ascanius

One more to go for me, too. Cramming does help. Fuck outlining.
...ok maybe not. I'm totally outlining next semester. This is crazy. Good luck.

Good luck with the remaining one

No hard feelings. I work hard not to let emotion cloud a good argument. Sarcasm sometimes, emotion never. Getting "hot under the collar" is a good way to lose an argument. I can't convince you that what you believe is wrong, but a debate isn't about the person you're opposed to. It's about the people who 'might' agree with you. Getting overly upset or attacking some one is a quick way to lose people who aren't quite on your side.

You were correct and I did choose my words poorly. There are many other negative and truthful words I could use to describe both sides and genocidal was incorrect.

Peace.

I would like to think that it doesn't have to be one or the other, but then I think: Doesn't Democracy have a long standing history of only being particularly useful to a precious few? Maybe we should work on redefining "personal freedom" to include compassion and equality for everyone. Even if you're not starving... even if you're able to buy food or a stupid gaming system, odds are that you're being exploited and that nobody is even listening to your "voice" which is all that's promised by the democratic system.

Also, SGNewE-- You're in like Flynn.

hm. I think I retract my earlier comment. Money, yes. Vote, not so sure. I have no faith in other humans.

Exactly. It's not the models that keep me here. OTOH, it's not an opinion which is likely to go down well with them, so I tend not to express it too loudly.

Also, I think that the SGs' argument doesn't apply to those of us who do contribute actively, on the boards and in the groups. But I think those people are probably a pretty small fraction of the paying membership (which seems to be a state secret; not so much as a hint is ever revealed).

Still, I don't remember anyone claiming SG was democratic, or representative.

I normally try not to pay attention to this kind of stuff, because it just bums me out. The powers that be can be a bit heavy-handed at times. But I don't think you can separate the "entitlement" thing from what was being asked for, at least not in this case. It just wasn't something that he had a right to ask for. He pressed, and got zotted for it, and everyone (including him) knew it would be coming if he kept it up.

I agree, this place wouldn't be nearly as interesting if it wasn't for the kinds of people it attracts. And a lot of interesting people have gotten themselves zotted over the years. But that's the way they've chosen to take the site, and as it is their property, we can stay and pay or take our money elsewhere. And if they drive off people and make the site boring, they'll pay for it when everyone else stops commenting and the site stops being interesting (and stops drawing in as many people). But yeah, that's why I mainly try to avoid such things; it doesn't go anywhere, and it's just depressing.

he was drowning in the dog's water bucket.

ouch. Some of that sounds familiar. Personally I find I get so tangled up in the guilty feeling that actually working gets bumped down the list I am not a person who is graceful under pressure.

(Partly for that reason, I make it policy never to feel guilty for not posting.)

I think (if I remember the Barker novella correctly) that it's only hard to open if you're not supposed to. The "right" sort of person finds it all too easy.

Hey, thanks for the heads-up on Wake of the Ravager. I downloaded it, can't get it to work with XP just yet, but I appreciate the tip.

:phew: Glad to hear it. Things do get out of hand far too quickly. I thought you managed the whole thing much more sanely than most, TBH. It's a difficult subject to talk about without people leaping wildly about the place.

Backstage ?! Wow. There's a road manager who knows how to make his audience feel appreciated I'm not necessarily impressed by loud - just a matter of money and inclination - but for YLT, it would be surprising; they don't seem loud, somehow.
And, um, I hesitate to ask, but why is your GF in a wheelchair? I hope it's temporary.

My dad has Parkinson's and dementia, so I understand a little about adjusting. It still sucks though. I hope things improve.