. (for the moon back in '69 it was the equivalent of each of the astronauts weight in Gold.) Sol..yeah, do some quick math and see what, say, 160 lbs. of platinum goes for. Then add in all the materials and time and manpower. Yikes. What benefit could possibly be worth it? Space has shown us it is totally hostile and does terrible things to our bodies. The ISS has provided little more than some good PR. In my opinion, by far the most vlauable enterprise we have engaged in in space exploration over the past three decades or so has been, hands down and wihtout a doubt, the Hubble craft. It taught us more than anything else did. Even the moon landing.

Humidity is just the amount of water molecules in the air. So more humidity = more ambient H2O. More H20 in the air during a hot day will feel hotter to us than would the same temp. in a less humid environment. This is why we have a "heat index" that is useful for a "real feel" temperature measurment. Increased humidity will also make it seem colder, than it would feel in an envrironment with the same ambient air temp but with lower humidity. Humid areas are found near large bodies of water, or near tropical and equatrorial regions. Also, low lying areas below a couple thousand ft. elevation tend to be more humnid than mountainous areas, where the atmospheric pressure is a bit less, there is usually more wind, and the O2 content is slightly lowered.

Wow...So many Strawman Arguments in one single rant I have not seen since back in my 4chan days! And all of them ignoring the original question. Impressive! You need to read the link I provided. And probably take your anti religion rants over to the, well, the religious forum. Just a thought. Not wrong. Read my link. Are you gonna refute WebMD? And condoms is not the question. Just because there are other methods of protection against STD and other infections does not mean circumcision is not a valid method as well. Your desensitization rigamarole was just that. Unfounded and very subjective. And again, not answering the OP question. Your final claim is also laughably wrong. Circumcision predates your sex phobia era by thousands of years. And anyway, there never was such an era. And what generation, exactly, thought masturbation was wrong? LOL again. And, sigh....Again, off topic. That was one terrible post, amigo. I rarely downvotes but you earned one this time.

Any mental healthprofessional will tell you that being in a constant state of anger can pose moderate if not severe problems as far as our mental health, as well as our quality of living are concerned. When anger is kept bottled-up for too long of a time and is not sufficiently processed or alleviated, the resultant emotion is usually depression and/or anxiety. In fact, an old psyciatric adage is that "depression is just anger turned inwards." And we all of course are aware of the problems depression can lead to. Additionally there is the problem, the "risk" I guess I should say, of somebody with anger issues choosing to release it, or "lash out" as you said, in unhealthy and even dangerous ways. This is where we enter the field of Anger Management. And we all know some of the resultant problems from having no or insufficient anger management skills are. Physical violence; domestic issues; broken relationships; job loss; personal injury, et al. So the trick here I guess is to find a way to safely and effectively process your inner anger. This can be done via either physical or mental--cognitive--methods. Like therapy. Meditation. Or even just dealing with--rectifying--the issue that is causing your anger. Diffusing the cause, so to speak. Anger is not all bad, after all. It can be a great motivator. But again. the trick here is to process it in a non-harmful, even helpful and beneficial way. This can be as simple as taking up a physical activity, like running or boxing or martial arts. Meditating. Long walks. And there of course is always the option--and I think personally it should be viewed as a final option--of considering medication for an anger issue that is causing problems and you cannot control or deal with o your own. Like ANY emotion, anger is caused by chemical (Neurotransmitter) actions in your brain. That, and of course hormones being released by the various pertinent glands in your endocrine system. Like adrenaline from your adrenal glands that sit atop each kidney. (Anger can be addicting!) Just like fear can. Ask any combat vet. It's really thr adrenaline rish they get addicted to. Carl Jung warned about the perils and repurcussions of not acknowledging our Dark Side. Which, btw, we all have. Anger is the same way. It demands to be aknowledged and then dealt with. The good news is there are many options and anger management has been a very hot topic in therapy and psychiatric communities for at least a decade now. Best of luck.

I must note that as of yet we have not determined definatively that the ozone hole we see above Anartica is NOT cyclical insofar as its size in concerned. It very well could increase and decrease in area on some sort of regular cycle. So short is the time that we have been able to access images of it through modern satellite enhanced imagery. In fact, as I recall, I thought I read fairly recently that the hole was smaller now than, say, a decade ago? I have to research that, however. Could be wrong. At any rate, yeah, cyclicle. Most if not ALL things in nature and Biology DO run in cyclic fashions. Same for Cosmology. So why not the Ozone hole? The fact that it is located where it is has lead me to wonder whether or not the size of it and its attendant fluctuations are not related in some fahsion to magnetic field emiitinces from the pole? Are, along similiar lines, to Magnetic wind activity, or even solar flares, from our Sun? Time will tell, I reckon. Thanks.

But how you you definatively discern the fact the dog is "contemplating?" As that word implies engaging in deep thought at a cognitive level. How do you know the canine even understands whay he is seeing. And is not just staring dumbly and uncomprehendingly as, say, a cat would at a Fourier equation written on a large dry erase board on the wall of his owner's home?

