Phi for All

Just so we don't have to post pictures of your sarcasm on milk cartons, perhaps you should occasionally post something serious.

When blood sugar levels are tipped by ANY kind of sugar, the body reacts with insulin. After balancing the blood sugar, this hormone does a great many things you may not want, like increasing blood pressure, causing the kidneys to retain salt (and thus water), and restricting receptors in the blood stream that call for lipoproteins to deliver cholesterol (which forces the cells to manufacture their own). I don't drink soda personally, but I don't think you're in too much danger from a can of Coke every day.

Bluenoise makes a lot of sense here. You should put an ad in the paper listing "rock for sale". Wouldn't you feel silly if you broke it up only to find out that someone was willing to hire a crane AND pay you a thousand dollars for such a huge rock?

Wow, your posts just get worse and worse. I gave one verbal warning. Implying that the Japanese aren't human or even mammalian is racist and for that you get a formal warning. Please don't EVER think that will be tolerated here. Take the time as you type to think about what you're saying.

Perhaps while you're busy not worrying about, it, you might try to scare up just a bit of compassion for them third worlders. Not much, mind you, but something beyond the sub-atomic level you've shown would be nice. Are you one of these people who think sick people should just get help and starving people should simply move where there's food? I apologize for the ad hom there in case you didn't realize how insensitive you were being. Now please tell me, what in the purple fuzzy almighty **** are you blaming third world doctors for?! Poor countries have very little infrastucture for setting up proper healthcare on their own. Often the foreign aid they receive comes with stringent riders attached that doesn't allow them to spend funds where it's most needed. Vaccines are expensive and those that are in short supply go to the countries who can afford it, NOT to the ones whose doctors have chosen to stay where they were born. Being nice isn't necessary. Avoiding words like stupid pathetic ignorant moron crap-weasel asshole IS necessary if you want to avoid warnings.

Careful, you're going to pull a muscle reaching like that.

Sure, just make sure to use that new silent thermite so the neighbors won't object. See, if it was me, I'd paint a face or a name on it (probably Bush, since you're in Canada), announce to the local press that you're donating the money to a local charity and then charge people $1 per minute to sledge the big bruiser to dust. The line would go around the block.

Sometimes brute strength is the best way. Can you tell us what you eventually want? Two half-sized rocks? Several smaller rocks? Total removal of the rock? I don't know Canadian law but you should be able to make a reasonable amount of noise if you are improving your property, as long as you do it during business hours on the weekdays. I also don't know of any chemical process that would break down a dense mineral deposit like a rock without posing a much worse threat to the neighborhood than a little sledgehammer noise for an afternoon.

Why are you worried about the neighbors? Are you not improving your property by getting rid of the rock? Is it your rock?

Here's your least costly option (if you're a good salesman you could even make money on this): rent several big sledgehammers (10 pounders) and some safety goggles and tell all your friends you're having a "Take Out Your Agression Party". You can probably sell the gravel that's left over.

Any small cracks you could make bigger? Is the rock inside or outside? Type of rock? Do you have chisels and/or sledge hammers available? How heavy is it? Could you lift it somehow (rope, hoist, block & tackle), put a metal wedge of some sort (or another rock) under it and drop the big rock on it?

Have you talked to your friend? How is she taking all this? If she is anemic she may not be eating right. You mentioned earlier that some meds made her weak and dizzy. She's not starving herself, is she? Anorexia can be the cause of dizzyness and anemia. Is she depressed over her weight or her body for some reason?

This reminds me of an argument I once heard regarding hydroelectric dam projects for third world countries. I don't remember the exact figures used, but instead of multi-millions of dollars in aid we could save the taxpayers a ton of money by simply shipping over energy-efficient appliances like refrigerators and stoves, then there would be no need for new hydroelectric plants. And the third world populations would love us for improving their homes. So why not apply the same intelligence over here and figure out smart ways to conserve?

A cousin in Germany works for a maglev train manufacturer and gave me a video some years back. Capable of 300+ mph, no pollution, no noise, no moving parts to wear out, no friction, rides on raised track 15 feet above regular road surfaces so no contact with street traffic, only needs 15 feet of width so they can usually go right alongside major thoroughfares, only the sections of track the train is riding on and the ones directly in front of it are energized, and the ride is so smooth they serve wine in glasses in the carpeted club car. Maglevs would obviate the need for short commuter flights and actually be quicker and cheaper. They would also cut the overall cost of a light rail system over a long period because of less maintenance, lack of traffic contact and better pollution criteria. I'm not alarmed. I actually love the fact that decreased fossil fuels is going to mean smarter alternatives.

And did you notice the Grand Canyon-like dip in SUV sales? Suddenly American car-makers are all about hybridization. Dare I hope that my dream of suburban mag-lev train lines will soon be a reality?

