Vapymid

A threat? Oh, dear, no! Of course not! A treat, more like... And I still value my life a little bit - so, no tickling! I promise. There are other ways of instilling discipline though But, thank you for the reprieve, my dear. You're so merciful, I can't say "no" if you feel like gnawing on my neck then... Regards

Geez, you are complaining about other countries doing it to the US? Ah... what sweet ignorance - you Americans are enchantingly oblivious of the world... Because that's exactly what the US Government has been doing non-stop since the end of the World War II - meddling with other people's affairs. Interfering with their self-governance... And when other countries are simply trying to assert their position in trade or political negotiations - you think they are being xenophobic? This is charming, indeed Regards

Sorry... I had to vent what was on my mind before I could take you up on your generous offer... You know - to give you the chance to decide - whether you'd still want your hands on my neck or maybe your teeth But, ahhh, yes - I like to give, sweetheart... and you're quick but you ain't quick enough to escape my returning the favour... Regards

Time, my dear? Yes, you still have time. I trust you will use it wisely... But that trip is what worries me the most. It's unsafe. As far as he is concerned - I don't have the ballast of 3 years and a childhood romance to weigh on my judgement and I've seen such people before, so I know exactly what he is. But I shall say no more here... Regards

@Jeb: my dear Jeb, as you now know - there is a big difference between communicating with someone for years and actually living with him. It is easy to dismiss the warning signs, to convince yourself that you are mistaken, that everything is OK when you play games on the internet and talk on video calls. But when you are living together under the same roof - it's impossible to deceive yourself for long - as you've found out. I of course make an allowance for his medical condition but it is irrelevant. The things he's done to you - they were the same things he was doing to you over the many months before. So his current medication has no impact. But you know all that, I don't want to go into details. You also knew you would try to gloss over the troubling things when you're back, try to preserve the illusion. But the simple fact is - it just doesn't work between you two. You can't live with him. And that's that. Sorry, I'm being so blunt. You know, I can't lie to you, my love... But you don't need to listen to me - listen to your own instincts. Even more than that... Start positive - make a list of things that you think are good about that relationship, about him (only don't use broad things like "I love him" - break it down into whys and wherefores). Then take it from there... Really sorry about the flood, my dear... It's good, though that the damage appears to be light... The main thing is - you're safe. All that matters to me... Regards

That's new for me too... There's plenty of political and economic rivalry and governmental meddling but that's not xenophobia... Even when I roll my eyes and say "oh, those 'merkins" that's not xenophobia, either... Regards

Oh, you didn't see me pissy yet, my dear girl... That was definitely not it But please, don't be defensive about this whole thing with that engagement. Firstly, those who criticise you out of jealousy - their opinion isn't worth shit. And they themselves aren't worth shit. So, please, just ignore them and don't pay attention. Secondly, those who are worried about it, and I count myself within that category - they are only concerned for you and your future - they don't criticise, let alone despise you. I've seen enough, though, over the past few weeks, to be concerned. In my personal experience - people can't and don't change. And if people, partners, don't match on a fundamental level - then no amount of willingness to "make it work" can solve that and make them happy in the end. And the way out is only one in such case, but the road to it can be easy or hard - and I certainly don't want to see you following the hard route... But, Jeb, I'm worried about that flood - are you OK? Is the house safe? Regards

Hehe, maybe she knows something we don't? Well, if he is, at least you got away this time... barely, I should say - with all that snow on the East Coast! Seriously, though? I'll wring his neck if he tries to kidnap you. No one kidnaps the Accursed Mother and lives... On the brighter side of things, engagement means precisely nothing - you don't even need to give the ring back if you change your mind. Regards

Woah, wait wait wait... Calm down... Look, crime is always an issue and when you have such a massive influx of an arguably more primitive culture, an increase in violent crime is to be expected... But before you blow your top - let's just establish what is it that you want to see? How do you want the situation to be handled? Oh, and bearing in mind of course that there are native murderers and child rapists in Sweden, just like anywhere, and that there always were... Regards

Techincally speaking, comets don't fall from space (thankfully) but for you, my love, I can't say no! And comets are so beautiful! One of my cats lived until he was 12. So short a life, when you compare to us, humans... How close to you have you ever seen a lightning strike? Regards P.S. Not my day today. Everybody beats me, it seems

Yes, I have, a few times in the Atlantic/Carribbean. Once in the Azov Sea, travelling on a hydrofoil from Russia to Ukraine... Have you ever seen an object falling from space other than a meteor (a shooting star)? Regards P.S. Oh, geez, BTG beat me to it... Don't know what should I do, hehe... Anyway - Beijing is the city... not sure about what question to think of...

