AzurePhoenix

One last thing. DRZ, those numbers you gave stating number of deaths in 2000, did those numbers include deaths resulting of an indirect use of pot, whether the death of the user or someone else? And don't say something like "anything can be deadly if you give it a chance." I know that more people are killed each year by falling coconuts than by sharks, but that doesn't mean people who like those "snowball" pastries are putting themselves at risk. Although, i suppose that if people didn't eat coconuts, there would be fewer reasons for people to get near the trees, thus resulting in fewer deaths. BUt that's not the point. Anyway, I don't even like coconut. And as for my "addiction to sex," that's a stupid accusation. I can live without it. I mean, recently I had a boyfriend who was totally boyscout, and didn't want premarital sex to occur (i didn't agree, but i wasn't going to break it off over something so trivial). I went three months without it before i broke up with him, and then, i only dumped him because i found out he was screwing antoher girl, after his phony speech about indulgence, and pretty much carving it in stone that ours' would be an exclusive, long lasting relationship made special by a pure, innocent outlook on love. Even then i suspected he was a stoner. Total crap. But he was nice and funny, so i put up with his religious hangups, and didn't even once considering giving in to temtation, and trust me, i know a few hot guys and girls who are really good in bed who wanted me to spend an hour or two with them in their rooms. After that it took a while to trust another guy at all. Didn't get laid for another two months (unless a nightly vibrator session counts).

And as for the human use of drugs for thousands of year, much of that consisted (at least intially) as a way to embrace the spirit world. What they did (at first) was seen as magical and holy, not a way to get wasted for the heck of it. And as far as i know, medicine men and shamans didn't just sit in their huts sucking flowers all day. It was, in most societies, a ceremonial ritual (i know, ceremony, ritual, redundant) they practiced carefully, often in moderation (based off of what we know to be true of their most recent decendents). Secondly, you don't hear alot about stoned tribe elders crashing wooly rhinos into another clan's caves (of course, without a few of their newspapers, we'll never know)

As true as that cheeseburger thing is (damn, they're good with extra bacon and double-cheese!!!), i've met very few people who can handle anything in moderation. It's not how we're evolved. we still haven't gotten over that phase to take alot of what we want. So we do. Until our species (or some viable offshoot of it) developes the proper mental capacity to deny itself excess, anything that could be used safely in moderation (and let me remind you, some people, not many, but some, get totally wasted off of half a glass of wine.) It doesn't help that everything about modern society pretty much screams more more more. By saying "not everyone abuses it," you're pretty much saying "the rest doesn't matter, 'cuz those guys over there are responsible. Yeah those two, right there, behind the other three thousand." This isn't a one sided statement of course, just a simple point from a valid certain point of view.

Understood. I respect your argument (though i do not agree with it in its entirety). I also apologize if i actually offended you, but i fell really strongly about this and have never been one to hide my true feelings (especially over the internet, far enough away to avoid a sharp smack to the head)

Oh yeah, badchad, i don't just make sure it "looks clean." My circle has a very strict inspection process. Once a month we all get tested, and share the results. If someone new is screwed by anyone, either in the circle or on the side, suspend bang-sessions with that person, until safety is ensured. I always wait a month or two to screw a new boyfriend, and even then, he has to be tested just before, and again every month. additionally, I always make my guys wear two condoms, usually a heavy duty under a ribbed or flavored one, (i know, it doesn't feel as good for the guy, but on the other hand, he can go a lot longer, which i feel is a good thing, 'specially when the moron takes a friggin' hour to give me an O.) Once, when a member of our circle caught the clap, she caught it early on through testing without ever coming close to spreading it, and was removed until her treatments were long done (followed by an extra safety month and one last test, just to be positive), As you can assume, she trashed her boyfriend after that. And as for LSD, it can severely impair the mind. I know for a fact that it causes confusion and severe anxiety (witnissed first hand), i've seen guys, and girls, use it only to come to think everyone was trying to kill them. Some sank into temporary depression. I knnow one guy who killed his cat while on it, 'cuz "it was "plannin' somethin' man, somethin' real bad!" (his words, or close to them). Although LSD causes no physical addiction or physical harm, (so we are told) it still poses a threat to everyone around, albeit indirectly.

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Oh, last thing, Thales, are you really from australia? I've always loved that accent (not quite as much as i like an irish accent, but it's better than british, or german for that matter) of course, i mean no offense if you don't even have an accent, or if yours accent turns out to be german, for some freakish reason.

Am I a saint. 'course not! but I accept responsibility for my actions. I am not a slave to chemical cocktails or what's popular at the time. I don't even know what the name of today's favored music is called. (I'm a hardcore country fan. Chesney!mariah!shaniah!) Quick question. is it bad that i never knew who uncle kracker was until he sang with kenny chesney?

