C J

Well, when yuou flush the toilet the water goes to a treatment plant (unless you live in the country and have a septic system) and the water is released into nature again, eventually going into the drinking water supply. I don't think there's a lot of danger of getting infected with something bad. It's just peoples perception. Seafarers in ancient days used to reuse their urine for obvious reasons. Occasionally, when it's convenient, I recycle mine on the bushes. It must be good for them because they look great. Otherwise, it's treated and filtered water that comes in the house for people to drink. It's not pure water though. There are heavy metals and agricultural runoff in it. The EPA says it's safe, but they say lots of things. I drink mostly distilled water, so I don't worry a lot about the tap water. All in all, some things aren't as bad as others, but the better you can protect yourself the better off you will be. Our water comes from the rural water system, which get's it's water from a large lake. There are boats and swimmers and campers all over it, so you know it's getting peed in. I'm more worried about the heavy metals and ag chemicals than the urine. Over time those pollutants collect in your body and at some point in the future you have real problems, ones that can't be fixed. Water is important, and the way things are going it looks like there could even be a few wars fought over it. In the U.S. it's becoming a problem, and some day it's going to be a crisis. Unfortunately, most people don't think much about water. They will be thinking a LOT about it when they can't get any!

I suppose buying used stuff is good. I buy used books, it just makes sense. The book is only good for what I learn from it, so why buy a new one and pay five times as much as you need to? Other stuff, I don't know. Clothes I could never see buying used. Someone else wore them and who knows what happened. I don't care who you are, you fart in your jeans, and I'm not interested in used farts. It's kind of like used food. Yuk! Used cars are OK, as long as they're perfectly clean. It's a bonus if it still has the new smell in it. A lot of people can't afford a new car, so I think the used ones should be sterilized before they sell them. Think about it, cars are subject to the same abuses as jeans are, so be very careful! Nothing worse than having someone in your car when it decides to let the odor of the last owners date night slip through the upholstery. Don't put your faith in those silly air fresheners, they're not going to save you! I guess I don't buy much of anything really, but when I do I like new stuff. Books are different, and I have bought used bikes before, which is OK. They clean up pretty easily, and if your scared of what residue might be hiding in the seat it's easy to replace with a new one. I'm kind of a bike geek anyway, and I've had lots of them, new and used. It's a staple item when you grow up in the country.

You know, if your gonna judge humans advancement by how they've treated the earth and themselves, there isn't much positive material to contribute to that judgement. Humans are their own worst enemies, and nothing has been as detrimental to the planet as humans have been. If humans ever go to a planet where there's smart aliens, they better hope they don't know anything about human history, because they are bound to get killed simply out of those peoples desire to defend themselves. Another way to put it: If humans want to make friends on other planets, they better hope they aren't required to submit a resume. Like Stephen Hawking said, "We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships ... having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach.” Sounds about right to me!

It's right in line with how they do those ads. I had a little trouble coming up with the last four letters. I didn't want to be nasty, but it was tempting!

That's some tough stuff to take care of, but it's a good thing you're there to do it. Stay strong, people need you!

All that will happen now is someone will have a problem with these things and a lawyer will run a ad to get clients for all that "significant" compensation. Call 1-800-bad-cave now before time runs out! Get every dime you have coming today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YJVmu6yttiw#t=0 <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YJVmu6yttiw?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

OK, whatever you say.

Interesting way to go about agreeing with me.

I agree, labels are tools. I'm perfectly willing to let you use labels however you want to. Personally, I will use labels to find a can of beans or a box of cereal. When I'm looking for a person the only label I need is their name. My label is Chris, other people have other labels. If you want to label me according to my sexual orientation, then I don't think you and me have anything of value in common.