Neither can I - cheers! Regards

In an ideal static world that would make sense. But if you look into this from practical perspective - these countries will never have their environmental and climate and labour policies raised if they don't get the work, money and trade from the West in the first place. And if they do achieve those improvements on their own - they won't want to manufacture your stuff - they will by then design their own stuff and find someone else to build it for them. I hate and despise Apple for a number of reasons but without it the Chinese labour practices would never have been drawn out into the light of day, let alone be forced to improve as dramatically as they had over the past 10 years. And that's just one example. The economies are driven by things you can do better and more efficiently than others. So the West - if we want to remain ahead of the planet - must concentrate on finding things it can do best, rather than trying to undercut the eager and the hungry in the game of mass manufacturing. That's my firm personal conviction. Regards

A few... Here's an example... Do you feel music must have video to it or is the video an unnecessary distraction? Regards

Just because you don't see the point in something doesn't mean the point doesn't exist, or that others cannot see it. But that's what nihilism boils down to - I can't see the wood for the trees therefore the wood doesn't exist. It's a depressive mood, rather than a philosophical concept. Now... if you look at this universe - it isn't eternal. It is going to run out of energy one day. That's what life is doing - it is trying to use the available energy to transform itself so it can escape by the time the batteries run dry. It's a race against time. Again, you will ask - what for? (and I will want to shake you up or give you a shot of whisky to snap you out of your pessimism) - here it is all still open to interpretation. Imagine - to escape the death of this universe, life creates a new and better one, and so on and so on until another, yet grander race is won. And maybe there is a cycle - because once you're out of the universe the concept of time means nothing. Or maybe there is something else. But you cannot say - there isn't. You simply have no reasonable grounds for that assumption. Cheer up, man. Your life has a purpose... and a meaning. Regards

Industrial capacity is worthless if it produces worthless product. You might as well be handing out cash to the workers and let them do whatever they want, instead of forcing them to do make-work. It's just a way of burning cash taken from elsewhere. When an old insustry dies out it gives way to new things and ultimately it is for the better for everyone concerned. By all means - stimulate new things. Fund research, help start-ups - there are many useful ways of protecting new things while they grow but for the old pointless dinosaurs - save your tears, it's not worth it... About the freedom of sex, though - I'd say it wasn't "given to us", it was hard faught for... Compare our life with, say, that in Afghanistan, where love will most likely cause you to be stoned to death... Nah, you'll have to pry the freedom of sex out of my cold dead fingers, even though you'll never find me in an embrace of a prostitute or catch me out on a one-night stand Regards

You have anything against the freedom of sex? Think again, man... think again But - protectionism never works, you know. All you'll achieve by pampering your domestic manufacturers is that everyone in the world will get ahead of them and eventually they will go down the drain when you will be forced to import stuff that they are incompetent at doing. Believe me... Regards

*cringes* your underlying assumption seems to be that everything will dissappear at one point so everything is futile and pointless, right? That's too big an assumption to me. You just don't know whether it will disappear or not. In fact a much more logical assumption would be that the purpose of life in this universe is to find a way to transcend it. We just don't know yet, but we will in time... For now - stick to obsevable facts and deductions from those... Otherwise, I can assume the meaning of everything is imparted by Flying Spaghetti Monster and no one can ever argue against it... Regards

I disagree with that. You can talk about a perceived meaning disappearing when the conscious construct that perceived it disappears (even that is not true as the fact of perception influences further events and ripples through the time-space) but the underlying objective meaning will remain forever. You cannot look at an object and the observer as on two isolated systems. They interact. Having perceived the meaning of that rock the observer's behaviour alters and that alters everything else that the observer interacts with. So, even if the observer mind ceases to exist it has already passed that information further down the chain of events... And "mind" is a vague contrsuct. You only talk about a mind equivalent of human brain, operating on our timescales. For all I know - the entire universe may be but one huge mind - self aware and conscious but on a timescale immesuarably slower than what we use. And I won't hold my breath for a philosophy or a religion to give any insight in a universal meaning of things. What they had to say about it - they've already said long time ago. Any further understanding will now be coming from science. Do they? But, clearly, the whole universe has a certain lifecycle, so any thing that exists - is a part and an agent of that process from the beginning to the end. So it's meaning is to play the role that has been allocated to it. Nothing in the universe exist in total isolation except whatever's fallen into singularities and even that is debatable. Anything that's ever existed has influenced and shaped all that exists and will exist afterwards. The information is never lost. Also, one can say that the issue of "meaning" is closely related to mathematical optimisation. When you find a process that runs optimally given the nature and location of the object(s) you are considering - you have the true meaning of that object. And the laws of mathematics exist regardless of any intelligent observer, I hope we can agree on that, at least... Regards

