packsaddle

That comment about the different bulbs attracting different insects is a great idea for an experiment. But seriously, how many forum members did it take to change those bulbs?

BadenP, I think you are being a bit too hard on SR540Beaver. My comments were meant more as a correction than a criticism. Anyway, I had to go to the website of the local fellowship to check my memory but there it was on the home page, the listing for: "Reverend 'so-and-so', Minister for 'this Fellowship'". Both of those terms used by the UUs in the same line on their home page. I have no idea what other UUA fellowships and churches do but I suspect that given that they value the individual worth of all people, there just might be an element of 'local option' among their fellowships, I could be wrong. But those titles are just terms, after all. No big deal...I'd worry more about it if they were called an Imperial Wizard or Royal Hatchet or something. No, actually if they did use those, THAT would be really interesting! Edit: I just checked 6 other fellowships around this region and I can't find one that DOESN'T use the terms 'reverend' and 'minister'. I'll keep looking: it would be way cool to find an Imperial Wizard! (This message has been edited by packsaddle)

SR540Beaver, I just asked my UU buddy who is a lay minister for the local fellowship about this. He responded with something about the council of nicea and the term 'heretic' being coined by Christians for those who reject the trinity. So as you wrote, "Originally, all Unitarians were Christians who didn't believe in the Holy Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), but in the unity, or single aspect, of God." and then, "Later, Unitarian beliefs stressed the importance of rational thinking, a direct relationship with God, and the humanity of Jesus." The 'humanity' of Jesus. UUs reject the Trinity. They reject the divinity of Jesus. I have heard on numerous occasions...Christians proclaiming that UUs are atheists and anyone who is the friend of a UU "walks with Satan". I have to say that if any of this makes the UUs Christian, I'll just add that they also stress, as you say, "the importance of rational thinking." And THAT should just about do it. They might have common origins but I'd have to say that they've diverged almost evolutionarily into something that around here, at least, gets rough treatment. I note that we also have common origins with chimpanzees...and I guess when I survey the cub scouts, I actually DO see the resemblance . But the only time I ever saw a boy get 'grilled' about religion at a BOR is when he confessed that he was Unitarian. Maybe you have had different experiences.

As TheScout wrote a while back, "The purpose of religion isn't to bring people together." Most of my UU friends claim NOT to be Christian.

Romney stands a good chance. Either one of them could blow it though. But if I had to bet, I'd bet that the guy already in office has the advantage but maybe not by much. The one thing I'm really expecting is that I'm going to experience a strip search before I die. The suspense is terrible...I hope it will last.

What Eagle92 said. Except my experience was mostly with cub scouts and uniform to school wasn't one of the things we did.

Are you guys ready yet, to move this discussion to I&P? Y'all play nice now.

It was a quote from a movie..I thought you'd figure that out. Read the edit.

"I'm not sure I understand, either ..." Leslie Zevoe's dad referred to interests like this as the "domain of the small penis". Personally, I just avoid thinking about it. Edit: Ethics...every time I go by certain places, I find deer carcasses discarded by the road. They have bullet damage, sometimes extreme (as in most of the head or gut blown away), and they are often very young, sometimes still with spots and sometimes does, even sometimes pregnant. Fact is, as much as all of us consider this wanton waste to be illegal and repugnant, it is still hunting - at least in the mind of whoever is doing this. In some cases I have counted dozens of these carcasses and because I am in those locations fairly frequently I know they are not accumulated over a long time. Ethics of hunting? OK, I'll give people out west or in Alaska the pass for meat hunting. Some of them. But the concept of ethics and what I've observed as 'sport hunting' around these parts just don't seem to fit together.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Welcome to the forums. Most of the time you'll find others with similar problems. Sometimes someone will have actually found a solution. And always, always, you'll find folks who just enjoy talking about it.

Yeah, I kind of enjoyed that one too. Edit: LeVoyageur, (sorry, asked question about caliber and then found answer myself)(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Yep, but only with Roman numerals.

"The big ticket item here, would be teaching the major elements of tree stand safety..." Which around these parts, if what I observe on the ground below tree stands is any indication, is how to safely climb down (and possibly up as well) while drunk. Edit: Gunny, you can't write a paper if there's no data to be collected. When I did a quick Google search this was the first link: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-532729.html (This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Like Beavah says, there is nothing in any way wrong or dishonorable about leaving boy scouts with the rank of Life. The boy should be proud of what he has achieved personally, and not necessarily so focused on the tokens of those achievements. I have seen only a few boys confront this reality...that in spite of a desire to achieve more, they can't meet the time and age requirements for the rank. For those few boys I counsel them and note that in some ways, this is a life lesson that may serve them far better than having received that Eagle rank. The best part about it is that while they may feel disappointed, this lesson has been learned in a way that will have no long-term effect on their life, other than whatever effect they impose on themselves. So I while I wish the boy well, it's time to begin some reflection on what he's done and what he might do next. It won't include the Eagle rank.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

"Everybody lies" House

I asked our F&W Service people about this and they told me that injuries to horses stepping into prairie dog holes is very rare...most of the time resulting in a bruise on that rare occasion, not a break. So I'd like to see some statistics on this claim of horses breaking legs. How many horses break their legs this way? What is the risk assessment of allowing, say, prairie dog populations to remain constant rather than eradicating them? Thing is, if this is really a big problem then where are the studies associated with this really big problem? I'd like to get some references to the research.

