jamotto

Link

Link quote: By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - About one of every 13 miles of the Appalachian Trail between Maine and Georgia passes through national forests where a Bush administration plan could allow clear cutting of wooded areas, an environmental group said Tuesday. The Campaign to Protect America's Lands said it found that 163 of the popular trail's 2,174 miles fall within the 58 million acres where the Bush administration proposed lifting a ban on logging, road-building and other development. Designated as the first National Scenic Trail in 1968, the Appalachian Trail draws thousands of hikers each year, including some who attempt to travel its entire length. Most enjoy shorter segments within easy reach of cities in the East. "I don't think that walking through clear cuts or mines is what people are looking for," said Peter Altman, director of the campaign, which is part of the Rockefeller Family Fund's Environmental Integrity Project. Altman, however, said he knows of no plans to allow timbering along any of the 163 miles of trail in six states covered by the new policy ÔÇö Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. Officials with the U.S. Forest Service had no immediate comment. Most of the trail is protected by existing forest management plans, according to the Appalachian Trail Conference, a volunteer group in Harpers Ferry, W. Va., which works closely with the Forest Service in managing the trail. The administration announced in July that it would allow logging in areas that former President Clinton (news - web sites) had put off-limits to such activity shortly before he left office in 2001.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: Thank you JamottoNo thanks is required. quote: you brought up a point that I never really thought about, and the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that you are indeed correct in your assessment.only time will tell, if it is indeed correct.

Awesome, one of these days we are going to find a planet like ours with people on it even. Can't wait for that day.

What a shame for them to be going bankrupt. "Re-Volt" and "Bad Mojo" where really cool [ 08-31-2004, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: jamotto ]

Link

Link

They seem to not be able to catch a break. On hindsight though using 'gaben' for his password

Link quote: LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The hilariously sinister 1960s television monster family, "The Munsters," will get a new lease on life after US comedy siblings the Wayans brothers signed on to make a "Munsters" movie. The oddball family that included the Frankenstein-like Herman Munster and his quirky clan will be revived by Shawn and Marlon Wayans in a modern-day look at the famed gang, Daily Variety said Tuesday. But the brothers, who starred this year in the comedy "White Chicks," will not appear in the movie that will be made for top Hollywood studio Universal Pictures. Munster cohorts Herman, Lily, Grandpa, Marilyn and Eddie Munster became known across the world with the success of the 1960s television show that was syndicated globally and became a cult favourite. The show, which ran from 1964 to 1966, told the story of a suburban family made up of macabre characters more reminiscent of 1930s movie monsters who cannot fathom why their neighbours are terrified of them.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: Jamato, please explain your comment about private and public insurance, are you saying that we should have pay for services style healthcare, where you pay for whatever service privately? Or what? As in the old system before the early 1900's. the system that REALLY worked well?The United States has had a fee-for-service system for some time now. However, in the 1960's the cost of fee-for-service health care escalated rapidly due to the fact there was an expansion of medical insurance programs. Third-party providers(public and private insurers) began picking up large portions of doctor and hospital bills for insured patients. In 1982 medical sociologist Paul Starr did a study that concluded that "third party fee-for-service is the main reason for medical inflation because it gives doctors and hospitals an incentive to increase medical services". in 1997 Gregory L. Weiss and Lynne E. Lonnquist noted that the principle of supply and demand (in regards to health care providers, in competition with each other, should be motivated to offer the best possible service at the lowest price in order to attract customers) does not work well in health care. Patients have no incentive to limit their visits to doctors or hospitals because they have already paid their premiums and feel entitled to medical care, regardless of the cost. Likewise, many patients simply depend on the advice of their physicians to determine what treatment to have; they do not independently decide on what medical care they need. So basically, insurance of any form really puts the kink in a fee-for-service system. To really fix it you would have to get rid of all insurance if people are not willing to do that (I can relate to that) then just eliminating Medicaid and Medicare with out touching insurance will just hurt more people than it will help. [ 08-29-2004, 03:46 AM: Message edited by: jamotto ]

First in Germany, now in Amsterdam Look Who Has a Real Potty Mouth... quote: AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The citizens of Amsterdam may now take counsel of talking toilets that expound on the perils of smoking or the futility of war and berate them on hygiene and cleanliness. The first such toilets, fitted with sensors to detect exactly what visitors do and to pass comment if appropriate, were installed in a central Amsterdam cafe Thursday. Creator Leonard van Munster, who sees the project as an artistic venture, will build more if the demand arises. "You might consider sitting down next time," the toilet told a male Reuters reporter politely in a female robot voice. The next user was told that "The last visitor did not take heed of basic rules of hygiene." Depending on circumstances, the toilet might remind you to wash your hands or ask you to lift the seat. "It could suddenly start coughing and warn you about the dangers of cigarettes, or name all the cool movie stars who smoke. It just depends what mood it's in," van Munster said referring to people who sneak off to secretly have a puff. Great, toilets with "moods"

Link

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: THe US has the BEST health care system in the world, and Universal Health care would quite literally KILL it. No thank you, Tort reform and less government regulation, kill medicaid and medicare and any other Government paid insurance, and that would allow the free enterprise system to once again work with the health care system and drive consumer costs down. The system dysfunction is government involvement and government paying medical expenses. Get government out of it, allow free enterprise to once again regulate it and it will drive the costs down. I have seen universal health care, NO THANK YOU. Actually, if you really wanted to drive health care costs down you would have to get rid of all insurance both public and private.

