Gideon MacLeish

Gideon MacLeish

Joined Member # 1270781
18 Posts 258 Replies 31,536 Reputation
Reply to Word-Wise. Faineant in Misc JoeUser Forums

After we get done with the move this weekend, I intend to be a faineant for the remainder of the weekend.

4 Replies 3,942 Views
You'll be Seeing Less of Me! in Misc JoeUser Forums

My on again, off again dieting is on again. Now, it's not total yoyo dieting, as I didn't revert back to my biggest weight (at my worst, I neared the 400 pound mark; I got down to about 280 and plateaued; for the last four years I've been about 320), but still, I've gotten sidetracked on getting to my goal weight of 250 (I should probably be lower, but I figure I'll aim for 250, see how I feel, then go from there. Baby steps.) So it was with some delight that I stepped on the scales l

18 Replies 16,102 Views
Reply to No Forgiveness For You in Religion JoeUser Forums

Good article, Chris, and some excellent advice. While I'm sure it's quite general, it applies to our situation directly, and I'm sure we weren't far from your mind when you wrote it. With that in mind, let me say the following: We're in the healing process, and I'm working on forgiveness. But I can't stay here. For the past several months, I've desperately looked for a sign that God wanted us to stay here and do something. It never came. I made a brief appearance at the Poker Run in t

1 Replies 2,020 Views
Reply to MIGHTY Glad I'm Not a Doctor! in Personal Computing JoeUser Forums

[quote]But when I am out at cocktail parties (social gatherings), I hate telling people what I do for the reason mentioned above. [/quote] Yup. Many's the time I get asked to do a repair where the individual in question has no intention of paying me. If they genuinely have no money, I can usually work something out (I'll be trading out construction labor with one fellow; I received 10 pounds of meat on another job, homemade apple butter on still another). If they have money, though, I u

25 Replies 72,399 Views
Reply to A Nation or A Neighborhood in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

[quote]but your writing in general is about condemning what the gov does instead of trying to fix it. That is my point.[/quote] Actually, no. If I have an issue, I'm working on it. And, uh, I've actually GIVEN you the solution, if you read it. Remove welfare entirely from federal control, and give the power to the states. Some states will have massive welfare programs, while others' programs will be virtually nonexistent. That should be their right as the state to decide. The p

80 Replies 30,615 Views
Reply to A Nation or A Neighborhood in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

[quote]You and the Rigth never complain about no-bid contracts, kick-backs, waste on unbelievable scale in the military, nepotism in government agencies by cronies and buddies, subsidies to corp who make tens of billions of dollars of profits then complain about entitlement ????!!!!!.[/quote] WRONG! First, I am NOT a Republican, TA, as you should well know. Second, I have REPEATEDLY condemned those kinds of expenditures. You lose all credibility when you make comments

80 Replies 30,615 Views
Reply to A World of Green Zones and Red Zones in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Do you see some of these towns in the panhandle whithering away to nothing or is there a future there?[/quote] It depends. We're prospering a bit off of the oil boom, and feedlots and a pork production facility are doing pretty good up where we're moving, but we need to diversify in this area if it is to survive. I'm hoping the coastal housing bust will have a "boom" impact here where there is more than ample land for growth. The smaller communities are suffering, as I f

17 Replies 8,011 Views
Reply to MIGHTY Glad I'm Not a Doctor! in Personal Computing JoeUser Forums

[quote]Oh yes, and get paid next to nothing for it all.[/quote] Do you really get paid next to nothing, though? I know general practitioners aren't wealthy, but from what I've heard it's at least something at which you can make a living. And for the record, almost every issue you have with patients, we have with our customers. There's nothing worse than having to fix someone's screw up because some high school kid with a level 70 dwarf on WoW told them that what they were doing

25 Replies 72,399 Views
Reply to Mike Hucakbee is the Antichrist. in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote]And why do you disagree with every military advisor and 3 letter orgs in this country?[/quote] Not every military adviser, Wallace. And did it occur to you that the military NEEDS wars so it can stay in business? Granted, that's a little overly cynical, but there's enough truth in it to think about. And, more to the point, a President does not run the country without assistance. Even the most hardline president gets moderated somewhat by the legislature and his advisors.