The secret to surviving to advanced age: eat food that's LOADED with preservatives. Seriously, I'm wondering if I can buy that stuff to use as pet food...maybe an occasional snack. Some people have referred to me, in the past, as a hootiecat. Anyone from bayou country probably knows what that is.

This is off-topic mostly but rather than start a new thread for a single answer, I thought it might fit temporarily here? Does anyone know if it is possible to buy that infamous 'pink slime' packaged as a product unto itself? Or must I continue to use the closest substitute I can find, like potted meat or deviled ham?

"...might die of malnutrition, lack of resources, or disease brought on by overcrowding" This is a popular rationalization. I know of no hunters (and this certainly applied to me when I was hunting in the past) who, confronted with several specimens of prey, kill the sickest, weakliest-looking one. 'Meat hunters' are unlikely to intentionally select prey that are dying of disease. In fact there is evidence that hunting can do exactly the opposite. One example, Coltman et al. (2003) found that after 30 years of hunting bighorn sheep, not only did the average horn length decrease significantly, the average body weight of rams also decreased significantly. Unless you can argue that this shift was of benefit to the herd somehow, that claim remains at best unsubstantiated. Coltman, D.W., P. O'Donoghue, J.T. Jorgenson, J.T. Hogg, C. Strobeck, and M. Festa-Bianchet. 2003. Undesirable evolutionary consequences of trophy hunting. Nature. 426:655

People do kill people. Guns make it easier for us, quicker and impossible to call back once the trigger is pulled. They allow us to do it more conveniently and impersonally, effectively translating even the most fleeting thoughtless impulse into complete devastating success. I suspect Zimmerman may be reflecting on these kinds of things fairly often now. Johnny got his gun.

Lisa, I'm probably a lot bigger than your son, just guessing. I see him walking with a hoodie and I'm patrolling the neighborhood. I wonder what he's up to so I just follow along for a while. Maybe I confront him, maybe he confronts me. Maybe words are exchanged and someone throws a punch. If I am not armed, that broken nose that miraculously heals on the way to the station is about the worst that is going to happen, maybe a black eye (and perhaps another miracle). Most likely if I really AM suspicious and am not armed, I'm not going to confront him or even follow too closely in the first place. I'll just let the deputy check things out. But if I'm armed, I just might pull that gun and use it. Your son, in Florida, may never have an opportunity to explain himself or defend his actions. In Florida and perhaps other states with similar laws I might get set free. What is the difference between the tragedy in the second case and the mistake in the first? The prejudices, if any, are the same for both. The impulses are probably similar as well. But the behaviors are different because in one case the behavior is enabled. In my area young men have been killed by persons who received a one finger salute and were enabled. They have been killed because they delivered a pizza late and got into an argument and the homeowner was enabled. They have been killed out of mistaken identity or road rage and the shooter was enabled. It doesn't matter that any or even all of the shooters were subsequently prosecuted and placed under Eamonn's care. It is tragedy regardless. Innocent young men are dead either way. But it is what it is because we have chosen to be what we are...and for our society to be what it has become. These days, we are all just so enabled. Have a nice day.

I'd like to welcome you to the forums, JustaHuman.

Skeptic: "So, did younger horse riders, or wagon drivers also show similar stats?" I'm not sure about horse riders but back in the 1960's I received my driver license at age 15 and started driving a school bus at age 16...just like ALL of the school bus drivers of that time. And I can tell you this: the driving record for the buses back then was as good or better than the adult bus drivers today. My bus had a manual transmission and I had to double-clutch to shift. The qualifying test was brutal. At one point, in that manual transmission bus, each of us had to demonstrate the ability to stop on a steep hill, turn off the engine and then restart it and begin forward motion without even a hint of rolling backwards. I doubt there are many adults today who could do that...especially with a bus load of screaming children behind them.

You gotta wonder what they mean by 'Fencing Associations'. Chain-link or foil?

I love change. In change there is opportunity. Variety is the spice of life! On the other hand (sorry Tevya) some of us are going to live wretched lives. Here in the South, we sometimes seem to take Biblical pride in it. "For you have the poor always with you" Either way, the market won't care. Edited to add: oooooo...Godwin's rule!(This message has been edited by packsaddle)