Valsuelm
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Posts posted by Valsuelm
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Well I certainly hope I'm in the boat with GD, and not Vals.
is unlikely hurl and val would ever be on the same boat... 'cause val would no doubt refuse a berth on what is obviously a cia front meant to ship weapons, drugs and human slaves to _________, with the military-industrial complex using its control o' the media to camouflage hurl's ship o' fools from public view... but you would know all o' this if you would just read the Constitution.
HA! Good Fun!
Yep, it's true. It's all right there in Article 8. Go see for yourself!
I see ignored ogreboy is still trying to troll me.
He is right in that I likely wouldn't ever be on a boat with Hurl, at least not one that had strangers on it. As fond as I am of boating and the ocean, I am not fond of such things as 'cruises'. In the unlikely event I was ever on a boat with Hurl and my dog, chances are very high we'd know everyone on board. As for the rest, well... lala land.
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I'm glad some people are saying " they would save there dog ", its not a ridiculous question as there are numerous examples of people leaving there inheritances to there pets and not to any members of there families. I'm fairly sure people who would consider there pets more important than there families would definitely throw a stranger out a boat instead of there pets.
Some kids aren't deserving of a penny of inheritance. That said, some parents are total Fwads.
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But now the hypothetical question.." a ship is sinking and you and 6 strangers are in a lifeboat with your beloved dog. The lifeboat cannot carry all the weight and its your choice who gets thrown overboard. Your dog who you truly love or one of the strangers. Who do you throw overboard"
I'd probably be inclined to kill the other 6. The dog is one of my own, they're not
I was actually thinking similar, as if I find myself in a situation where some irrational and hysterical humans are telling me it's one of them or my ~20 pound dog in a boat, that's not a group of humans I want to be with in a life or death situation, nor a group of humans I'd deem worthy of saving, so I may hurry their demise along right quick to ensure my own well being as well as those I care about.
Not all strangers would be worth saving even without the dogs in the picture. Some actually would be quite detrimental to one's own health. Queue some 'Walking Dead' episodes for some hypothetical examples. In fact, this week's 'Fear the Walking Dead' is looking to contain such an example in spades.
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Well I certainly hope I'm in the boat with GD, and not Vals.
Well, worry not. The vast majority of dogs wouldn't take up much room in a boat, and could sit on a human's lap or between their legs. Mine certainly could. You probably have a better chance of winning Powerball a few times than coming across a scenario where it's a choice between a human and a dog in a boat. Also, if you're really packing a lifeboat so full that even a St. Bernard couldn't fit, you're more than likely doomed anyways as that's a boat like to capsize.
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My first wife was a volunteer in a dog & cat rescue group. We fostered a lot of dogs during the years we were together. We even sold our first house and bought another one out in an unincorporated part of Palm Beach County to make it easier to do that. When the rescue folded we had 15 dogs in our house. Four were ours, 11 were fosters with nowhere to go. I was leery about adopting them out without the legal protection of the rescue and I certainly was not going to take them to animal control. So we kept them. One of the dogs I have now Tommy, was one of those. The was just a puppy then. He was the only puppy, the rest were adults. When my wife and I divorced she took three with her and that left me with 12. As the years have passed they lived what I think and hope were happy lives. Most lived past age 14. One had cancer and I treated for as long and as well as veterinary science would allow to keep her comfortable. I sacrificed a lot of time an money on those mutts and can emphatically I do not regret one moment spent with them or one penny expended on their behalf. Except Tommy they have all passed on now. I remember them all with love and think about all of them often.
I told you all that to tell you this. I consider myself something of an expert in dog behavior & psychology. I have read many books about it and I have my own experience. They are not people. They are not little furry humans. And to tell you the truth you are doing them and yourself a disservice if you think of them that way. They are dogs. They think dog thoughts and do dog things for dog reasons. They will never understand YOU. But YOU can learn to understand THEM. If I had to sacrifice one of my dogs to save a person, even one I didn't know, even one I hated, I would do it. I would hate myself afterwards but there would not be a moments hesitation. A dogs life certainly has value. Not just to itself but to all the other dogs and humans in interacts with. But in the universal scale it does not compare to the value of a humans life. I would continue on much better after the loss of a dog and a family of humans would after the loss of a parent or child.
No, dogs aren't humans. No one here has argued that. Like humans though they do think differently from one another. They have unique experiences and personalities. There are all sorts of dogs out there, dumb ones, mean ones, smart ones, nice ones, rare super smart ones (smarter than many humans I know), cranky ones, sly ones, strong ones, weak ones, and so on. Unlike you, on principle I'd save most of the dogs I've ever had before any strangers (situation matters), though it'd be an unusual situation for one to even have to make that choice. As previously stated, dogs are a part of the family, and I'll save family and friends over strangers most any day (again, situation matters). I have a great deal of respect for loyalty, and I return it when it's deserved, whatever the species (dogs are one of the few species out there where loyalty is common (cats are not), horses also often have this loyalty, if they are treated well).
