Just a chime....or??

[westgrandboulevard]

Plans, preparation, happening....all words in current use, but where 'afoot' has declined....

[Jerry Oz]

Question: When's a door not a door?

Answer: When it's ajar!

LOLz. [[I crack myself up, sometimes.)

[westgrandboulevard]

I hope you were paid well for your contribution to those old-style laughter tracks on US comedy shows. They were so maniacal, they were funnier than the scripts.....

[144man]

Q. Why did the chewing gum cross the road?

A. Because it was stuck to the chicken's foot.

[westgrandboulevard]

Oh, I'm really going to miss Joan Rivers.....

[Jerry Oz]

Why did the possum's friend dare him to cross the busy freeway?

He wanted to see if he had guts.

[westgrandboulevard]

I'm glad that one ended quickly...especially considering the tragic consequences of that unfortunate spelling error.....

[Jerry Oz]

I have to stop using my tablet to post comments. Auto-correct has been doing a job on my posts lately.

[westgrandboulevard]

Moses threw his from his hands.

I have an iPad, but I can't really get along with the touch screen. I much prefer a keyboard.

[Jerry Oz]

Ummm.... Was that a Biblical reference to what happened when Moses saw the sin of the people against the Lord or do you know someone named Moses? In any case, I won't be tossing mine anytime soon... Typing from it right now [[some people never learn, I guess).

[westgrandboulevard]

I can see it being very useful to read incoming messages, but I feel I shall never learn to input as fast on the iPad. For one thing, I don't feel comfortable with the rigid surface. I like something which responds to my touch, like this keyboard. [[and yes, that was a reference from the Bible...)

[Jerry Oz]

Hah! I thought for a moment that your partner's name was 'Moses'.

Regarding tablets, they are good for browsing, much less so for anything serious. I would never conduct business with one and I'm not reading e-mails on it anymore. And God forbid that I would put personal documents on one with the news reports of how easily people are stealing information wirelessly these days.

With that being said, it's easy and kind of fun, so it's well worth owning.

[westgrandboulevard]

I actually haven't found it so easy yet. I use the laptops, sometimes desktop, at home and work.

The iPad comes out with me but, very often, if I settle down with a coffee, I can't get a connection, even when I'm led to believe there is free Wi-Fi access. Happened just yesterday. I should learn to take a break from the internet, and just leave it at home.....

[Jerry Oz]

Be careful with the use of free wi-fi. There are many scammers out there making use of it. Over here, they're setting up free hot spots so that they can crib information from the cell phones and laptops of trusting people who discover the networks.

[westgrandboulevard]

Yes, I do tend to be careful. Any work which requires financial details - bank accounts, paying for items via the internet - I generally tackle at home. Otherwise, being rather 'old school', I tend to think of doing serious stuff like finances, but while out and around, as being far too casual....

[Jerry Oz]

What a world we've created. People work harder to rob others than they would need to in order to earn the money legitimately. I don't understand why some are simply predisposed to causing heartbreak.

[westgrandboulevard]

Almost always their background during their very earliest years......

[Jerry Oz]

You're surely right, but I'm convinced that there are some who have deviant personalities that can't be attributed to their environments. I've seen families wherein everyone is well-adjusted except for the one who believes that he is owed more than his meager circumstances provide. Sometimes, those families are very well-off from a financial standpoint. I'm not sure what parents can do for the child who feels unreasonably entitled to more than life provides.

[westgrandboulevard]

I'd have a guess that some rebellious children become like that if they have a bit of spirit in their personality, and may also be intelligent and sensitive - but start to feel that a sibling is being favoured - and that, in turn, they are less favoured.

They are disappointed, and feel they have done something wrong, but say nothing directly to their parents, or teachers [[or anyone else that they feel they should be respecting), for fear that the truth is confirmed.

A gulf forms between the parents [[or teachers, etc) and one or more child on the one side...and the rebellious child on the other. Then, a few hormones start to kick in....

[144man]

Ummm.... Was that a Biblical reference to what happened when Moses saw the sin of the people against the Lord or do you know someone named Moses? In any case, I won't be tossing mine anytime soon... Typing from it right now [[some people never learn, I guess).

When Moses threw the tablets down, he became the only person to break all Ten Commandments at the same time.

[westgrandboulevard]

Well, he lived for ages afterwards so, if we do the same, we should be good for a few more years yet......

[144man]

I don't want to stay lost in the wilderness for forty years and never reach the Promised Land.

[westgrandboulevard]

So you'll be voting for the Uk Independence Party, then....

[Jerry Oz]

When Moses threw the tablets down, he became the only person to break all Ten Commandments at the same time.

You clearly have never met my cousin Clyde.

[westgrandboulevard]

Clyde sounds more suitable as a study in human nature, than as a relative.

[144man]

So you'll be voting for the Uk Independence Party, then....

When hell freezes over! I might end up moving to Scotland though if they vote for independence.