49 Replies 9,695 Views
Reply to Mike Hucakbee is the Antichrist. in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote]Ron Paul would never get my vote, part of my vote goes to who won't force a RIF. I work for the DoD, and this guy will compromise our security. Best three for national security would be Rudy, McCain, and Huckabee, not necessarily in that order.[/quote] Nice that a prolifer refuses to vote for a prolife candidate! Ron Paul is EASILY the most staunch opponent of Roe V. Wade, which I thought was important to the religious right. Guess not. Ron Paul will not compromise our s

49 Replies 9,695 Views
Reply to Exploding Two Conservative Myths in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]To people like Gene, bodies don't matter. It's all about the tear-jerk anecdote. [/quote] Oh, I know. But to someone reading this, it helps to repeatedly ask a question that he refuses to answer. It shows him for the DNC troll that he is.

186 Replies 52,149 Views
Reply to Mike Hucakbee is the Antichrist. in Religion JoeUser Forums

Truth be told, nobody impresses me much on either side of the aisle. There's a list of candidates I DON'T want (Hillary, Edwards, Giuliani), but the rest of the pool pretty much suck equally. Paul's the best of a poor lot, but I'll readily concede even he is my choice as a "lesser of several evils" candidate.

49 Replies 9,695 Views
Reply to Which Anti-virus/Firewall do you use? in Windows XP JoeUser Forums

[quote]No, it doesn't. For some it is superior to 'trouble'...closer to 'damn annoyingly flawed' and thus utterly worthless.....[/quote] Yeah...I wouldn't consider completely locking down your Internet access until it is COMPLETELY removed if you allow the subscription to expire "trouble". Not at all. I wouldn't consider scrubbing power points, word documents, and access databases on an internal EXCHANGE server at a college, where such transmissions are essential to

158 Replies 88,038 Views
Reply to A World of Green Zones and Red Zones in Politics JoeUser Forums

Artysim, This is a weighty article, but a very good one. My response is delayed because I had to take a bit to digest it. I don't see Bush as being as much of a Freidmanist as you believe him to be. As exhibit A, I would point to No Child Left Behind. It's the kind of big government bloat that economists like Friedman hoped to avoid. One of the problems I have is not so much with government funded programs, but with FEDERALLY FUNDED government programs. Allow me to giv

17 Replies 8,011 Views
Reply to The Five Most Significant Tech Trends of 2007 in Personal Computing JoeUser Forums

I have to question #1. Not because Apple doesn't put out a better product. They certainly do. But unless Apple is willing to separate the hardware from the software, I don't see them establishing market dominance. I will not buy a Mac right now primarily for two reasons: Because PC's offer more upgrade possibility, and price. I'm not one to always shop for the cheapest, but I simply can't afford most of Apple's products. They could address both by releasing a standalone O/S that I coul

21 Replies 45,486 Views
Reply to A Nation or A Neighborhood in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

[quote]no one is suggesting to do anything other than provide the safety-net that you mentioned. [/quote] Not true, TA. Universal health care is not a "safety net"; it is an entitlement. And it is proposed by each of the three leading Democrats. The welfare system as it is is hardly a "safety net"; families who need a "safety net" can hardly get on it (as we discovered firsthand during our brief downturn in NV!), and many families are chronically on it with no intent o

80 Replies 30,615 Views
A Tale of Two Communities! in Politics JoeUser Forums

One of my pet theories about creating a functional society deals with micro- vs. macro- socialism. I've detailed the two before, so I won't revisit that here. One of the reasons that microsocialism doesn't get much airplay, is because true socialists don't like it. And the reason why shows precisely why socialism is wrong. Say you have two communities. Community A is, basically a commune. Everyone contributes equally to the commune, everyone shares equally in the commune's wea

17 Replies 11,701 Views
The Myth of the Enlightened Foreigner in Current Events JoeUser Forums

(Note. This is a rant. This is only a rant. While it was triggered specifically by a response by a specific individual, some of the comments in here are very general and do not represent my feelings towards that individual, whom I generally like despite our disagreements). There's a trend on the Internet that has me pissed off. It's a trend for us to look at any post on the Internet that is written with proper grammar and spelling and a smidgen of intelligence as having the we

3 Replies 1,244 Views