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Regarding free roaming animals, except for PetSmart, Ive never seen someone bring their pet into a bar or restaurant. What is this, France?
I guess maybe out in the sticks it can happen but otherwise we have leash and pet waste laws 'round here.The U.S., and it's not just in the sticks. AAA publishes a book called 'Traveling with Your Pet', where it has lists of pet friendly (many places only dogs, no cats) restaurants, hotels, attractions, parks, etc. There's probably not a major metropolitan area without some listings for attractions/restaurants. There's certainly some in NYC and San Fran (places I've looked). I've found the book to be very handy in my travels, but have also found that it's not even close to all inclusive as I've found a lot of dog friendly places in some areas that are not listed in the book (ie: not one of the dog friendly places I previously mentioned are listed). Stay away from major corporate chain restaurants and you'll find that dogs will be allowed a bit more often than you think. To that end, just stay away from major corporate chain restaurants in general, while some are decent, there's almost always a local privately owned non-franchised joint that's better in almost every way nearby.
In addition to the AAA book, there are a few websites out there with pet friendly (again, often exclusively dogs) listings.
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It's really not a big deal.
Tell that to the thousands of pregnant women who have Zika and either do have babies with birth defects or whose babies may have birth defects
Here is some information on the virus
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/question-answers.html
To a degree I was jesting. I had hoped that was obvious.
That said, I don't really consider the CDC all that reliable a source. They've cried wolf far too many times, have been caught falsifying studies, done more than their fair share of just plain evil, and are way too politicized to be a reliably believed. I very much support the scrapping of the agency all together.
My bad, its hard for me to determine when someone is joking without an emoticon..so I normally assume people are being serious unless its someone like Oby
Did you not click on the link I provided?
Yes I did but as you know one of the symptoms of Zika is malformed heads
So I thought you were just making light of the whole Zika condition
I was. In a jesting manner.
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I wasn't referring to anyone here, just making a general comment.
The last two or three times I went to a restaurant some women brought their dogs with them. Even the worst redneck farmer in my country wouldn't dream of allowing an animal into a place where people are consuming food. It struck me how self obsessed some pet owners are that it never occurs to them that watching their dog lick its balls while I'm eating an expensive dinner is not the most appetizing sight in the world.
Then a couple of my female friends got cats and now all they do is talk about them and post pictures online. Its a cat. There are a million others like it. listening about the last "clever" thing it did makes me want to gouge my eyes out
Oh the timing.
I just now finished up a meal that I picked up from a local Tex Mex restaurant that actually asked me just ~30 minutes ago to bring my dogs in next time I was there. Backstory: Every time I go I always pick up a side of chicken (their favorite food) to bring home to my dogs, and tonight they asked if they were in the car. They weren't but often they are when I stop by there. So they said bring them in next time so they can meet them, and next time I happen to have them with me when I stop there, I will.
At least three of the local bars I go to (all which serve food) allow dogs in them, and while it's not common to see them, there are some customers that occasionally bring them in. No one complains, quite the opposite generally occurs. I spent years working in restaurants too, from the rock n roll bar to the fine dining establishment. Out of the seven different dining establishments I've worked at, about half of them allowed dogs and about half didn't. I can see and respect both allowing and disallowing depending on the type of establishment we're talking about. I personally have never brought my dogs into a restaurant, though I have brought them to outdoor picnic areas of dog friendly restaurants where dogs are regularly found.
There are indeed people obsessed with their pets and animals in general. There are people obsessed with all sorts of things. I've said before and I'll say it again, most people are insane to some degree. Really, well over half of the population is. However, bringing a pet into a restaurant isn't necessarily an indicator of pet obsession or of insanity. In fact, while it would take me a lot more time than I'm willing to spend, I would argue it's more often an indicator of sanity than not.
Insofar as pet obsession and people constantly posting pictures of them, I'll say that most people who constantly post pictures of anything are bat poop nuts. Hello most prolific facebookers, snapchatters, and instagramers.
Insofar as country folks having a better handle on their animal relationships. Well, as someone who bounces back and forth between the big city and the sticks relatively often, is very comfortable in both, and has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada (been to 47 of the states, and 8 of the 10 Canadian provinces, most many more times than once), it's been my observation that in general, the rural folk have a better handle on almost everything compared to the average urbanite. The stereotypical backwards redneck is in actuality a lot less brainwashed, a lot less bigoted, a lot more worldly, and a lot more grounded in reality than the average urbanite. And that said, country peoples, farmers and others, usually respect their animals quiet a lot, as well as love their pets. Having a hard working sheep dog for example does not keep a farmer from returning the great deal of love and loyalty most such animals have for their owners, if anything it amplifies it.