Also, violence and aggression aren't the only adverse effects of drug-use. tobacco doesn't cause violent behavior, but it is still detrimental to the user and those around him/her And you should also know that the current stance of law has nothing to do with my outlook. I don't give a flyingf*** as to what the president deems acceptable. Do you think the public's opinion and government's sway kept me from having sex underage? Or that it's nothing more than politics and public opinion that kept me from getting fried at parties when everyone around me was lighting up? When I was ostracized for my "anti-social" tendencies (meaning i chose not to get wasted)? or for liking girls? I make my own choices. No one else. Nothing else.

What about the fact that even an innocent experiment can create a powerful addiction. Or the fact that a single bad use of a number of drugs can and do kill, even on the first try. Many people intend to just try it once, but very few let it stop there.

Umm, derr, no? Not all of my experience is limited to pompom shaking skanks. Fortunately, i know a good life, and was raised in a good home, but our suburbs were real close to the slums of our area, so I got a high exposure to the ways of the streets from an early age. Everything I've stated has come from many nights of sitting by the river in deep thought, sitting alone beneath the oaks beneath a field of starlight. The use of mind-altering drugs is self-destructive and dangerous. Even if you are stupid enough to use mind-altering substances, the fact is, no matter how noble or responspible you are (not very, considering your use of such substances) you will always pose a threat to others around you. Not to mention the effects certain drugs have on your genetic code, which can have horrible results on any future children that may be unlucky enough to be born to such a loser (these corrupted genes can be passed on by fathers as well as mothers). I've met light users, heavy users, hardcore addicts and occasional "tasters", young kids who got hooked cuz' they found just a little bit of weed in their sister's jewelry box, supposedly mature adults (30 or even 40+ years old), who came to highschool parties with cases of beer and boat-loads of drugs. I've known a twelve year old girl, one that i love dearly, who I found out was raped and impregnated by a group of adult men at such a party while a hundred or more teens, including her brother and sister watched, She later lost the baby to drugs (although, in such a situation, a legally performed abortion would have been entirely acceptable, considering the risk to the little girl's health and the moral implications). If you call my experiences limited, just because you snort coke, you can burn in hell, right beside that little girl's rapists. And trust me, they got what they deserved. Any denial of the detrimental effects of recreational drug-use is just that, DENIAL! What, do you think racism, and sexism, and rape, and genocide are just taboo because a bunch of jerk-offs say they are? Of course not. But the fact is, those who commit the crimes are those who defend it with irrational loyalty, their arguments empty of calm and well-thought ideas and principals. Simple fact is, drugs are an escape from reality, a veil drawn across the jewel (albeit a severely flawed, slightly toxic jewel) that the human mind is. It clouds our better judgement, and, like it or not, is foolish, childish, and, ultimately, evil!!!. I have seen the dire effects of drug use. I have been burned by the embers that it casts, torn by its cruel reality. I have suffered, and i haven't even used any drugs. Isn't that enough to say it's wrong? Is something right if it hurts those who love you? Kills your friends? Let me guess. You still think i'm cracked, don't you? You can't talk. Not until you've gone through what i have. How about this, I want you to go to the funeral of a friend who was killed by drugs, go over to that person's parents, and siblings, and tell them that it's alright, that it wasn't the drugs' fault, and then, right there, i want you to light one up, go on, get stoned right there. Maybe get stoned enough to take the corpse from the casket and maybe do a nice waltz, but it's ok, cuz' drugs are ok, and while you're at it you could get it on with the deceased little sister, pop a nut and make a beautiful, deformity-scarred little bundle of joy.

You know what, the taboo on sexuality is a strictly religious idiocy imposed by the same jerk-offs that decided that spirituality had to be organized in the first place. Those morons, who destroyed the sanctity of life with their bible-loving psychosis, also destroyed the essense of a physical act that surpasses pleasure. Sex is a carnal act, that, if used properly, is safe, wholesome, and 100% pure. I'm no slut. I only banged guys and girls I knew well, had dated a few weeks (and seriously spied on), or knew to be clean. I may have had alot, alot of partners, but i have been very careful to not contract any diseases. And i'm no slut. I respect my partners, and make sure they know what i'm in it for. If it's just physical, they know it beforehand if its romantic and meant to last, they know it beforehand, If I'm still planning on banging friends and "lovers" on the side, they know it beforehand. i didn't bang those boys and girls for the emotional fuzziness that whores are always after, I did it purely for the physical euphoria of intercourse. I don't screw any guy or gal who calls me pretty. I don't have a porn collection. I don't have wierd fetishes ('cept for the semi-bisexual thing ((meaning i have no romantic interest in girls, just physical)) ) I understand how serious the act really is, and don't treat it lightly, but i do understand that love isn't all about sex, and vice-versa. Sex isn't the highlight of my life, it's just a nice-feeling part of it. It doesn't rule me, and it has little to do with the person I really am. Also, if one day i'm just not careful enough, and multiple birthcontrol methods fail, i will do the responsible thing and raise my child as it should be. I would even give up my intimate pastimes (if the father turned out to be a loser and abandoned the baby.) I would understand if the father wasn't meant to be my eternal mate, and i would accept his non-romantic partnership in raising a child. But if he abandoned our baby, i would make his life a living hell. I've got a mean kick and a viper's tongue. I could ensure he'd never get laid again. And unless my partner is present and participating, I never have sex with anyone other than my partner if we've been dating long enough to call ourselves exclusive. But that doesn't mean threesomes are out of the picture. Thank god. ANY WHO DARE TO INSULT MY INTEGRITY ANY FURTHER SHALL SUFFER THE WRATH OF ONE SERIOUSLY SADISTIC PYRO-PSYCHOTIC-MANIAC!!!!!!!! God, you pansies really need to grow up. This is the real world, not "Full House" .....