Link quote: By Daisuke Wakabayashi CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (news - web sites) on Thursday named Susan Hockfield as its first female president, a breakthrough for the world-renowned school that has churned out more than 50 Nobel prizewinners but which ranks below the national average for its percentage of female students. The selection of Hockfield, a neuroscientist who currently serves as Yale University provost, adds to the growing presence of women presidents among America's most prestigious colleges, including Princeton University and Brown University. But experts noted there is much room for improvement, especially since women make up more than half of the U.S. undergraduate population and yet account for only about a fifth of all college presidents. Hockfield, 53, who is also MIT's first president with a background not in engineering, is slated to assume the post in early December. "We think it's terrific that we have a woman and a life scientist," said Dana Mead, who headed up the committee to pick the school's new president. Outgoing MIT President Charles Vest made headlines in 1999 when he acknowledged that the school's female professors suffered from discrimination in hiring, awards, promotions and access to laboratory space and research money. Women represent 42 percent of undergraduates at MIT, versus 56 percent at the national level, according to the American Council on Education. Sheldon Steinbach, ACE general counsel, said the U.S. primary and secondary education system has turned off many women from pursuing careers in math and sciences, but that this may be changing. "The choice of MIT hopefully will send a strong message to young women that the fact an internationally recognized school selects a woman as its president means that success in the sciences is possible," Steinbach said. (Additional reporting by Greg Frost)

Link

quote:Originally posted by Severniae: I think another thing that puts people off, is that everything happens in real time. People have become impatient and cant stand having to wait hours for things to happen. *snip*I agree, I would like to also add that perhaps that they don't have the time to wait for hours for things to happen, with the shortage of leisure time people are looking for the most "bang for the buck" from their games.

Link

How about Axis & Allies: Iron Blitz Edition.

quote:Originally posted by Wyrdsmith: Bridge Commander? Blech. My roomate thinks along those lines as well. Nothing wrong with Bridge Commander. It is a fun game to play. quote: Here's a question for you all: WHY do you think so many people want their hands held these days? Here's my spin on it. I think it's because the graphics, sound etc have gotten to the point where people no longer need to use their imagination when playing games. Kids especially are so overstimulated that they really don't develop imagination as much I think. I started out gaming with the old Atari 2600, and worked up to an Atari 800. Lol. You NEEDED an imagination to play stuff back then, and it really deepened the experience. Plus, I think, most people don't read books as much as watch TV anymore, which dampens the imagination too. What do you all think?I think you might be on to something here.

Navy Report Backs Kerry Role in Incident

Stranger things have happened.

quote:Originally posted by Mordax Blyrr: Anyone experienced the same problem BoPRoX had with Shoot not working anymore while a few mins in-game?Yes, for me it happens after I turn the voice recognition on and off a few times. Setting the thread priority to real-time seems to alleviate the problem, at least so far. Otherwise, it seems to be working fine.

Link quote: MOSCOW (AFP) - A Russian scientist has reopened the controversy over a gigantic explosion in 1908 in Siberia with a claim that he has found debris from an extraterrestrial space vehicle, or UFO, which collided with a comet. On June 30, 1908 a colossal flash lit up the sky over Siberia, followed by an explosion with the power of a thousand atom bombs. It obliterated the taiga (forest) for hundreds of square kilometres (miles) in the basin of the river Podkamennaya Tunguska in the Krasnoyarsk region. People living in the villages of Siberia thought there had been an earthquake. Humans and animals were thrown to the ground by the shockwave, windows were blown in. No meteorite debris was found and scientists conclude that the core of a comet or an asteroid had exploded. Researcher Yuri Lavbin has spent 12 years researching the mystery of the "Tunguska meteorite" and believes he has found the key to one of the great scientific enigmas of the last century, though many scientists remain sceptical. He is president of the "Tunguska Spatial Phenomenon" Foundation in Krasnoyarsk, made up of some 15 enthusiasts, among them geologists, chemists, physicists and mineralogists, who have been organising regular expeditions to the area since 1994. Lavbin's theory is that a comet and a mysterious flying machine collided 10 kilometres (six miles) above the earth's surface causing the explosion. He and his team say that on an expedition to the Podkamannaya Tunguska river in July they found, between two villages, two strange black stones in the form of regular cubes with their sides measuring a metre and half (five feet). These stones "are manifestly not of natural origin," Lavbin says. They appear to have been fired and "their material recalls an alloy used to make space rockets, while at the beginning of the 20th century only planes made of plywood existed." He claims that the cubes are the remains of a flying machine, perhaps an extraterrestrial spaceship, while admitting that an analysis of the stones has yet to be undertaken. He found something else: a huge white stone "the size of a peasant's hut" stuck in the top of a crag in the middle of the devastated forest. "Local people call it the 'reindeer stone'. It is made of a crystalline matter which is not typical of this region," Lavbin said. He suggests it is part of the core of a comet. The scientific establishment is not convinced. "There are plenty of amateurs who organise trips to the site of the Tunguska cataclysm," said Anna Skripnik of the meteorites committee of the Academy of Sciences. "In Siberia where oil geologists regularly work you can find a heap of fragments of various machines." Lavbin is not deterred. He produces satellite photos of the region to back his theory which show the "footprints" of the spaceship (long marshes and lakes) and of the comet (devastated forests, charred trees and smashed rocks). Not to mention a crater 500 metres (yards) across.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: The river was 75 yards across, so they would have had to slow WAY down, or stopped. Ok, if the river was 75 yards across then they would have to slow to <10 knots to make the turn.

quote:Originally posted by Steve Schacher: (BTW: the turning radius is 75 yards when cruising at 20 knots) ok, so it would take them almost 21 seconds to turn around at 20 knots.