papsrus

NSFW ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUrsX9O7Y2c

I'd like to see a good golf brawl.

Interesting that the reaction in China to the b-ball brawl has generally been scorn for the hometown fellas for being thugs. Wonder how they would have fared against Lambeer and the boys?

Let me know when you do! Wish I could make the Atlanta gigs. ... Maybe I can.

Sounds like this guy got up on the wrong side of the bed, in a big way. Either that, or he's seriously threatened by your evaluation. Maybe a little bit of both.

It's a jungle out there.

Yes, nice gesture by the Rangers.

Anyone here familiar with Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy? Red Mars Blue Mars Green Mars

BANG!

Seems they dovetail nicely then. If theories have a built-in bias, all the more reason to be suspicious of them. All the more reason to test them and try to find conditions where they would be false. Anyways, just some thoughts. They could be false!

I've gone round and round on this before, but as a layman I've always relied on Karl Popper's view that science is in the business of disproving theories, not proving them. Through this ongoing process of falsification, knowledge advances. As you say, a little off topic. But Popper's paradigm does tend to make one a little more hesitant to accept certain judgments about cause and effect, for example.

That's one possible outcome, although my experience with child abuse also has taught me that it can have the opposite effect, that the abused person grows up and vows to never allow anything like that to happen to anyone that they love. Victims of child abuse can become hyper-vigilant about any form of abuse ever happening to their own children, or to other children they know. Wanting to know more about this whole 'brain chemistry' argument, I did a quick Google on 'brain chemistry child abuser' and got a slew of results pointing to studies that suggest abuse may alter the brain chemistry of the victims, over time. Which obviously means that the abuse itself is suspected of causing the altered brain chemistry. That it's not inherent, in other words. Which, in the end, so what. Screwed up wiring is screwed up wiring. But maybe if we know how the wiring got screwed up we'd at least be more aware of the source of the problem. Whether or not the problem can be fixed at its source is another question.

That is great news Allen!

I talked at some length to someone last night who is a self-described "Cradle Catholic" about this idea of unqualified forgiveness, and their thought was that it rests in large part on the principle of "judge not, that ye be not judged." I'm not well-versed in the Bible (to put it mildly), but Matthew 7.1 seems to address this: I still lean toward the idea that the sinner bears some responsibility to participate in this whole forgiveness deal if it's going to have any 'tangible' or meaningful benefit to anyone other than the person offering it. ... But maybe that's not the point. I think I could forgive someone guilty of such crimes if they asked for forgiveness, or if they seemed lost and alone and needed some hope. I think I'd have a lot more trouble with that if they showed no remorse or regret about what they did.

I was going to post this in response to Lon's thoughtful post above because he talks about forgiveness in the Christian sense. But even more broadly, doesn't forgiveness require something of the sinner, too? If someone does these sorts of terrible things and shows no remorse or regret, what meaning does forgiveness have? OTOH, if someone seeks forgiveness, that seems like an entirely different thing. But, ah ... I don't really know. Obviously, like everyone, struggling with the idea that someone here could be involved in such monstrous acts. Thanks for posting your thoughts, Face.

David Gergen David Gergen .... still nothing.

I think he just likes saying (typing, whatever) "David Gergin" David Gergin David Gergin David Gergin ....... nope, doesn't do anything

Thanks for posting that. Certainly a worthy project.

Sad. Keeping Larry's cautioning in mind about jumping to conclusions of guilt, the magnitude of the investigation, coupled with what one would assume are the fairly straightforward forensics involved in tracing computer A to computer B, it all adds up to a sense of inevitability about how this is going to shake out. So terrible to contemplate. Confusion. Anger. Betrayal. The works.

Hope I didn't come across as too presumptuous or preachy, Guy. You obviously know what's best for your situation.

Shit. Larry's right. But obviously hope this isn't Bill.

You might want to look into obedience training. There are several ways to go with this, from group classes with several other dogs, to a private trainer in a series of one-on-one sessions. A one-on-one session with a trainer is best, in my opinion. No distractions. Focused instruction. I've gone the private trainer route in the past and had success with it. And it has worked with dogs I've had who are older and whose behaviors were triggered by fear. In other words, it has worked on behaviors that were much more ingrained and difficult to correct. It probably will only take one or two sessions for an obedience trainer to assess your dog's behavior and give you the tools to correct those behaviors on your own, so a private trainer is not really a costly proposition. A few follow-up sessions would probably be recommended to see how well the training techniques are working and if they need to be modified. They say obedience training is as much about training the human as it is about training the dog. Tying him to a door knob may be the exact wrong thing to do to correct the behavior. In fact, it quite likely is the wrong thing to do, and may only increase his frustration (as well as yours). It sounds like this dog has a lot of good traits and one bad trait that can be corrected. Try to stick with it. Dogs need direction. They want direction. The more direction they get, the more devoted they become. At least, that's my experience. Good luck and keep us posted no matter what you decide. Also -- and I'm sure you know this -- puppies chew. A lot. Chew toys and chew sticks are the answer. And keep him away from books and CDs or any other valuables while he's learning what he can and can't sink his teeth into.

I don't think the electronic drums were intended to mimic the sound of a real kit, and their sonic texture (if that's the right term) is quite deliberate. I recall some of Allen's comments on the music allude to this. Works for me.

Happy birthday Shawn.

Happy birthday Lon.