JKane

You can believe the VAST majority of scientists and every scientific organization you've ever heard of. Or, on simple principal--with clearly illustrated cause these last couple weeks--you could simply believe the OPPOSITE of what FOX NEWS tells you to believe. Talk about vested interests and lopsided reporting of the 1 in 100 scientists who may mildly disagree with some small aspect of global warming. There is FAR more CO2 in the air that in the history of our planet and it clearly has long term repercussions. Even if it didn't, a system to de-incentivise otherwise polluting practices by making people pay the TRUE COSTS of them instead of SUBSIDIZING THEM is simply good public policy. And "Global Warming" isn't about a simple, predictable increase in temperature short-term. It is about MORE ENERGY being put into weather systems which accounts for more and more severe storms and other extremes, high and low. It's a dirt simple pattern to see, for people not being intentionally obtuse.

I'm not well versed in reading medical studies but have to wonder if reducing the risk even 78% is enough. This was during a specific, limited time frame when taking the pills was novel. Is somebody really going to take it prophylacticly for life and if they still have a 20% chance of catching it isn't it just delaying the inevitable?

On the one hand, reporting seems wrong if you know and like the kid, especially as he's making good use of it. The next person may well not. But Seattlebottom raises a good point about the IRS which could be a twofer for you. Report them there, if you're right you may get a reward and they may inform the school. Either way the IRS is more likely to see that this family pays their fair share then the school is.

I just found out about Tim Minchin... fucking HILARIOUS!!!

Can't go anywhere near Weho without hearing the original of this song so this parody is perfect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjvJU3FSaxg Damn it, what am I doing wrong on the embed?

We have plenty of the flaginistas here in LA too. A mention of willing to be gen often gets through. Or helping a guy out. But I've done surprisingly well without paying too. Oh, and here's a search I use, change the beginning to that for your city, maybe it'll help you find one of the few working guys who persist on CL despite the legions of people with nothing better to do.

Again, I'll provide the counterpoint of saying I've had pretty good luck. Damn good lately, actually, several hot young guys *for free* who are local to me. But you have to be the active participant. I usually post, and the more creative (and explicit) your post the more interest you'll attract. Don't write a full-length single-spaced page but do mention fetishes and fantasies... Yes, you will get some flakes and some time wasters. But (in a decent-sized city anyway) you also will eventually get lucky!

Read those fairly recently (A&E series with Ioan Gufford got be interested) then went on to the Patrick O'Brian novels--which I liked even more.

I work in entertainment so I end up on hiatus or between projects fairly often... I'd suggest a hybrid approach that combines several ideas above. With the job market being what it is, you should decide what job you really want and where you'd like to live then start looking (and visiting the area you'd like to live if it's not where you are now). NOT applying for everything but be sure that you'd be aware if your dream job opened up. Also, networking. Whatever contacts you have anywhere near what you'd like to do, let them know you're available and interested if they hear anything. Get your resume in order and maybe go on a test interview or two just so you know what to expect and see how hard it is (or isn't) to get interviews. If a job you're indifferent about makes you an offer then have your rate be something that would make up for not getting the time off! It is much better to job search from a position of power than from one of desperation later on. But don't be a slave to the job hunt, and don't apply for unemployment right away. Save unemployment for if you need it, technically you're supposed to be looking and available for work. Your severance package would screw it up anyway and once you're on it you have to respond weekly to get their pittance. You'd rather be free and able to travel! You should look into how little unemployment is and for how short a period (pretty sure you don't get 99 weeks if you start now, for example) now though, so you're not surprised. Get a passport now if you don't have one. Look at flyertalk.com and take advantage of whatever deals you can (I've recently gotten 150k AA miles from two credit card applications!), especially if you still have some time at work before the event to line stuff up. If your dream job isn't knocking as soon as you're officially out then have some fun!! But don't spend like a drunken sailor, and I'd also suggest the couple months goal to 9-12 months. Once you settle back in and start looking it doesn't mean you can't have fun. Do some long-weekend trips (but during the week when it's cheap!), etc. Your schedule isn't set so you can take advantage of cool opportunities. The time will go *much* faster then you realize and you'll get a lot less accomplished then you imagine. It's way too easy and very common for people to get a big severance and coast for a couple years on it (then on their savings) and end up with expired skills, little appeal to prospective employers, and flat broke *as* they're supposed to be getting ready for retirement. That's the bitch of it... you have time, but until you know where your next paycheck is coming from there will always be the worry in the back of your mind and the anxiety about spending too much money. And once you have a job again you'll have no time to enjoy yourself! Sucks!