I'm sorry if my phrasing was vague, mr.johnny, but i meant that smoking cigs is as bad as the rest. Any and all recreational drug use is criminal. You know what, i'm not sorry. I was not vague. You're just a moron if you can't read that for what it says. Muttermutter Jerk-off, muttermumble

Derr, there are species that exist in a kind of kindom limbo. Early single-cellulars became algae by adapting chloroplasts, and eventually, cell walls and mega-sized vacuoles. Algae evolved from these early, amoebe-like entities. Think about it you stupid @ss, that's how life advances, by evolving new adaptations, and contrary to common beliefs, great evolutionary changes occur in a snap of the fingers. ONly the little stuff, the minor details, takes millenia to develope. Look at bat's wings, as far as we can tell, the direct ancestor of the earliest known bat did not have wings, yet the first bat had a ffully developed set of those leathery flappers we all know and love. Besides, algae is a single-celled organism. God, I am so glad I wasn't born with that pesky y-chromosome you men pack. It causes so many friggin' flaws. Double-x is perfection.

Caffeine is an invalid point when compared to intoxicants and stimulants. For one thing, its a micronutrient essential to brain chemistry. It's found in apple's for god's sake(very small amounts)! any form of recreational drug is stupid and amoral. mostly stupid. sorry, but i don't care if i offend anyone by saying that anyone who drinks, does any form of drug-taking, or even smokes nothing but basic cigs, they're all morons without any common sense or respect for their bodies, minds, or for those around them. Zero tolerance!!!!!!!! One of the reasons I left cheer-squad in the first place was because half of those ditzes were huge crank-heads. You name it, they did it, pot, acid, coke, hard liquor, even pcp and clorox bleach. funny thing is, you couldn't really tell to look at them. They seemed nice and normal, but soon as school let out they were at some guy's house frying their brains out. Only difference was they were WAY more likely to get knocked up. All the girls on the squad, myself included, had lots, i mean lots of sex, but of the half of us that didn't get stoned, none of us got saddled with a kid. On the other hand, all but one of the stoner-girls either ended up with a kid or had an abortion, at least once. One girl in particular had six abortions before she o.d.'ed on crank.

Hi. Quick Q, what is the most powerful theoretical non-pulse emission laser (one sustained over long periods of time at a stable output of energy), and what are the mechanisms used, theoretically. Oh yeah, TY2095, that idea for a white laser is really cool, but I doubt the applications would be terribly valuable. Of course, I haven't had a lot of time to think about it. Any ideas?

My point exactly. Thanks Dov (as in dove? or just symbolic for somethin'?)

I would like to know what on earth you were thinking. No offense. But really, its obvious that we share a common ancestry. You’re suggesting that plants and animals are completely alien to one another. Under those circumstances, life in the galaxy would be quite dull, because every species would be more similar to us than we’ve ever suspected. Come on kids, this is school stuff, really

Hey, one question. How do you use a custom sticker? I really don't like b-spears

Actually, I think I’ve fund the deciding factor. If you look at all earth based life o the cellular level, you’ll see that essentially, plant’s and animals are identical. In billions of year of evolution, we’ve differentiated ourselves very little. Basically, plants have vacuoles, cell walls, and chloroplasts, that’s the real difference. Everything else they have we have. They’re even very similar genetically. That is something you’d expect o see in close cousins, evolutionarily. If our first ancestors were not the same as plant’s, the two groups would be as different as we are to whatever’s lurking out there on a distant, or not so distant world. It goes without saying that this is unequivocal proof that the origin of life is the are for both plant and animal life. Duh.

Hey, i kow i'm new, and really late in the dbate, but i'd like to say that I find it most likely that all genetically based earth-life (that means prions and viral agents are not included) originated from a cmmon ancestor at some point, whether plant, animal, fungal, or bacterial, or protozoan