metadigital

... But ... war elephants!

Oh noez! You just started a "generic RPG" summoning incantation for Volo and Hades!

Audit trail = legal action and complete rectification, after a short interval.

Neil Armstrong (amongst others) believed that humans have a finite number of heart beats. Get healthy and make them last longer, or clock out early with an express cardiac arrest.

I am not going to attempt to educate you in this matter.

And to celebrate, here is another I just picked up from Russell, in his review of Kant: Anschauung. No surprises that the Germans have a shedload of epistemological terms not previously dreamt of in other languages, and (of course) pilfered by English.

You should read a little wider; I recommend some Albert Camus ... possibly The Outsider or perhaps even a jaunt through The Myth of Sisyphus to explore his explanation using the absurd man. That's the point, really. This is not a huge tragedy, determined by scale, but it is notionally preventable (as opposed to natural disasters and "acts of God" ). Hence people tend to get disproportionately upset, because they perceive that an event could have been prevented. (Ignoring the great good that inevitably leads from and indubitably requires great evil.)

Actually, as Rousseau notes, a "citizen" is a member of a city state (city-zen). Similar to subjects of a monarch, or the public in a republic.

I'm down to a shade over 70kg, and I did a 10 mile run on Sunday in about 90 minutes. /skiting Well done Walsh!

What I find most amusing with your standpoint is that you think that your fellows will willingly and enthusiastically join in a common defence of you and your livelihood ... and for what? Are you expecting others to defend you even though you don't return the favour? Perhaps you think that others would like to come to a battle with you to watch you be attacked ... hmmm, that might be sufficient ... " You really have no concept of international trade and economics, you realise that, don't you?

I think it this calls for a physical reenactment experiment ...

That's right, you have derived no benefit from living in Iowa. You should move to a developing country. Like Iraq.

But surely there was a tribe that specifically focused on warfare before the civilisation of the spartans. they might have been the first big nation to do it, but the idea wasn't new i am sure. Not that we have any records of, no. You are thinking of the Sacred Band, which was the elite forces from (one of!) the Spartan's mortal enemies, the Thebans. They were the first to beat the Spartans EVER in hoplite warfare (the Battle of Leuctra).

Actually I agree. Yes, but the rights of the individual were seen as less than the survival of Sparta, so it would not be impossible to expect a strong child to be adopted ... heck the Agoge (which, as I'm sure you'll be aware, means "raising", as in cattle ) was just an organised institution for inculcating a love of Sparta above the natural survival urge (as well as providing a nice dating service for men to match up with boys). Also, the Spartan civilization, after winning the Peloponnesian War(s) against Athens and her allies, eventually was crushed by other Greek States (Thebes, etc) and Alexander's Macedonians, and finally became a favourite theme park curiosity of the Roman Empire (prominent Romans liked to invent their own family tree origins in Sparta), much as what Mandalore recites as the history in KotOR.

I concur.

Environmental bandit! lucky us that a large procentage of the electricity made in Denmark comes from windmills. I still expect you to get on your bike and repay all the wasted energy that your inefficient PSU is scoffing!

I meant relative to the rest of the world, since what we consider poor is actually pretty good in other parts of the world. Sorry for any confusion. I don't particularly care too much about the other parts of the world. I don't live in other parts of the world. I live right here in Iowa, United States, and I worry about things that go on in my own backyard than stick my nose in the business of others. By your own reasoning, why should anyone in the US give a flying kick at a donut about your welfare? You seem incapable of equating your own selfish attitude with the inequality in the society you are bemoaning. It is actually quite sad.

Ha ha, what a bunch of weirdos ... ... I mean them, of course ...

Are you disputing that the US is the richest nation? (I mean besides your usual isolationist diatribe.)

lucky me that electricity is included in my rent! Environmental bandit!

See, this is the problem. If I plan to go nuts, I'm hardly going to prevent myself by doing something illegal before the big crime. Kinda like being a Jedi all the way up to Korriban, and then turning to the Dark Side and becoming a Sith for the rest of the game. This is where some form of provisional licencing would be useful. Even having a gun club (for example) sponsoring people, like a co-signatory on a loan. It is a bit silly in the UK, however, as the Olympic Pistol team have to travel overseas to practice ... Really? My information must be wrong. Someone will be shot for that ... "

No, I mean some of the tightest gun laws in the US. Also, latest information is that a Judge declared he was a danger to himself and others. That makes the teachers, the law and the police (at least two girls reported him for harassment) all thought this guy was a ticking timebomb, and nothing was done. He's probably got 8-10 of the ten personality disorders.

I think they can be internally consistent, however, like the Labour politician mentioned by Steve, above, who is meant to champion government schooling, and yet is spending public money, admittedly given to her as a wage, to send her children to a Private School. The hypocrisy is that she was the Minister for Education ...

They interviewed the guy who sold Cho the pistol. He seemed pretty solid; he was quite upset, and said that he wouldn't sell a gun to anyone if they didn't seem okay, even to the point of refusing anyone who had booze on their breath, for example. I believe West Virginia has some of the tightest gun laws, too. Update: I just saw that the guy made videos and sent them to NBC!

Does that qualify as a failed finalist in the Darwin Awards?