You already do that, my girl... Don't have the slightest doubt. Regards

I realise I missed this one, somehow Subject #14 - Legal drinking age Well, first of all - the Americans have got it wrong. What a surprise - that coming from me! Hehe. If you don't know what alcohol is and how to handle it responsibly by 18 - to start at 21 is already too late. If you do follow the letter of the law and stay teetotaler until that age and then suddenly you're free - you are more likely to go and misuse it and ruin your life. Of course - that is an example of a law which is universally ignored and broken, so most people in America have experience with alcohol at earlier ages. In Russia, there was a brief period when the USSR Government decided to mimic the US and raised the limit to 21. It never stopped me from getting my hands on a drink. Only added those "lawbreaking" thrills to the whole experience. If anything - money (student's budget) and the availability of the boose were the limiting factors for me - not age restrictions. By far more important than arbitrary age limits is education and culture. There are two distinct cultures of alcohol consumption and they exist in every country, regardless of limits. One - drink to get drunk. I despise it. It is plebeian in the most derisive of meanings. This "culture" is what fuels the consumption of alcopops and cheap boose. It is what "pub crawls" are made of and what brings all the puking mind-fucked teenagers onto the cities streets in the small hours of the night. Ibiza, Benidorm are synonymous with that. The other is when people drink for the pleasure of taste at least as much as for the pleasure of intoxication. This is the one I subscribe to. I am lucky to be born and raised in a family belonging to that culture. I was given very small amounts of wine and beer since I was young, so there was no mystery for me in it. When I reached my teens - and had a few adventures, I was never admonished for the fact of drinking but only if I didn't manage my limits properly. And I was exposed to wide variety of drinks - wine and beer and liquors and spirits. Always with food - learning which drink goes with which food... That is not to say that even if one drinks for the emjoyment of it and not to get plastered there will never be a problem... I had my share of excesses - especially as it takes time to learn one's limits and even thereafter, it's possible to sometimes forget yourself and drink too much... And whether or not you become an addict, an alcoholic - is also largely determined by your genetics. But comparing these two cultures and looking back at my own life experience I'd say - the one No.2 has way more benefits to it than drawbacks. And I'll drink to that! And for those who never had a drink but want to try it - my word of advice: don't start with alcopops (RTDs for our Australians here?), cocktails or similar stuff where the taste is designed to hide and mask the nature of it. That is a sure way of getting the wrong end of the stick with alcohol. Start with wine, try all - white, red, rose - and remember not to drink it like soda - just one small sip at a time and only do it with a suitable food on hand. I could give a myriad more tips and suggestions but I think I'd need a separate thread for that Regards

Ah, great! I can totally do "Like a Dirigible" part. When do we start rehersals? Regards

And now - the first reuse of a previously landed rocket... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35391326 We really have a new Space Race now - I love witnessing it unfold... Regards

Jeb, my dear, you need to remember that the harshest and the most demanding critic of your art is always you yourself. And it is you who you should strive to please. You can't do art by trying to please others - well you can but that won't be art but rather craftsmanship. You can do it for money, to order, for commissions, but the actual art - which you create for the sake of creation, to express yourself and to share your internal world with others - you should only listen to your own inner voice for that. And you are doing so well... I admire your drawings. You have definitely developed a style of your own. So - what I'd like to say - don't listen to your critics, if there are any... Just do what you feel is right to your own tastes. Yes, if you feel something needs improvement - improve it, push yourself, exceed all your previous works with each new one. But only listen to yourself in what means "good" there. And when you yourself are pleased with your work - the others will be too. Regards

There seems to be two parts to your argument: 1) the meaning only exists when there is an observer to deduce it; and 2) if the meaning is lost when something no longer exists - then it had no meaning to begin with. I can kind of agree with 1 but the number 2 seems illogical to me... Meaning is information and information is not lost when something ceases to exist, unless you are talking about the extreme case of the whole Universe ceasing to exist and even then, if you go back along the arrow of time you will encounter all the meaning that existed before and if a meaning existed even for a fraction of a moment - it is never lost. Also you're saying that the meaning of things is tied to humans as if only our understanding of things creates it. Do you think that when no humans existed - all the things that were happening for billions of years were devoid of meaning? Don't you think that there may be a universal meaning which is totally independent of whether or not we understand it? Regards