Sorry to hear! Hope you get better real soon Expat!

Dr. Kevorkian died peacefully in a hospital after a short illness, at 83. Have no idea if Ian Welsh's ordeal was in Canada, or he's just there now. But I can't imagine how you could immediately jump to the 'must be socialized medicine--that could never happen in our awesomesauce healthcare system' viewpoint. Of course it could, and does. Only real difference is that down here it would have cost his family hundreds of thousands of dollars / driven them into bankruptcy if they happened to not have insurance or had badly regulated insurance filled with caps and loopholes. What he was speaking to was more the typical medical megalomania probably exacerbated by a puritanical aversion to "overuse" of drugs--which makes me think it's slightly more likely to have been down here.

He simply can't bring himself to admit the pictured dick is bigger than his... who can blame him? Stewart's coverage this week was hilarious. But it's all almost certainly cooked up by the shading Brietbart-connected schmuck who was the only one to see the post.

I read this shortly after I'd heard he died, and while the guy who wrote it wasn't seeking death it certainly is a vivid description of why someone would. Fucking religious nuts, forcing people to suffer because their fairytale disapproves! I'm a huge fan of Dr. K's work and wish there was somebody continuing his fight to let people die with dignity on their own terms. But instead the law goes after a grandmother selling a bag you could use with helium if you felt the need.

That's what I love about British TV, it's designed to be a 'series' of several episodes then END. If it's really well received maybe they get around to follow-on series, but it's a much better approach then our "here's a gem of an idea, now let's assume it's enough for 22 episodes--and we have to leave someplace to go for years after too" approach. I turned off Dateline in disgust when it was revealed they rigged a car to explode to show how dangerous they were, haven't watched since.

You're the only person I've heard say something good about Borgias. I liked the idea but everybody said the were bored by the first couple episodes so I never bothered starting it. I finally got around to watching (BBC series) Luther, with the guy who played Stringer Bell on The Wire, it was damn good and quite an ending. Love the way the Brits do TV!

Good idea, but can the powers that be also wait 'till after Game of Thrones tomorrow?

He said the same on a great, in-depth interview with Letterman, below. That the choices are small, odd looking, but functional or decent-sized normal looking but little sensation. Watching these has started to give me a deeper understanding of trans people, and decide to simply get over the awkwardness and no longer have the behind the back discussions (much like this tone of this thread) with others about the trans people I encounter. They are the gender they say they are, and that's the end of it. While Chaz himself isn't my bag sexually, I've actually had two encounters off of Craigslist with FTM (female to male) trans people, both were pretty damn hot, I didn't seek them out but it was fun. The other way though (MTF) seems the worst of both worlds, to my tastes at least. But out of my bedroom they all have the right to exist and could even use some support to counterbalance the constant negative attention they receive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEJlP8XAx8U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPvEd5f5Ulw&feature=player_detailpage

AVG isn't a very good antivirus program, especially on Windows 7. Microsoft Security Essentials consistently ranks pretty high in testing and is FREE, without the AVG toolbar BS or nagging you to buy a 'full' version. I highly recommend it for anybody running Win7 or Vista (particularly 64bit versions). Link (Microsoft site).

And Austin has a crappy escort scene. Drugged-out hustlers.

The delisting sucks but I've continued to have pretty good luck posting as a generous daddy-type.

First I'd heard about this was maybe 20 years ago as a torture/brainwashing tool in a Tom Clancy book! That said, I'm eager to hear what you think of it!

I've often heard talk of some cities imposing a 5 cent charge per disposable bag, as much to keep litter down as for any environmental reason. Not sure which ones (if any) have implemented the fee.

That's the question. Supposedly, but there may be debate. Dead or Alive just had nothing going for it. Excitement of Rainbow Six and Clark was wound down, the wonder of Ryan as president is in the past, Jack Jr. seems a dud and too many conservative overtones for my tastes. The biggest disappointment for me though were the technical details. Long supposed to be on of Clancy's best attributes, I found many in my area of expertise laughably wrong. Then there's a whole lot of gratuitous brand names that made me wonder about product placement. Really makes me wonder how accurate his other details are.

I just read Clancy's latest a couple weeks ago, pretty disappointing.

This is great! For all the Brit. TV I watch many of these fine details were a mystery to me.