Depression can be caused by a chemical imabalance in the brain. More specifically, an insufficient level of certain neurotransmitters that, to put it in layman's terms, make you feel "good." The chemical Serotonin is a prime example, as are Dopamine and GABA. There are a plethora of 2nd generation anti-depressant medications available with an MD's prescription, than have fewer and less severe side effects than the earlier anti-depression meds. You have not doubt heard of some of these meds, such as Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, and Paxil. They have helped millions of people to increase their quality of life. I think this might possible be an option you might consider looking into. I myself take Paxil, and have for about five years. I can say it has made a significant positive impact on my enjoyment of life. I hope you feel better. Meanwhile, there ARE places where people talk about science all the time and NOT the latest Miley Cyrus video. Right here, amigo! Cheers.

Both are simply the result of a weakened transmission signal. Or I should say, diminished or weakened reception. I guess it could be both. Whichever, in the case of both, the transmitted signal is not being recieved at the optimal level or strength by the recieving device. Be it a TV or a radio or a phone. A note: when you referred to a distorted video I assumed you meant a transmitted one? I ask because we can of course see distorted videos on pre-recorded storage devices. Such as pixellation of video break-up on a DVD. Or a VHS tape. These would of course be caused not by a sub-optimal signal reception but by a flaw in the sotrage medium itself, i.e. a scratch on the DVD. http://www.abc.net.au/reception/radio/radio_troubleshooting.htm

Well, most MD's will indeed recommend it, as there appears to be some signficant advantages insofar as hygeine is concerned. Inefection and bacterial control, as well as less-risk of STD's. http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/circumcision

Yeah, thanks. And, yeah, sorry (lol) it IS a bit off-topic down here at this portion of the thread. I posted it after reading the OP too quickly and thinking it concerned the nature of Gravity here on Earth. Instead of a detected boradscast or otherwise emitted pulse. I have a bad habit of reading posts too quicly sometimes before responding. Will try to watch that!

The "blacked up" cuacasion kid, unbeknownst to him, probably, hearkened memory back to the old-timey minstrel shows, where white performers comedically and condescendingly parodied blacks by wearing garish blackface. Much of the performers' behavior during their show was very racist and really just caricaturized blacks (then: "negros") in very unflattering ways. Also, there was no real reason for the kid to wear black face. Why? Say, he had on a Kobe Bryant Lakers #8 jersey. Well, everybody knows Kobe is black. So the blackface is unecessary and besides certainly looked so foolish on the kid that it could be easily construed as "making fun" of the black sports star and his ilk. I guess. The black woman complaining about the white guy with dreadlocks is an ass. There is nothing at all insulting to her race about this, and it's actually a case of reverse-racism on her part. Who says that black have the market on this sort of hairstyle? It's like a caucasion person getting ticked off because a black woman has her hair straightened. So...I'm assuming you're caucasion as well? Or, shall I say, non-Asian? As far as the Dragon deal? This one I don't really get eaither, except to think maybe she felt you were infringing on their cultural practices and customs. Perhaps even a ritual that had quasi-religious or otherwise deeply symbolic aspects to it. I know the Dragon is a big deal in Chinese Mythology, and sort of the "king" of the Zodiacal animals. (I am a proud Fire Monkey, byw!). And...was this parade in a type of China Town area? All I can think, again, is you were seen by her as an unwelcome, "foreign" participant in a deeply meaningful ceremony for them. I guess it is a thin line between being seen as an obnoxious and insulting imitator, or as making a joke parody of some race or ethnic group. And if emulating them or one of their ilk out of admiration. Since countless American white kids everyday wear sports jersies of black athletes with no recriminations at all from their black peers. The sports jersey thing is an overtly obvious sign of admitation and fandom. So why would a black kid get upset over white Tommy sporting a Cam Newton jersey? I have never ever ever heard of a problem in this area, and am a huge sports fan and have been involved in it and the attendant fandom and memorabilia area for many years. Overall, you OP consists mostly ov cases of over-reaction from the, well, the reactors. It is, I think, the exception and not the norm. So long as a person is emulating somebody of a different culture, or even participating on one of their rituals, with respect, I just cannot see the problem here. One need be cautious about engaging in stereotyping or caricaturizing, however, as that sort of thing can easily be seen as disrespectful and insulting. This is an incredibly rare practice nowadays. I for one have never seen it. Have you? But the answer of course is "no." VB

Thanks. This topic has been bandied about here before in slightly different forms, including one that queried about the effect of different music genres on plants! I love music, personally, so it is a topic of interest to me. But it's more complex than meets the eye at first. And it seems new discoveries are being made all the time that refute old paradigms on the topic. For example, I recently read that the so-called Mozart Effect for infants has been discredited. Personally I like to have music on ALL the time. And change the genre in accordance with my given circumstances. Such as: rock or hip hop for working out or running; Jazz or Classical for reading or studying, or even New Age--anything without lyrics, as they distract me. So I guess the only thing we can say for sure is thaat music does effect our moods, and it is visceral, and these effects are usually very subjective and personal.

This is an excellent hypothesis! Good job.

50 tspns./day is no big deal for many folks. Remember that your oaverage 12 oz. can of coke has about 12 tspns. So....two cokes a day and you're halfway there. And sugar is in everything! Ketchup...mayonniaise..salsa...chips....french fries...let alone the stuff we eat that we KNOW is sugar-laden like pastries and candy. We just don't realize how much sugar gets dumped into our processed foods. But people who come here to the US from somewhere else notice it straightaway. Just theother day my Brit friend who is here on a Sabbatical threw down his french fry with ketchup on it and asked, disgustedly "why do you Yanks insist on dousing everything with sugar?" LOL