Texsox

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 01:14 PM) Don't buy any luxury items that Americans think are rights and it's pretty easy. We're talking about a living wage - what you need to provide you with life essentials. 15k is MORE than enough. $15,000 less 15% + $870 for taxes = $11,880 http://www.tax-brackets.org/federaltaxtable $11,880 / 12 = $990 (- stare income taxes) Rent? Food? Clothing? Transportation? Health Care? Could it be done? I don't think so for most of America.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 11:48 AM) What's a living wage? Please define it. I consider minimum wage a living wage. You can absolutely "live" on 15-20k a year. Easily. So the next question is, what kind of minimal lifestyle should people have. That's where we all clearly disagree. Really? Would you care to write a budget that allows someone to live self sufficiently on $15,000 in America?

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 11:46 AM) Im going to try my best here to not be insulting. We really dont need you. At all, even if I were using the term "you" broadly to address the many others living near identical lives. We need lawyers (sadly), geologists, truck drivers and sad office drones. We dont need dreamchasing actors. America would keep chugging along in their absence. Theres really no nobility to it either. But if I go further down that road Im afraid Ill have no choice but to insult so Ill stop here. American movies are one of our greatest exports and generate nice incomes for a lot of people. You do have great company in your ideas so I do not want to totally dismiss them. None other than Karl Marx felt that a capitalistic society will devolve into only doing what is necessary and ignore all things like art, literature, etc.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 10:19 AM) I'm not entirely sure what you mean by Fictional Affair. Are you saying you travel into the book to have an affair with the people in said book? If so... I would immediately write a novel containing Emma Watson, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kate Upton. I'm sure there are many others I'd be including in the second book. Sorry, I edited the first post

I was just reading a Woody Allen essay in which he describes a magical box that allowed someone to travel into any novel and have an affair. The protagonist in his essay chose Emma Bovery from Falubert's Madam Bovery. That seems like a really good choice. He was also allowed to pick the chapter. Who would you pick?

I am teaching the Gettysburg Address today and thinking what a cool speech it was. Pretty damn effective as well. In looking at sites and getting some ideas, I discovered a lot of people that had memorized it. That seemed so old fashioned. I'm wondering if anyone here was made to memorize that or any speech? BTW, I annoyed my math teacher when I had our students give math answers in terms of score.

I read a couple web sites about using those and they all seem to create this fifteen minute ritual using the old fashion brush and shave soap. It looked cool, but no way I was going to take that long shaving each morning. The economics and coolness factor are compelling. I did once use a straight razor. That was an adventure in pain. LOL

ESPN is getting into the act as well. Their special is about the Dallas Cowboys and how they were afraid to play the following weeks. America hated all things Dallas. I understand the players drew straws to see who would run out first, some expected that one or more players would be killed.

Actually at least one mob guy, he was serving time in Joliet, has "confessed". His confession was debunked IIRC. The line that always makes sense to me is do you really believe the government could keep a secret this long?

This was really driven by the roster. This has me thinking about Ozzie and his "Sunday lineups".

I tend to believe Oswald acted alone as well. Taking a class based around the popular culture of the time has been very interesting. I was a little uneasy about the course, hoping it wouldn't be endless arguing over conspiracy theories. Instead, in the first minutes of the fist class the professor said "I don't care who shot Kennedy, if Oswald acted alone, whatever. If we go down that rabbit hole we may never come back out." I remember as a kid reading and rereading a book about the Secret Service and thinking how professional and cool they were. Between all the books I've read about the assassination and the controversy from a couple years ago, the Secret Service is as messed up as any.

I looked at that. Does shaving take longer?

I am finding it interesting that the most noteworthy conclusion any researcher could possibly come up with at this point is to agree with the Warren Commission report. That is really rare.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 16, 2013 -> 03:41 PM) I read a similar story but it said they drank until 4 AM. The story I read said they had one gentleman, I can't remember his name, who was not hungover and they assigned him to sniper duty that day. According to the Warren Commission report, the club does not serve alcohol and no one was drinking that night

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Nov 16, 2013 -> 12:57 PM) The one dollar razors seem terrible for someone who shaves often. 5 blades for a $1 plus shipping. I went with the four blade model at $6 a month. That's less than what I was paying.

