Texsox

QUOTE(Soxy @ Dec 14, 2005 -> 01:16 PM) haha I wish there was a check. . . But it was seriously the funniest thing ever, this kid has come to my office hours a couple of time--and I try really hard to learn all my students' names, but no clue who this one was. Funniest thing is, he wasn't even asking for anything in the e-mail. Undergrads are so weird. You must have mesmerized him.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 06:05 PM) I would also guess that a majority of murderers in states like Texas would rather not be executed either... But not all. One this year requested and had granted a speedy execution. He spent less than 3 years on death row. And in the fine Huntsville tradition, he emptied his prison account by buying pints of blue bell ice cream for all his friends on death row. http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/13398396.htm

QUOTE(Evil Misquoter @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 03:41 PM) Got this from a STUDENT today: Thank you for the clarificatio Soxy, you have been a lot of help. You have proven not only to be beautiful but kind and friendly as well, a rare combination.. Thanks again, and have a nice vacation, check enclosed... He called you Soxy? and how much was the check for?

A couple of the things that has slowed down my checking off from the life list is the remoteness of the Rio Grande Valley. Everything is a two hop plane ride. An hour or two to Dallas or Houston, than wherever. AL though I've gotten over my headache of the new restrictions the airlines have on stoves, fuels, etc. The second factor is I'm out with my Boy Scout Troop once a month and my Venturing Crew once a month, so I have to plan trips that are possible for either 11-17 year old boys or 14-20 year old coed crew. The Venturing Crew has a couple girls that are really excited about backpacking. The boys in the Troop love the 15 pound Dutch ovens and giant tents. My next spot is the Guadalupe Mountains and the highest spot in Texas. There is also a new wilderness area near the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico called Double H Ranch. No established campsites or routes. All very strict LNT backpacking. I am fairly certain to be spending two weeks there in 2007. I also added the Continental Divide Trail to my list, and I'm hoping to start hiking sections of it next year.

I would love to be able to read our posts here and see how closely they follow Jay's ups and downs. Of course everyone here knew from the start this was a WS team and wasn't choking down the stretch. LOL This team proved a lot of people wrong.

I knew it, rock stars would never be so screwed up as to kill themselves

Wow, that is wonderful news. That little guy is destined for greatness. Anyone with that much grit and determination will be a great person. and joy at the news.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 10:05 AM) Oh, see, now you've got me distracted the rest of the day. So much for concentrating on work. Favorite place on earth... In a canoe, on Lake MacKenzie, Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. or maybe... sitting on my pack on Hummingbird Saddle, Gila Wilderness Area, New Mexico or even... wandering aimlessly around Salisbury, U.K. But more than likely, I'll have to go with the answer given by kapkomet... I haven't been there yet. I have both Quetico and Gila on my life list. I will probably do boundary waters from the Northern Tier Boy Scout Camp in the next couple years. Gila may be more of a stretch. How many days were you out at Gila? Is water an issue, or do you have to carry it all? How was the elevation? I live at about 22 feet above sea level, 10,000 feet will be thin air for me. When my son was at Philmont this summer in New Mexico, the 8,000 peaks kicked their butts a bit.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 08:44 AM) I listed the results of a simple poll .. with no comment one way or another. You took it from there. I'm sorry, YAS, someone has been using your computer. There were several replies from your account. They should be easy enough to track down. They couldn't understand the difference between a scientifically valid poll and a entertainment poll.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 08:43 AM) Ha. A pedophile priest can't be reformed, but Tookie Williams can (and had been per some). Ha Ha, YAS doesn't know the difference between murder and pedophilia. It has been shown over and over again that sex related criminals are much more difficult to rehabilitate than murders. Many researchers point to the sex drive as being "hard wired" into humans. People who engage in pedophilia are especially difficult to rehabilitate. nice try Yas. Keep pushing those buttons.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 08:42 AM) Button pushing can be so much fun. Then complaining how something has turned to hell . . . :rolly

I guess it all comes down to reformation for that judge. If the purpose of our prison system is to reform a person, and we assume that this was the only instance, no other victims came forward, then the man is probably no longer a threat. I am surprised that this was the only victim. I hope he isn't pointed to as an example that abusers and pedophiles can be rehabilitated. I hope every day for those 30 years he dreaded the day this would become public. I hope he sweated every time an accused pedophile was made public, I hope his nights were haunted by the abuse he dealt that young man. I hope he built a personal hell far worse than what the justice system would have wrought.