I'll make this big and bold and annoying, so everyone will ignore it comepletely. If you are creating a thread on Creationism or Intelligent Design, or are posting to a thread about Creationism or Intelligent Design, you MUST run a SEARCH THIS FORUM (far right, type in Creationism or Intelligent Design as applicable) and read through what has already been posted and/or refuted. If you do not do this and end up posting the same old non-scientific ideas (yes, this is a science forum) filled with fallacious arguments and mangled science, the thread/post WILL BE DELETED. Furthermore, if this was the only reason you joined up and you continue to try to post along these lines, you will be deemed inconsistent with our purpose and YOU WILL BE BANNED. If you have run the Search, read the appropriate threads and still feel you have something new and worthwhile to bring up, feel free to post it. Frankly we would welcome new insight, but are too overworked and underpaid to deal with the same old garbage ad infinitum, ad nauseam, so such will be trashed ad libitum.

The spines don't deter deer with the American holly. Some animals that eat prickly plants actually have a hardened upper plate in their mouths to avoid discomfort. There are varieties the deer won't eat but I don't think it's because of the spines. Drought also affects how many spines are on spiny leaves in general. I remember thinking that it was the opposite of what I would deem protection. Less water, less energy, less spines. When the plant needs to protect itself most, it has less protection. Sort of offers itself up to be eaten in times of drought. Totally unlike cacti, which uses it's spines for collecting dew as well as protection.

I didn't have much to add beyond what others had already said. I think it's purely the human factor. An unblinking, unthinking eye in the sky that has virtual omnipresence is scarier than a living, caring policeman who is there to protect and to serve. If you can see the policeman you can tell whether or not he's looking at you. He has limits, but he also has judgement. If you're in a bank that is being robbed and you escape and rush outside and see a policeman, you can tell him about what's happening. A surveillance camera just sees YOU fleeing from a bank that was just robbed.

Also there are supersymmetric partners to leptons and quarks called sleptons and squarks. And I've seen skyrmions mentioned in relation to subatomic particles. And there are strange quarks. Do these ring any bells?

Keep in mind that logical fallacies are wrong only when thay are applied to all situations, or are assumptive in general. When arguments are based solely on logical fallacies, they are generally weak arguments. Arguments which make strong points may also use what may appear to be fallacies to further strengthen their position. For instance, arguing that the reason you suddenly feel bad tonight is because you ate chili for lunch from an expired, swollen can you found at the back of the pantry could be considered a post hoc fallacy. But it has a very good chance of being true. As I've said elsewhere in this forum, most people argue that when you allow people to start burning some books, it makes it easier for those people to burn other books. This is widely viewed as a slippery slope fallacy, but I happen to believe it is correctly used when it comes to burning books. Logical fallacies are fallacies because they are MOSTLY wrong, not always.

From the CIA World Factbook:China: total population 1,306,313,812 (July 2005 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 21.4% (male 148,134,928/female 131,045,415) 15-64 years: 71% (male 477,182,072/female 450,664,933) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 47,400,282/female 51,886,182) (2005 est.) Males: 672,717,282 Females: 633,596,530 Moral: never trust a polysci major unless they work for the CIA. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html

Wow, remind me to send you my article on why you should send me half your income for the rest of your life. It will help you and everyone else face the reality. Preaching (telling people what they should believe instead of discussing it) isn't allowed at SFN. Thread closed.

Google does. Sorry, but I didn't fight tooth and nail to have a Speculations forum to have it filled with questions that have three word answers like, "Look it up!" Moved to GD.

A policeman can hear what's going on as well as seeing it. He has other senses and training that make him better than a static camera. Plus he's right there which acts as a better deterrent to crime. However, the static cameras can't be tricked to into reacting to a staged scuffle while the real crime happens where the policeman used to be standing. The camera sees everything that isn't blocked from view. I think a smart mixture of both real presence and video surveillance is the answer. Unlike most logical fallacies, which usually aren't correct, I tend to lend more credence to the slippery slope than most people do. I happen to believe that burning one book makes it easier to justify burning the next. And while I don't think video surveillance would make the jump suddenly from the public streets to our homes, I think there are easier places in public that seem private where video surveillance will cross over. What about public restrooms? Vandalism, drug use, and other crimes happen there because they are public but not usually part of video surveillance. Dressing rooms in clothing stores are refuges for shoplifters. How much easier will it be to enact a law that makes it legal to put a hidden camera in a dressing room because it's an accepted practice for catching thieves in other public places? Do the authorities get to view those tapes every time a piece of lingerie goes missing?

We don't always show the gratitude we feel. Sometimes I think if I say "thank you" too much it will diminish the sentiment. I'm reminded of a story where a couple is celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and someone asks the husband, "When did you last tell your wife you loved her?" Without hesitation he replies, "1955." Into the shocked silence he explains that the only time he ever told his wife that was on their wedding day, where he said, "I love you more than anything else in the whole world, and if I change my mind I'll let you know." I promise to say thank you more often than that.