Looking at a pet as primarily a tool is akin to looking at one's spouse as primarily a means to an end as well (hello sperm receptacle/donor). Some people certainly do both. Some people are shallow and insane. Just about all people and pets bring something to a relationship insofar as 'usefulness', but if one's relationship with their family/friend/pet is only based on that... well, I feel sorry for such a person. And yea, there are a lot of such people out there. Seemingly an ever increasing amount even.
All this said, I don't think anyone here was advocating pet obsession, nor is the lawsuit in question necessarily brought by pet obsessed people (don't know them so can't say either way).
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It's really not a big deal.
Tell that to the thousands of pregnant women who have Zika and either do have babies with birth defects or whose babies may have birth defects
Here is some information on the virus
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/question-answers.html
To a degree I was jesting. I had hoped that was obvious.
That said, I don't really consider the CDC all that reliable a source. They've cried wolf far too many times, have been caught falsifying studies, done more than their fair share of just plain evil, and are way too politicized to be a reliably believed. I very much support the scrapping of the agency all together.
My bad, its hard for me to determine when someone is joking without an emoticon..so I normally assume people are being serious unless its someone like Oby
Did you not click on the link I provided?
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It's really not a big deal.
Tell that to the thousands of pregnant women who have Zika and either do have babies with birth defects or whose babies may have birth defects
Here is some information on the virus
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/question-answers.html
To a degree I was jesting. I had hoped that was obvious.
That said, I don't really consider the CDC all that reliable a source. They've cried wolf far too many times, have been caught falsifying studies, done more than their fair share of just plain evil, and are way too politicized to be a reliably believed. I very much support the scrapping of the agency all together.
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How do you put a monetary value on a life? Some people get more attached to their pets than others. To some people, pets are little more than toys, to others they're legit members of the family. I don't think it's possible to find a one size fits all value.
You don't. Only corporeal things can have legitimate value.
That's a ridiculous and untrue statement, even if applied in purely a monetary sense, which is seemingly the way you mean it.
That is how I meant it.
Relationships have value. While it might be neigh impossible to put actual value on a priceless relationship, or things that are intangible such as reputation, attempts can be and are made all the time.
Yeah, and those attempts are stupid.
I pity you.
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How do you put a monetary value on a life? Some people get more attached to their pets than others. To some people, pets are little more than toys, to others they're legit members of the family. I don't think it's possible to find a one size fits all value.
You don't. Only corporeal things can have legitimate value.
That's a ridiculous and untrue statement, even if applied in purely a monetary sense, which is seemingly the way you mean it. Pets aside, there are all sorts of things intangible things in the world that have monetary value. One biggie is business reputation, which very much can calculate into the valuation of one.
Relationships have value. While it might be neigh impossible to put actual value on a priceless relationship, or things that are intangible such as reputation, attempts can be and are made all the time.
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Bull crap to all the "more than replacement costs" people. A pet is a possession. Anyone who damages a possession should only need to pay the cost to replace it with another of similar quality. If I break your $200 TV and you spent even one penny trying to fix it, that's your fault. Same goes for a pet. People shouldn't be given extra punishment for other people's emotional hang-ups regarding one of their possessions. When some one breaks something you own; they owe you the cost of a new one. Nothing more, nothing less.
I can see animals being given personhood over the next 20 years, and veterinary care costing the same as medical care, to the point of having to put pets on your medical insurance.
I seriously doubt it. Unless the concept of "person-hood" become a complete joke. That would mean no more meat, animal products (farm animals would be slavery), or even pets (also slavery).
Remember, if animals are, "people", then they'd be entitled to all the rights humans are.Pets are definitely worth more than their "replacement" cost. They aren't a TV or a toaster.
If you can own them; then they are in terms of status. They're as much a possession as any other.
Extremely similar arguments were made in regards to slaves at one point. I would wager a lot you'd have made them if you lived at that point.
You are a fool if you truly think a living being is ever only a possession, no matter what the feelings of the possessor are towards it.
Also, if you broke my $200 TV and didn't voluntarily fix or replace it yourself, you can bet that $200 plus some kind of compensation for taking up my time is coming out of your pocket or if need be hide in some manner.
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Regarding the law, it's a State matter within the U.S.. It's not something that's like to change soon, given the amount of dogs government goons kill with impunity every year.
As for how much one spends on a dog? I could see $67k. I personally have a dog (a dachshund even) that has about $4k (at bargain pricing) into his hind legs, and have friends who spent over $12k within a few weeks, and drove 3 hours to get the best care (a university veterinarians hospital), trying to save their dog that suddenly had massive liver failure (they never did find out exactly what caused it despite oodles of tests and a lot of doctors on the case). Much like a human, what one spends depends on both the ailment and the ability to pay (there is even doggie health insurance, which like human health insurance, has limitations).
