General Chat Thread

[Exeggudork]

I pick Mitt, since its a suitable name for a puppet.

mittens.....

[Phlogiston]

As long as you remember he's an entertainer on Comedy Central, and don't try to inform yourself based off of what he says, I guess.

Of course. I think he's funny, and he does drag out some interesting information, but you do have to separate that from his mere opinion.

Also, I doubt that the Mayans didn't account for leap years. As I recall, their calendar was entirely based off of the winter solstice, and not around any concept of "days" (which is what throws the calendar off in the first place: a "day" isn't actually 24 hours, so each year winds up with about a quarter of an extra day, and you toss that in every four years). So, each year of theirs would be the same amount of time regardless.

Fair enough.

In addition to what ArmorAndonomon said, drugs are extremely time- and money-consuming to bring to the market, and very few drugs that they patent will be feasible to mass-produce, and of those, even fewer will be able to make it through the very stringent trials the FDA enforces (realize that they have to file a timed patent on a potential drug molecule before they even start anything else). Then, by the time they are put onto the market, their patent is usually pretty close to running out, so they charge high prices to get their money back and profit, before another company comes along and undercuts them with a generic -- for which they have done no R&D. Honestly, when you look at it like that, generics can seem almost unfair at times, imo.

Fair. Probably still could stand some procedural refinement where possible.

[Gothitelle K]

I suppose I'd consider myself being aligned with the libertarian left more than anything else. I'm all for extensive civil liberties, capitalism, and expanding free market, but I can't get behind abolishing gun control, taxes, and welfare.

Most don't even want a government at all and I can't get behind that. I'm all for getting rid of the socialist drivel though. So I might be far to the right. I just won't register third party for primary reasons.

As for voting, I saw this on another forum and it pretty much summed up my beliefs on voting:

… I never believed, however, that voting was a duty. A man's duty is to his family, his wife and kids, his mother and father. A man's duty is to pay his bills and protect his loved ones from harm. It is living his life with respect for himself and others -- living proudly the few years God has granted each of us, grateful for whatever he has -- no matter what he has accomplished.
Voting is an honor
. It is a gift. It may not be a duty, or a responsibility to vote, but it certainly is an opportunity to be counted, to have one's say, to make one's feelings known -- to stand up against the liberal dream of silencing all dissent…

[Phlogiston]

Though I agree with the basic idea...

"to stand up against the liberal dream of silencing all dissent…"

Those people? They aren't real liberals, as I see it and understand liberalism.

[KickAsh]

I'm all for getting rid of the socialist drivel though.

"Socialism"/"socialist" has become so meaningless.

[Phlogiston]

Do people even know what socialism really is anymore?

[KickAsh]

Exactly. I really don't think they do. You always hear "Obama is a socialist! He wants to make everyone equal!", forgetting that's not and has never been what socialism is.

[ArmorAndonomon]

Does this mean that you hate me for mailing in my ballot over a week ago? :[

I had to mail mine in as well.
Aww yeeaaahhhh expired state IDs and no money to renew them.

Do people even know what socialism really is anymore?

That's the thing where they force you to be social, right?

[Phlogiston]

That's the thing where they force you to be social, right?

Close enough for jazz.

Exactly. I really don't think they do. You always hear "Obama is a socialist! He wants to make everyone equal!", forgetting that's not and has never been what socialism is.

They also call him a socialist and a Nazi at the same time, never mind that those are pretty much opposites, with Nazism being kind of an extreme form of social Darwinism, which, politely, really doesn't jive with socialism.

[Gothitelle K]

Oh I know what socialism is since economics used to be my thing. I just think that there are programs out there we can do without.

[EternalSword7]

I'm never part of the multi-quotes.

I pick Mitt, since its a suitable name for a puppet.

You might be right. Mitt is a good name for a puppet. Beats the heck out of Lamb Chop.

[Spookz]

Beats the heck out of Lamb Chop.

Woah. Dude, you do not diss Lamb Chop.

[Kreis]

Who is Lamb Chop?

[Spookz]

Your childhood was lacking if you don't know who Lamb Chop is.

[Jb]

Kreis clearly never listened to the song that doesn't end.

[Zazie]

I hope any Americans casting their votes today stop and appreciate how privileged they are to be able to do so.

Even if you spoil your ballot, I do believe voting is a task that all should undertake.

**** that, I am going to vote and then ***** anyway. Because our electoral system isn't good enough.

Your childhood was lacking if you don't know who Lamb Chop is.

I wish my childhood was lacking creepy puppets.

[bel9]

I don't blame you. Jon Stewart is great.

Side note:


Interesting.

Our two leading correlation coefficients account their lack of leap years when translating dates. This leap year information has been circulating online for a while now and is pure internet misunderstanding/speculation/myth and not scholastic in any way. There should really be a snopes article on it. If the information was true, all of our dating would be incorrect and in need of revision (most groups of Classic Mayans dated their stela and monuments).

[Profesco]

Voting tomorrow is going to be a pain. It never dawned on me to try the mail-in route, and now my Tuesday's all full of schooly things from dawn to dusk. Ah well. I'm going to cast my vote regardless of how annoying and potentially useless it might feel to do so. Everybody else who can should, too.

Edit: Also, let's talk more about the pharmaceutical industry; specifically, the psychopharmaceutical industry. DSM-5 is coming out in 2013!

[EternalSword7]

Voting tomorrow is going to be a pain. It never dawned on me to try the mail-in route, and now my Tuesday's all full of schooly things from dawn to dusk. Ah well. I'm going to cast my vote regardless of how annoying and potentially useless it might feel to do so. Everybody else who can should, too.

Edit: Also, let's talk more about the pharmaceutical industry; specifically, the psychopharmaceutical industry. DSM-5 is coming out in 2013!

When medicine has advanced to the point where we can reform the human body with surgical nanites, then I'll be interested in the medical industry.
Until then, I'd rather talk about Kries' childhood deficiency in regards to Lamb Chop.

[bel9]

Omg kreis, you missed lamb chop?!?! For shame. . .