QUOTE(mreye @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 08:14 AM) Come on, Tex. Where's your Christmas spirit? in a barn, in the middle east, thinking about the birth of an infant that would change the world for a couple thousand years . . .

I was just looking at my backpack and thinking I need to get away for a while. That got me thinking to where and my favorite places I've been. State Street and the North Shore suburbs, at Christmas, Buckingham Fountain in summer, The Cell, South Padre Island, and a whole bunch more come to mind, but . . . I want to be in the Chisos Mountains, in Big Bend at my favorite primitive campsite. It is about a four hour hike with full packs. Link It is my favorite place on earth partly because of the remoteness, the mountains all around, the views into Texas and Mexico, the deer running through the campsite, the possibility of seeing a mountain lion or bear, that I first visited the place with my son, that the only way to experience it is to sweat and climb 1,600 feet from base camp, that our country is rich enough to set aside an area like this as a National Park, the billion more stars one sees away from any artificial lights, and a whole lot more that resonates with me. What's your favorite spot on earth?

What is this thing called a furnace?

QUOTE(mreye @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 07:52 AM) I understand both arguements, but let's talk about what this says if it is indeed true. That visitors to that web site think revenge is good.

There are a number of neighborhoods like that in every city where people line up to view the show. I forget the area just off the Edens that was incredible most years. Christmas wasn't complete until I spent an hour in a traffic jam viewing those lights. He did invest in a low wattage FM transmitter, so he didn't have speakers blaring. What I imagine is annoying the most is trying to get to your house with all the damn traffic.

LOL, then the Americanization of Iraq will be complete

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 07:29 AM) The question is asked in an unbiased manner. There were 180k answer the question, so small sample size can't be claimed. Oh yes, this was from MSNBC, not FoxNews. But you know what, you'll brush it off and latch on to the next poll that you like the results. I know how it works. LOL. How many blacks vs. whites responded? Is that important to know? Sample size is irrelevant if you don't know the population it came from. This is basic polling fact. If I polled 20,000 NRA members and asked about gun control, would that be more accurate than 10,000 subjects that reflect the US population in regards to race, sex, religion, region of the country, etc.? Keep playing blind YAS. I'm done trying to wake someone pretending to be asleep.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 07:25 AM) And if this is the same guy, he had to shut it down because there was a traffic accident in front of his house and it took the authorities two hours to get to the accident. After that, he was told that he couldn't do it anymore because it was becoming a nusciance. Exactly the same guy.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 07:15 AM) Controlled polls can also be controlled to skew the results. This poll asked a simple question with yes or no as responses. You see the results. Nothing more, nothing less. YAS, how many males vs. females voted? How many Black vs. Whites? Blacks are much less likely to have internet access than Whites. Blacks are much more likely to be against capital punishment. What this poll proved is visitors to that website, on those days, are 73% in favor or capital punishment. It can't reliably be said that the world population is in favor, that the US population is in favor, that the population in Kentucky is in favor. Look at to two choices. The wording is flawed. If it was written are you in favor of capital punishment, even though innocent people, like your child, may be killed? Would that change the results?

QUOTE(Steff @ Dec 12, 2005 -> 07:49 AM) I would give Joey perfect health. Amen to that.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 13, 2005 -> 06:58 AM) Everything is polled in this country. Are Bush's performance polls just as unreliable and as easily dismissed? You guys can't have your cake and eat it too. Polls were anyone can just come in and click are not as reliable as controlled polls where the subjects are selected to match the population. If I polled the NRA members on gun control issues, the results would not be valid, likewise if I polled Village Voice readers on gun control. Same thing with asking anyone to click here to vote. Polls where the US Population is sampled, the percentage of Dems and GOPs, Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics, males and females, etc. are all accounted for are more reliable. That is why the White House, and their opponents, hire professional pollsters instead of sticking a poll on the White House Web Site. Come on YAS, you are smart enough to know that. This isn't having your cake and eating it to. It's about the difference in a scientific poll and an entertainment poll. And I will give you this, I believe the population is in favor of killing people. I wish we had more of a Roman spectacle about it. Perhaps have a giant stadium and allow the fans to vote thumbs up or thumbs down. Now that would be a deterrent.

You do understand that these polls are not reliable? It would be like having a poll here and asking who is your favorite baseball team. But that is why we have captal punishment in this country. Revenge feels good.