As for how I feel about my dogs? Definitely part of the family. Wo is any person who intentionally or through stupid negligence hurts them. I've had dogs loyal enough and smart enough that they'd lay their lives on the line for me, and frankly, I'd do the same for them.
Also, unless I was facing some kind of emergency and had no other option (something that so far has fortunately never occurred), I would never put any dog in any kennel anywhere. For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is I personally know two different people who dropped off young healthy dogs at the kennel and picked up very sick dogs that ultimately soon died (two different kennels in two different states). Neither sued, as neither are plush with resources to afford a lawyer for such a thing, but both wanted to.-
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I physically cringed at the end when people were chanting "Bernie" over Hillary's turn.
They were being nice. They could have been chanting 'Off with her head! Off with her head!'.
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Hardcore Henry
9.5/10 on the action flick rating scale.
If you like action flicks, do yourself a favor: Don't watch any previews and just go see it.
I didn't know what I was in for and was very pleasantly surprised.It's got almost non-stop action, a good amount of humor (some of it quite dark; I laughed more watching this than during most comedies I've seen in the last decade), a superb soundtrack, a good amount of gratuitous eye candy, just the right amount of cocaine, and a really good ending.
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Zika has been around for ages, and it's ultimately relatively harmless for the vast majority of those who contract it. It's most commonly spread via mosquito bites but there are other even more effective means of transmission. It's really not a big deal.
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The system is rigged... complained the billionaire. Heh, irony.
Well, it's okay that the financial system is rigged, because it's rigged in his favor. The primary system being rigged is bad because it's rigged against him.
Trump made most of his fortune in real estate, not via Wall Street.
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... The recent movies were certainly backed strongly by christian groups, but didn't do well enough to even finish the series.
Actually, they did quite well. The three movies made a combined ~$1.58 billion on a combined ~$560 million budget. The least profitable was the second movie and it still made over $180 million in profit.
The series hasn't been finished yet due to some unfortunate hang ups with copyrights and production rights, but there is supposed to be more Narnia movies. Not with the same production company though (due to those rights issues), and at this point very likely not with the same stars. Both also likely unfortunate things.
Odd as it may seem that's not considered profitable enough. It's 'only' 60 million profit per movie, on a blockbuster scale that's barely worth getting out of bed for when they wanted LotR numbers; ~2 times the box office on barely over half the budget.
Rights issues have a tendency to disappear when movies are profitable in a big scale, as happened with LotR -> The Hobbit. And in that case The Hobbit(s) were made despite Jackson suing New Line Cinema, who he made LotR with. Though some might wish they had been tied up in legal problems...
You misread what I wrote. They made the better part of a billion dollars in profit overall, not $60 million per movie.
The wiki entry on the series has a decent overview of the issues.
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... The recent movies were certainly backed strongly by christian groups, but didn't do well enough to even finish the series.
Actually, they did quite well. The three movies made a combined ~$1.58 billion on a combined ~$560 million budget. The least profitable was the second movie and it still made over $180 million in profit.
The series hasn't been finished yet due to some unfortunate hang ups with copyrights and production rights, but there is supposed to be more Narnia movies. Not with the same production company though (due to those rights issues), and at this point very likely not with the same stars. Both also likely unfortunate things.
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Here you have everything in one short video: Rigged electoral system, influence of the special interests of the military-industrial sector, the treatment Ron Paul, stagnated wages, the treatment of Bernie and even a nod to him for identifying the problems.
I actually went to this. It exceeded my expectations in number of ways, in particular in regards to entertainment value. I don't know who the speaker before Trump was but he was damn amusing. There was only one protester that I saw. A 50-60 something year old bearded guy standing on the side of the road into the event with a '.... feels the Bern' sign.
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International Day of Xs are downright retarded. Every single one of them is an International Day of Who the F Cares for everyone but those invested in agenda X. This is also true of Nation Day/Month of X.
That said, yes the west generally recognizes and celebrates the first man in space. We certainly did in every astronomy, physics, and 20th century history class I ever took. And there's plenty of shows in propaganda land (ie: the 'History channel) that even have. No one credible that I've ever seen has downplayed Russia's space program.Consider your attempt at picking a fight with the 'west' a failure.
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What is a pet worth?
in Way Off-Topic
Posted · Edited by Valsuelm
You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a foster group to accept them if such a donation is given. My sister has been involved with one that certainly would take them. Tis a shame you don't have anyone in your life that could/would take them. Hopefully you don't predecease your dogs. Hopefully you can trust your lawyer and your lawyer is resourceful enough to do what would need to be done.