For what purpose would I need to label someone based on their sexual preferences? I don't need to for any reason, and I don't accept labels of any sort. Labels limit people. Labels are for things not people. "Oh look, there's that gay guy shopping for bananas hahaha! I bet he buys some lotion too! HAHAHA". That's about how useful labels are. If people were as smart and clever as they like to believe they are, they wouldn't even acknowledge labels. It's not like a label is some sort of title, like MBA or PhD or senator or manager or whatever. Labels have no value either socially or otherwise. People should be distiguished by their self, their personality, not by what interests them sexually, and not really by what they do to make a living. I have had enough of the label game, and I'm not playing any more. I'm a man who lives in the midwest. If you happen to live in my neighborhood then you might know something else about me. You might even know what I like sexually, but it's really none of your business, and I'm not going to go around identifying myself as a man who likes sex with other men by labeling myself "gay". If that's the most important thing I have to offer then I shouldn't even be breathing. It's simple really. I'm a man, a person, and that's all the world needs to know. If someone gets closer to me and I like them, I might let them know more. Until then, I'm Chris, another person occupying this planet, and if that's not enough information for you, that's not my problem, it's yours. Take yourself and your labels and bother someone else with your goofyness. Life is too precious to spend it contemplating that level of tripe.

Arizona and Hawaii don't have it, and a bunch of territories and countries around the world don't either. I don't care for it, but it's not a huge problem since i don't have to go anywhere on a schedule.

I'm reading 5 books at the moment, and I might as well say I get accused of reading boring books. Reading for me isn't that much fun if I don't learn something from it, so I choose my books on that basis. Anyway, here's the 5 titles I'm busy with. The Copywriter's Handbook by Robert Bly It's a must for aspiring copywriters. Getting Things done by David Allen Like most people, I need to learn to be organized and efficient, and this book is good for that. Vibrational Medicine by Richard Gerber M.D. This is the most interesting book I've seen so far that deals with medicine and health. I think it discusses concepts that are important to understanding nature generally. Magnetic Selling by Robert Bly A Robert Bly book again, because he's a sort of expert in the copywriting field. Hot Text by Jonathan and Lisa Price I thought there would be some value in reading this since it's related to copywriting, although it's more focused on web text. So, this is my current reading. All of these books are from my Dad's collection, and when I'm finished with them there are plenty more waiting to occupy my mind. As you can tell I avoid reading fiction. I have read plenty of fiction but I don't really enjoy it. Also, I tend to get more personally involved when I read fiction, and when the story is over it's a little like saying goodbye forever to close friends, which is something I truly hate to do.

Excellent point about drive. I think most people truly don't have the drive, or ambition, to accomplish things that they wish they would. Whatever will we do to save them from their fate? I haven't the answer, but I'm sure there is one. Whatever it is, I'm sure it involves that horrifying thing called change. God help us, the world is not what we wish it was! Of course, if it was the way we wanted it then what would be left to motivate us?

I don't really mind the switch, but I think they should set the time and leave it alone. I think most people who have to drive to work every morning agree. I don't see the point of this change twice a year. It messes with people. It's an inconvenience that nobody really wants, and as far as I can tell nobody asked for it. Maybe they could devise some much more useful changes in this area. They could change the days of the week instead. How about 4 days in a week instead of 7? Sunday / Monday / Friday / Saturday. This would make more weekends. It would mean 91.25 weeks in a year, so every 4 years we would have leap week to make up for it. Productivity would go up because people would be less stressed. They could do it another way, and add days to the week instead. Sunday / Monday / Friday / Saturday / Sunday / Monday / Friday / Saturday. That would also make more weekends, and give us 45.6 weeks in a year. They could declare that a year would actually consist of 91.25 weeks, making a year twice as long as it is now. Then leap week would actually only happen every 8 years, and holidays, like Christmas would happen once every 2 years. The same with tax season, which would be agreeable to most people if my guess is accurate. Yes, some days are eliminated, but who cares? When your going to change things you don't have to follow any rules, just change them. I suppose there are other possibilities too, but these are at least a start.

I agree with a lot of what you say W-L, but I don't agree that the poor have no access to healthy food and exercise. Poor people can afford decent food, and exercise doesn't require machines or trainers. I do know some poor people, and they can afford good food. Keep in mind that eating nutritious food tends to satisfy your appetite, therefore you will eat less than if you eat cheap starch ridden stuff. Most poor people have internet access, and those who don't can go to the library in most towns and use the internet there for free. This gives them access to excellent resources that help them develop an exercise plan to keep themselves shaped up. Poor people certainly have more challenges but they have resources available to overcome their financial shortcomings. A little struggling might be involved, but that shouldn't stop anyone. I think when you get down to the bottom line, there are no excuses. Some of the most successful people in the world came from poverty, and it wasn't because someone came along and gave them a break, it's because they were determined and willing to work for it. If poor people can overcome poverty then they can overcome any other obstacles. I think hope comes from inside people more than any other source, whether they are poor or not.