[westgrandboulevard]

Maybe you are of Scottish descent? Otherwise, why do that, as Scotland would appear to need the rest of the UK more than the UK needs Scotland....

[144man]

No, I'm not Scottish. If Scotland leave the Union, England will become a one-party state, and not a very nice one to live in.

[westgrandboulevard]

I'm not particularly interested in politics, but how do you feel about proportional representation?

[144man]

I don't feel that First Past the Post gives an accurate representation of the wishes of the electorate. However there are numerous practical difficulties to overcome before installing a PR system. In short, I can't give you a simple answer.

[westgrandboulevard]

That's just about the way I think. Does giving everyone a chance to feel that their voice will be heard, improve the end result. I have a feeling that, very often, it may not....

[Jerry Oz]

I'm not sure how modern politics work in England, but representative government is darned near impossible when the population grows too large. With 300 million people, 100 senators and 500+ representatives in Congress cannot reflect the will of the electorate. There are too many agendas and it's impossible to build a coalition without welching on 90% of campaign promises.

[arr&bee]

It all sounds english to me.

[westgrandboulevard]

It all sounds quite familiar to me....

[Jerry Oz]

Yes, I'd agree that it's all in the family around here...

[westgrandboulevard]

I don't suppose it makes much difference what the purpose/function of the party/organisation/group may be - the larger it becomes, the less cohesive it becomes.

To the bystander, it is 'an organisation', a single entity. To anyone working within it, the reality lies strictly within their own working remit, and no further.

It is rare to find many people within any large group who are able to relate to all other personnel, and be both subjective and objective in their perception of all activities. In fact, I imagine it would be impossible to do just that.

[Jerry Oz]

Imagine making a promise to shrink the size of the government, cut taxes, change tort laws, introduce legislation to stimulate the economy and job growth, work with [[or against) those SOBs across the political aisle, to change immigration laws, and strengthen the military. Then imagine making that promise and have to get the majority of 560 legislators to agree to a rookie doing all of those things within a two-year term.

You're lucky to find 20 people who agree with various parts of your agenda, but no more than five who agree with all of it. There's no chance to get more than a couple of things done when Congress actually works, but you can't get anything done in the currently divided state of the body.

This country will be fundamentally different within 20 years because the federal government is unsustainable. I'm surprised it took as long as it did to get to this point.

[westgrandboulevard]

But still we hope for better things....

[Jerry Oz]

I checked the obits this morning and I hate to inform you that Hope has unfortunately perished. She was loved by many... She left behind her partner Faith, who has not been seen in the last five years and presumed to be lost forever.

[westgrandboulevard]

Let's not forget Hope Springs Eternal. A guiding light, mainly but not exclusively for the very young. Reborn every year and, therefore, likely to live forever.

[144man]

It's just a shame about all the other things that Pandora let out of that box.

[westgrandboulevard]

...which include some of the threads around here....

[Jerry Oz]

And some of the songs playing on the radio these days...

[144man]

...and the Tea Party movement

[Jerry Oz]

Which is reminiscent of another movement that occurs in the bowels of healthy folks...

Please tell me that poisonous political view has not emigrated to England.

[144man]

We have a newish party called UKIP, which is to the right of the Conservative Party. Its main policies are leaving the European Union and being anti-immigration. The views of a lot of its prominent members appear to be not dissimilar to those held by the Tea Party. It has never before had any Member of Parliament elected, but a sitting Conservative MP has defected to UKIP, and opinion polls suggest that he will hold the forthcoming by-election for UKIP with an overwhelming majority. [UKIP = United Kingdom Independence Party]

[westgrandboulevard]

I am undecided if anyone who votes for UKIP is using their vote positively, or negatively.

[Jerry Oz]

Hopefully, you won't experience what we've experienced with the Tea Party. We have a minority view of government that hijacked an entire political party. Since they don't have the votes to enact their radical policies, they have instead stalled most legislation for the past six years. Anything that can be considered cooperation with the more progressive party and President Obama results in the collaborator being removed from his seat.

Their stated goal is let the country fail as opposed to have the president's policies be enacted to success. Now that the economy has rebounded in spite of them, they're trying to use the world stage as their stump box. They don't really have a side until President Obama takes one, and then they jack up the rhetoric for opposing him. If the US crumbles [[literally) in the next 10 years, instead of blaming their actions, they'll blame the president and the majority of voters who elected him for not giving in to their radical views.

[westgrandboulevard]

The old saying 'dog in a manger' comes to mind....

[Jerry Oz]

When King Solomon settled the question of paternity by suggesting the baby be split and each of the two mothers given half, these people would have threatened to have him removed from his seat if he didn't do it. They have no problem with killing the child if it scratches their desire to control the majority.

The beauty of it is that 90% of their supporters would have benefited from the president's policies but since he's the one who proposed it, they'd prefer to suffer. It's literally crazy.