You gotta watch the video lmao I received the handle and blades. This guy is a genius.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Nov 14, 2013 -> 01:11 PM) They changed our school times around a few years ago so that the HS kids started later than the younger kids. The excuse we were told was that "HS students need more sleep". This goes more towards my theory that it was to save money on the bus routes. It really screwed the parents that relied on the older kids being home to watch the younger ones after school as well as any students that wanted an after school job that started before 4:00. How would changing the time save money?

The other night we spoke with a band member of the Cavern Club in Fort Worth where the Secrete Service guys drank until 6 am. I wonder how fit they were for service later? An interesting tidbit, a couple of the guys that worked there wandered over to the hotel where Kennedy was speaking. When Kennedy left he shook their hands. Why is that interesting? They both had .45s in their back pockets. The world was a much different place then.

I'm trying to do three things at once. I need to proofread before posting.

I'm fully prepared to stick my head in the sand until 2017. With the trends in politics, I see this as the ugliest election ever. I hope I am wrong.

I keep receiving "special invitations" based on my superior GPS for honor societies, Whos Who, etc. It's grad school. Grades are A, B or Fail. How can you not maintain a 3.75 or above?

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Nov 14, 2013 -> 12:08 PM) So Obama is gonna let people keep their plans for a year. Those evil tyrannical plans this bill supposedly killed. Its ridiculous how much of a mess this thing is and how desperately hes trying to force us into liking it. What solution would you have prefered? I like the requirement that the insurer explain why the plan is deficient.

Having been on a bus route advisory committee there are a couple interesting factors at work in planning bus routes and they all revolve around time = money. More stops require more buses or having the first kids picked up ten, fifteen, or more minutes earlier. This costing more in drive salaries, more time (not miles) on the engines, increased fuel costs. We use the same buses for three runs each morning and evening. Middle School, followed by Elementary, then High School. Even that was planned out. H.S. kids didn't usually need their parents (who may be working) to get them to school, so they went last. We had more working middle school parents than anything else. So it worked for them to drop the kids off, or get them on the bus early. We also had early day programs at the Elementary for parents who could drop them off. I also wondered about safety. Isn't there also something for having more kids at one stop instead of dividing them up to the point where only two or three kids are at each stop. It really was an interesting process

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 13, 2013 -> 10:26 AM) It's all relatively small i'm sure, but if you're increasing the cost by a dollar it's still too much. At the end of the day you should be able to shop around for a policy that fits your needs. If you want to gamble that you'll never get sick and don't need to pay for that coverage, hey that's your gamble and you'll be stuck with the consequences of it. It's not societies role to ensure that you won't make stupid decisions. Should the consequences be that you do not receive treatment if you are in an automobile accident and can't come up with the cash? How about receiving treatment for cancer? Should hospitals be allowed to turn you away and have you die? That has been the problem. As a society we have been unwilling to allow people to truly feel the consequences of their decision. It's easy to say they should have to pay the consequences, but the consequence is usually you receive treatment and the hospital sends you a bill that you may or may not pay.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 13, 2013 -> 08:51 AM) I understand that health insurance can't be an ala carte menu. But you should have options. A single kid in college has no need for pregnancy care. He's not married, if he knocked some chick up she's not getting that coverage, so it's an absolute waste of money that he is FORCED to pay. It's akin to forcing people to buy a car insurance policy covering semi-repairs when you drive a sedan. Edit: and the bolded isn't totally true. If you develop a health issue you're going to buy a more comprehensive insurance plan as time goes by. If you have a family you're going to buy a more comprehensive insurance plan. If you're a single 25 year old male who will most likely never see a doctor except for once a year, you shouldn't be forced to buy an insurance plan that covers medical care you will never, ever use. You should have the option of buying a catastrophic plan just in case you're involved in an unlikely accident. How much of a premium do you believe is for items like you mention versus things like major medical if you get in a car accident (more likely for a young male than an older woman?) How many different items do you want to check off that could or could not happen? And finally, when calculating premiums, do you think that there is a possibility that insurers are thinking that hey, that woman can't get testicular cancer so we'll weigh that risk as very low and are not charging much for it?