Yup, that's pretty much what I was saying. Your right, healthcare isn't the cause of the problem. The cause is people's unwillingness to take personal responsibility for their health. It's a messy issue for sure, and I suppose it will take a long time and a lot of changes before we see any real progress. People don't like change in general, so there's a battle to be fought.

The illnesses that make up the bulk of healthcare expenditures are indeed avoidable. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and a lot of others are, for the most part, preventable. The prevention depends on the individual, and not the system. The system is geared toward dealing with symptoms. Like everything, there are exceptions to this, but for the most part this is how things are. Depending on the system for heath maintenance is a mistake, and an expensive one.

I wasn't saying the system is worthless and not needed, I'm simply saying it's overused and depended on in ways that are not necessary. People can learn to maintain their health so that they don't develop so many health issues. The problem is the amount of resources being devoted to healthcare, and the fact is that it wouldn't be that way if people were responsible enough to take proper care of themselves in the first place. Emergency care is one thing. Depending on the system for general health maintenance is irresponsible, and no amount or type of insurance is going to change the situation.

There is no reason for people to depend on insurance, or a gym membership, or even a nutritionist, to help them stay healthy. All the things those offer can be acquired for free. As for diabetes, the majority of cases here are in fact the result of poor personal choices. Those that are born with it are a lot fewer than those who acquire it, and it is both avoidable and curable. Of course, the so-called "healthcare professionals" are unlikely to tell anyone that. They aren't going to work at eliminating the source of their income.

I know that it's not possible to completely eliminate illness, but it is certainly possible to minimize it to the point that it's rare. There's no good reason for the amount of illness that exists in the world now. The fact that there is says a lot about the state of the healthcare system. They like to talk about how advanced medicine is, but they don't account for the increase in sickness. I think it's an issue that's more important than devising ways to keep funneling money into a system that's basically not working as well as they want us to believe it is. A system that educates people on healthy living instead of buying services after your sick would be a huge advance. The majority of illnesses are avoidable, and that's where the focus should be. Unfortunately, that's exactly where the focus is not in the current system.

I wouldn't watch any of these shows. TV sucks. It perpetuates intellectual atrophy. It reinforces negative outlooks. If I ever get to a point where I'm sitting in front of the TV as a means of recreation that's the point where I'll know my life will have become pretty much worthless. Now it's time for me to go. Sorry, but Spongebob Squarepants is about to come on and I couldn't forgive myself if I missed it.

Maybe some day people will start thinking and realize that health isn't about taking pills. The faith people put in doctors and drugs is one of the most perplexing things there is. It's also one of the most lucrative businesses in the world. Too bad humans aren't more thoughtful about one of the most important aspects of their lives. Of all the things people need to do, they allow the most important one to be dealt with by someone else. If they would learn how to keep themselves healthy and make it a routine daily thing then the world would be a lot happier and a lot less money would be wasted on drugs and other ridiculous medical treatments. Oh well, I guess people can't be expected to care more about themselves than they do TV and Mountain Dew.

There, all fixed!

Hmm. I suppose it's got something to do with how civilization has developed. There's a relentless push for efficiency and convenience. Mass production, distribution and marketing have taken the place of family farms and hunting. Here where I live I've seen a lot of animals killed and cleaned. The old guy down the road has chickens, and when he needs one for dinner he goes out, picks one he thinks is ready, grabs it by the legs, puts a foot on it's head and then yanks on the legs to remove the head. Then he lets the chicken go and it runs around flapping it's wings until all it's blood has finished squirting out it's neck and it falls over.. Sounds terrible I suppose, but that's what he does and I doubt he's the only one around who does it that way. Of course most will chop the head off with a machete or something, but the result is the same. People might benefit from some exposure to this kind of reality. Then maybe they wouldn't either. I'm not sure. If something ever happens that stops the flow of food from the farm to the store I expect a lot of people are going to starve to death. Knowing something about finding food in the wild would give them a chance at survival. In the mean time I'm still eating store food and an occasional pizza from the pizza place. Then when summer gets here I'll be having some of the fresh stuff from the farmers market. One thing I know for sure is that there is no beating the taste of the fresh stuff. In that respect store food is pure crap.