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I'm firmly against legalizing it, as I wrote above. However, there is a conundrum. Although I don't want it to be legal - in other words I don't want to see "coffee shops"* on every street corner, like you see in Amsterdam, I don't think that folks that smoke it in the privacy of their own...

Well, I guess I may be getting way out there with this, but after all, this is a thread about the existence of extra-terrestrials. Now then, if we accept the monkey/typewriter hypothesis, and it appears we do, then, it follows that UFO's of extra-terrestrial origin will eventually reach the...

Infinitessimal probabilities become certainties, when you introduce the concept of infinity or eternity. In other words, if there is even an infinitessimal probablilty (but not zero probability) that there is other life in the universe, and there is an infinitessimal probability (but not zero...

This one's a no-brainer. Let's see, on the one hand I can just flush these cells down the tubes, or on the other hand, I can study them and learn so much about human biology and disease that the most debilitating diseases of our day might be curable. Gee, do I care more about that goo in the...

Well, there are UFO's whether or not you believe in them. There are objects that fly and are not identified, so there are UFO's. I guess beer good pointed this out in his way. But I'll go a bit further and say that there ARE UFO's of extraterrestrial origin. It's just a numbers thing. The...

Both marijuana and tobacco should NOT be legal. These substances are incredibly harmful physically and psychologically. Tobacco should never have been legalized in the first place, and pot should never be legalized, period. Of course, without tobacco we (Americans) wouldn't have had an...

Friday - Robert A. Heinlein

The Power of Prayer A man is on his way to an important appointment. He's running late, and is in desperate need of a parking space. In despiration, he prays to God: "Lord, please grant me a parking space. I need one so bad right now. If you grant me a parking space, why, I'll give up...

Redwood by, me We sat beside the Redwood Tree, The little chipmunk, he and I, In blissful, silent reverie. The towering trees, the patch of sky. Then from behind a bramble bush, A little vixen ambled by. The pretty little fox sat down. She sniffed the air and scratched her ear...

One of the greatest books ever written. This book changed the way I think and how I look at other people. Permanently. Nobody that has read and absorbed this book can ever look at a destitute person and believe that the destitute are less than human, or that it must be their own fault, and...

I think my problem with it was due to the fact that I had just finished East of Eden - a monumentally great and complex book. I just could not get into anything heavy again - so I opted out of Beloved to read a techno-thriller by Crichton. I'll pick up Beloved again after a reasonable...

East of Eden - John Steinbeck - 5/5 Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee - 4/5

You're right there. I did read Life of Pi, and now that you mention it, the intro was integral to the story. I guess you're taking your chances when you skip anything in a book. The publisher put it there, so I suppose it should be read. My preference is to read a book from cover to cover...

Well, I would say that plot and prose are inextricably commingled, in that the plot is described with the prose, and the prose develops the plot. I suppose you might have cases where the plot is excellent and intriguing, and the prose are clumsy and awkward, but I think that would be a rare...

What I mean by "crackle", is that it's exciting. Lot's of masterpieces don't have that quality. Steinbeck's work is thought provoking, artfully written, memorable, brilliant prose. But it's not exactly rip snorting, grab you by the guts, chew you up and spit you out kind of prose. Crichton's...

Oh right! That was it!

I love "literature", as long as it's not dull. I just finished East of Eden, and it was wonderful - a masterpiece. I can't say that it really had any CRACKLE, though. But it was so great, it held my interest from start to finish. Having gotten to the bottom of my TBR pile, I made a trip to...

How do you feel about opening a book, ready to plunge in, and being confronted with a lengthy introducion? I hate it. Worse yet when the intro is not even written by the author. Sometimes you get some blowhard telling you how to read the book! I started Herzog by Saul Bellow only to be...

dire, this statement is not that clear to me. But, in any case, I use the nz() function very frequently - pretty much anytime I use an equal sign. And thanks again for your code. Yesterday I just pasted it into my module and it worked.

Well, I've finished East of Eden. Sobbed like a baby right there in the coffee shop this morning as I read the last few chapters. I'm now in that funk that happens after you read a great book, and have nothing else to replace it. So there is this void in my life now. Maybe I'll get a puppy...