AzurePhoenix

but wouldn't shock sort of end your consciouness a bit faster?

Ooh, platinum is gorgeous, and so much nicer than gold. Maybe that's my favorite, or possibly chromium. Hmm, that's the engagement ring I want, an emerald set in platinum, no more of this diamond and gold crap. Ahhh, Dooku, my old padawan. Tall might you be, but kick your ass I always will!!

I thought pogos was a swedish hooker

I believe hydrogen sometimes exists in a nearly or even fully metallic form.

I vote for carbon. Yay for diamonds pencil lead and buckyballs!! (oh, and all that living stuff)

FORMER CHEERLEADER!!!!! FORMER!!!! I HAVE REFORMED MY WICKED WAYS!!!!! It's okay, I loved it. Yay for birthday standup!!!! okay, for a space-filler joke-ette You might be a redneck if your baby has more teeth than you. You might be a redneck if you use a coupon to buy day old bread You might be a redneck if you can't decide whether it's chicken or tuna

They (as in Red Tape) are there to ensure laws are followed in ways that are technically accurate, without imposing upon the "rights" of the people, and to ensure the government doesn't get screwed over, and so tha they can scrounge every penny possible. The red tape bogs down processes and simple decisions in weeks, months or even years of procedure. In a society in which law is less rigidly defined (and is determined by the opinion and judgement of those appointed to make such decisions, depending on the specifics of every situation) eliminates the need for red tape.Far fewer people, and a limited number of laws would help condsiderably. My government certainly wouldn't survive a population of over six billion idiots and a few million satisfactory people.

Actually, the above assumptions are entirely untrue A) councils would preside over small communities, due to the severely reduced population. Situations the councils couldn't resolse on their own would get sent to higher powers, who must make the decision. And decisions must be made at a very quick rate. No squabbling over technicalities, or else you're dismissed. And dammit you dope, redtape is the thing that makes simple procedures take years to complete. It slows things down B) Threat of death will stop them from abusing power. Considering they don't get special treatment or salaries, there is less to become corrupt for than in this society. There will be some corruptness, but that would end when they were chopped up. C) Your opinion in C is the most idiotic, ignorant, absolutely false statement I've ever read, the total and absolute oposite of how it really works. Don't you watch John Stossel? (wait, where do you live?)

Opposite of the tree? A potato plant, because the important part of the tree is above ground, the important part of the potato plant is underground .

Yes, I'd like to incorporate a bit of Athenian structure too. Which is where lots of harsh punishment comes into play . Without bureacracy, loopholes pose no threat, because the decision on matters is made based on the opinions and interpretations of community councils (who ultimately answer to the global council) rather than endless spools of redtape and procedure. You do something wrong, but make a good case on your behalf, you're released, maybe only with probabtion, depending on who you appeal to. You can't make a good defense for yourself, you get punished to the extent fitting of the crime, decided again by the councils.

Hehehe. I'm a sociopath!! But up until the killing, I'm tend to be quite nice . As for the unbiased teams, I'm still trying to decide between dolphins and squirrel monkeys, or maybe both . And no one can ever use too much sarcasm. Oh, I also think it's important that a civilized soceity would never let its people unpeel bananas in a counter clockwise direction, on pain of death. That's the problem with civilization today. Everyone overcomplicates things, bureacracy, fabricated human rights, etc etc etc. The bad guys, the good guys, that's why eventually, they all fail.

The only feasible, long-long-long term society is one in which the entire living populace is tracked and acounted for, and only a select few are provided for, but only at a minimal level, but the rest are prodded to strive for capitalist success, except for law enforcment/military and rescue services, teachers, and scientists and researchers, who can, if they wish, recieve fair funding from the government. Gov officials must make their own money, to ensure they truly are working for the people. The population should be relatively small, and if you break the laws you do get a fair investigation into the truth of the crime (no lawyers, no juries, only unbiased investigative teams), but if you try to run, an orbital neural-fry-beam cannon tracks you down and blows out your neural pathways. Poeple of higher rank who abuse their powers are automatically executed. A democratic system based on the old spartan politics, but above that, the overlord or whatever and my, er, his or her, yeah, his or her high council make the final decisions. Try to eliminate all bureacracy. Give people what they want within reason, as long as it doesn't undermine the integrity of the planet or civilization, but when they cross that line, make an example of them. I'm gonna need about fifteen years to set the final plans into motion, and in another fifteen to twenty, I will finally strike....

OHHhhhhhh, YOOOUUUUURRRRRRRRR problem. Well then, all I have to say in that case, is that your name takes a few minutes to rationalize the first time around. I got nothin' else, sorry.

You forgot sasquatch and the chupacabra

I'll watch out for this little guy, but he's about a third the size of a Lacewing. Thanx, but I'm not so sure. I'm fairly certain it's a mature adult. We have rather large, basic mantises around here in large numbers.

Basically, I found this small, mantis-like insect on a flower in my yard. I believe it isn't really a mantis in the true sense of the word (maybe a relative?), but when you see the real thing, it's long forelegs are held and waved about in a similar fashion, and the abdomen has rows of spines or barbs. I'd like to know what it is, but none of my books have anything like it. If it helps, I live in central Arizona. Fortunately I have a good digital camera, so here it is.....

Do you have an idea what type they were?

Perfectly acceptable, as I kinda stated in a subsequent post. Moons too, as long as a sentient species didn't inhabit the planet (which would give them ownership rights). I also say that if a sentient species live somewhere in the system, they get first dibs on anything in that system.

The Time Machine. Decent movie. Rather fun. Sciency, but not muchly.

Doy! *Slap to forehead* The internet!! I've been searching pet-care manuals and books.

Don't forget sunburns, which will drive them into economic collapse as the sunblock companies become the dominant economic power, and subsequently the only power at all, on Earth, driving them to produce so much of their product that they exhaust its source, leading to the collapse of their empire, and total chaos across the planet.