Walsingham

Just in case you werent joking around, you do indeed use your legs for piloting an aircraft. At the pilots (and copilots) feet are two pedals which are used to control the aircrafts rudder. They also double as the landing gear wheel brakes when taxiing and landing. Unless Mr. Bader was using two peg legs, then its prolly all good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Bader I'd forgotten what a good story this is. I particularly like the way the honourable English abuse the German's honourable ceasefire (while supplying the downed Bader with a replacement leg) to then try and bomb a power station.

It was in Africa. And our cops do carry guns now. Especially in London.

My longest has to the time I spent two and a half weeks in a basement in London playing the Baldur's Gate series through from scratch. I had a lung infection, though, which meant I couldn't move much more than the mouse even if I'd wanted to do something else. Although this may not directly qualify since I did a lot of writing in the journal as well. You'd be maazed how deranged you get when you are partially asphyxiated for that long. While being locked in a basement eating scraps.

A poorly regulated power-crazed security ape abusing their power!? Who would've thunk it?

Transmet really is fantastic. We can ALL be Spider Jerusalem. Although this leaves the question of who will be my filthy assistants. My sig comes from NWN2.

You're plan is clearly science fiction. You should watch Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

Sounds good. I've always been a fan of Douglas Bader. Why SHOULD losing both legs stop you flying? It's not as if you're using them.

I don't know about you guys, but the whole reason I gota mobile phone was so that I could be mobile. This means doing work on journeys away from an office/home for over an hour. To provide this capability I purchased a Motorola v3 Razr. This device comes with a subsystem called a 'battery' that stores electrical energy from the mains chemically for release over tim Unfortunately, there seems to have been a breakdown in logic. My phone battery charges in fifteen minutes, "Hurrah!" And discharges in an hour, "Hurroo." Motorola seem to be of the opinion that this is better than my concept of a phone battery that charges over two hours, and discharges over eight. I am quite vexed by this and am considering buying a new phone, and throwing this one through a window belonging to said company. Questions arising: 1) Are all modern phones like this, which assume one dashes from point to point in short bursts? 2) What is the greatest longevity found in a phone? 3) Can I buy some sort of bandolier for mobile phone batteries?

I'll have you know I had not a clue who this mincing fop was, approaching me on that lonely road in the sword coast. All I know was that in an instant I had to kill him. "Oh look at me, I'm a poseur waving a couple of swords around and turning hapless gnolls into smoothies. For my encore I will prance up to some perfect strangers and compress a lifetime of asinine pomposity into a single sentence. Then I will skip off, pausing only to strike a heroic form against the sunset." Like I say, I had to kill him. No-one with that high an opinion of themselves passes my characters by without getting (variously) a dagger in the stomach, a hand grenade down the trousers, and a bat up the nightshirt.

On one occasion I got this fantastic seuqence of photos of a cop coming in from right frame, raising his arm, and blocking the lense. I used the old 'P.J. O'Rourke' to get out of that one. Otherwise known as the "That looks like a really cool gun. Can you tell me about it?" manoeuvre.

Darth, that story rules. Excellent way to twist a bummed situation around.

I think independence day deaths just reinforce the notion that we shouldn't try retaking the colony yet. Shows determination and aggression on your part.

I'll accept it would be stronger if it was backed up with figures. The major may also have been doing some impromptu nationalist tubthumping. However, it's not like I'm just pulling an opinion off a taxi driver. It's this guy's job to know how law is approached in the US military in case a British servicemember falls foul of it.

I agree that our best results will probably occur in prevention. For my money I think that sleep is critical. I actually read a paper on the importance of sleep in adults forming new neurons, which seems to me consistent with staving off dementia. However, even the charity themselves acknowledge that as we live longer we get picked off by different stuff. Really we're never going to be free of something that affects us in old age that is horrific. Having said that, I really am sorry to hear you're having to cope with the problems dementia brings, and your mum is suffering.

Come on guys. How is he supposed to get the message across to anyone that matters without hosting dinners, walking the walk etc. It's nonsense to suggest politicians always have to obey the same restrictions they place on the people. I doubt there's ANY men of his station running a pure green ticket.

You're just a copycat of Walsingham. Anyway, Devastator is awesome, not as awesome as Starscream, but I couldn't find any decent sig-worthy images of Starscream. The quote in my sig is from someone's rant about how its become trendy to be nerdy and people will claim to be a huge nerd just because they liked Pirates of the Caribbean or something like that. He's not just a copycat, he's a gloryhound AND attentionwalrus.

I know it's become especially tough in recent years. I understand there are whole legal companies devoted to just getting the forms filled in right.

I say we pretend to BE apes.

Ah nuts. the question had been on what basis I was saying the US Army tends to hand down light sentences to offenders on foreign soil. I got the from a serving major in HM Army disciplinary body. I really don't know why. It does immeasurable harm to the image of the US Forces. Which is maybe why this one sounds serious. Frankly, my understanding of arab political opinion in the street will be that anything less than execution will be seen as soft. On the other hand the guy did plea bargain a confession, so maybe that was on the table if they had to fight for a conviction.

Cops. You Americans have this really weird love/hate relationship with law enforcement. I've always noticed when travelling how variegated and changeable your cops are. One minute they're relaxed, and vulnerable, almost more vulnerable than regular citizens. The next minute they're these jackbooted nutcases. The next minute they're helping some kid cross the road. Be aware tho - as I discovered when I used to be a journalist - that some government buildings cannot be photographed for legal reasons. Alwasy ask general permission unless you want your equipment confiscated.

Volo, Meta, I think the point is that the boss OUGHT to run his team based on what level of service you are providing. But he/she may not do this, and usually doesn't. Equally, however, people don't become saints by virtue of where they shop and hence you get wrongful complaints. I've always thought the guy who said "The customer is always right" should have been forced to live by that maxim. They'd have run for at most six months. On the other hand you customers/clients are absolutely everything. You exist for them, not the other way round as many service industries seem to think. Losing track of this can and does account indirectly for virtually every nutsup plaguing big businesses today. So when Meta and I say "Don't forget you're there for the customer" we're talking death or glory. This is not about an extra topping, this is about the livelihoods and security of yourself and everyone depending on the business. So like I say, the customer is always vital. I would say you should approach them all as if they are great. But they can be and often are - when they approach you - incorrect. The best approach generally is - with respect - chase down the misapprehension and remove it. On the other hand I have no objection to dealing with the harshest abusers of your hospitality with permanent bars to service. My old boss handed out as many of these as he did firing of staff.He may have been as mad as a trout, but he was fair and absolutely loyal to his people who worked hard for him.

*arrives* Am I late for the geekathon?

Three points: 1) How are we entitled to any citizens gas and power bill? If he has the same responsibilities then doesn't he have the same rights? in the UK you coudn't just hand out his personal data like that legally. 2) He is a former VP and all such dignitaries have SS guard details, plus there's chefs and so on. You're not comparing like with like. There's probably twenty times as many people in his house over the same time period. 3) Doesn't Gore have some crazy all green power vacation house?

Welll, I... hey goddamit! _I'm Spider Jerusalem_!

I tell you it's no sinkhole. "9:2. And he opened the bottomless pit: and the smoke of the pit arose, as the smoke of a great furnace. And the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke of the pit. Et aperuit puteum abyssi et ascendit fumus putei sicut fumus fornacis magnae et obscuratus est sol et aer de fumo putei 9:3. And from the smoke of the pit there came out locusts upon the earth. And power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.* Et de fumo exierunt lucustae in terram et data est illis potestas sicut habent potestatem scorpiones terrae"