gaia.plateau

Haha, thanks. It is indeed expensive, $50k but I have a partial scholarship so it's somewhat lessened. Combined with my undergrad debts though, I'm still going to be in the hole for a while. But yar, journalism is probably where I'll start out, either an independent media organization somewhere or maybe a big operation like Al Jazeera. If I don't get work right away the plan is to head to Gaza with some recording devices and put together a portfolio of sorts.

This is my programme ~

Are statistics really available yet though? I mean, you'd need to get sales figures from every car company for at least several months before the implementation of the initiative, and it's still going on isn't it? Even then, there would need to be quite a bit of control data to show that increases were caused directly from this initiative, and even then you would need to have numerous samples from the post-initiative period which do not yet exist, and even then it would still be redundant because boosting car sales is far from this initiative's primary purpose. QUOTE (Sonthert @ Aug 7 2009, 09:16 PM) I was claiming it was Orwellian because they were making claims with BS statistics and the main data showed the opposite...Like "Chocolate ration shows huge increase from 50g to 30g" If you see what I'm saying. But this is only true for anyone who decides that pre-recession, pre-crisis data is legitimate as a comparison to post-recession, post-crisis data, otherwise there is no 'main data'. Further... has your administration actually made claims? With statistics? Or anything? My understanding was that all this was coming from third-party sources like media organizations.

Plants vs Zombies ~ fuuuck yeeeeah.

It's a city.

Wreck diving is fantastic, I got to do some of that in Cuba, fantastic pirate ships and shit. I got my open water and advanced open water in Utila, Bay Islands. Two dives a day + certification + accommodation is like $200/week, plus kayaks which are great for touring around the cays. Planning to head over to Costa Rica's pacific coast in the near future to check out some of the ray swarms!

QUOTE (Sonthert @ Aug 7 2009, 04:32 AM) Orwellian Headline on the L.A. Times: Tuesday, August 4th, 2009: "Clunkers Credited for Big July Sales" "Washington's $1-Billion 'Cash for Clunkers Program' is getting credit for giving automakers, including Ford Motor Co., a huges sales boost in July." A graph accompanies the article, showing the change in auto sales between July, 2008 and July, 2009. All Sales [Of automobiles] -12.2% Subaru +34.2% Hyundai +11.9% Kia +4.7% Ford +1.6% Volkswagen +.7% Chysler -9.4% Toyota -11.4% Honda -17.3% GM -18.9% Nissan -24.6% Wow. Thats one billion dollars of taxpayers money to get a...12.2% drop-off in automobile sales. Sounds like it was money well spent. Or people who were going to buy a car anyways cashed in. Whoo-who...go Washington! I should just add that except for Ford, the four smallest manufacturers, in terms of sales, were Volkswagen, Subaru, Kia and Hyundai (from lowest sales to most sales). So small increases in sales will reflect as large percentage increases. The one that really sticks out is the 12.2% drop in auto sales in July, 2009, based on July, 2008. You're comparing pre-recession (officially), pre-auto crisis sales against post ones, that's not a very responsible analysis Of course there's going to be a decrease. Look at Spring-June sales vs late July/August sales for an accurate result.

I've had my tubes installed here in my modest Tican apartment, and two of my hookahs are all ready to go. Unfortunately, my shisha stash is dwindling rapidly, so if anyone knows of any kind of shisha shop in either Costa Rica, Nicaragua or Panama, let me know! Apart from that... sup? Edit: Oh, and I have a blog now. Except I hate that word, so I call it a "welo".

Looks fun man. Have you ever done the Bay Islands?

I don't think it will work for you guys.

Could a mod please make the following edit for me: The offer behooves all who take it up in the very long term = better gas mileage And then delete this post? Thanks a bunch.

QUOTE (NarghileNights @ Aug 6 2009, 02:23 PM) huh? i just made a valid point about people most likely not getting anything out of it or putting dealerships in a weird financial situation. the only reason I posted was because I am very close to someone who works at a dealership and has been dealing with this issue since it started. and I get told I'm a parrot for a right wing show? It wasn't directed at you specifically, but at the "issue" itself, for which this thread was started. To your argument; 1. My understanding is that the programme was only directed at a relatively small number of dealers in urban areas, each offering the deal to several hundred people- do you have some evidence to to contrary? 2. Do you think that the administration, the initiative's architects, deliberately limited it? Or do you think that your congress did? 3. Regardless of which you assume, do you think that they will refrain from expanding the initiative now that it has shown success? More broadly, in this thread and in your media this initiative has been both criticized primarily for its economic impact upon the dealer, and to some extent the complications(?) it involves for the consumer. It strikes me that this is quite beneficial to the US economy in a number of ways, which I will outline in an equation. 1. The offer behooves all who take it up in the very long term - better gas mileage = less money spent on gas = more money to spend elsewhere = a stronger, more diverse economy + less political power of oil corporations. 2. Less energy used by the US population = less dependence upon foreign oil = increased geopolitical power + less debt and reliance. 3. A somewhat reduced negative impact on the environment = greater global legitimacy + slightly reduced chance of the planetary rejection of our species. Just to name a few. The idea that this is some form of nationalization or bailout is preposterous; it's simply another subsidy, such have been given widespread across your country since 1933. The 'free market enterpriser' critics need to find time machines and travel back to before then, if they seek to live and work in a free market United States. As I said, my perception is that anyone else in opposition to the initiative is either an intentional or unintentional shill.

This is such a non-issue that it's non-issueness should really be the issue. The only reason to consider this controversial in the slightest, is being one of the volunteer parrots of Ducey, Hannity, Beck, Kavuto and O'Reily. It's the exact same thing as Swine Flu; a story for the lack of stories.

Who is this Moe person and why is he posting here? Here is a better link to this K'Jon individual. I could save you some time though, he's fucking awful. Some RnB is good though. K'Naan - Waving Flag K'Naan - In the Beginning K'Naan - Take a Minute Santogold - Les Artistes MIA - Sunshowers Roots Manuva - Let the Spirit Just to name a few.

QUOTE (iloveTOBACCOfreeHOOKAH @ Aug 4 2009, 03:55 AM) So i'm at my gym today and i approach the dumbbell set that is place in front of a large mirror wall, one of my favorite scenes of the gym. I looked down, totally stoked for a good work out(today being Monday, i don't workout of Saturday or Sunday), to see almost every possible weight i use in the wrong place. Really. Really? QUOTE (McLovin600 @ Aug 4 2009, 08:49 AM) Ive ben hittin the gym since I was 18 and I have almost never seen the weights in the right spot. It makes sense if you grab some and walk all the way to the other side to sit on your bench, then just stack them in the first place you see in front of you. I am guilty of this but I cant see myself walking around back and forth with sometimes pretty heavy weights in my hand. What I really hate is seeing really heavy weights stacked on the top row (which is further back as well) and 15s on the bottom. that drives me nuts. I can go on all day about gym pet peeves but il stop here lol. I've been using gyms since I was 13 and I have never once seen freeweights all in their proper places. In my experience with Latin American gyms, you're lucky to find two matching weights QUOTE (iloveTOBACCOfreeHOOKAH @ Aug 4 2009, 03:55 AM) Now yes it really isn't that big of a deal.. but how the hell do u do this? who on this earth is THAT stupid? The only logical explanation i could think of is that this is a request from some poor lost soul that just wants to be 'thinned out of the herd.' Should i wait for this reject to come back so i can drop the heaviest possible object i can hold with my week little fingers on him/her? Why would you assume that it was one person? It could have been dozens different people contributing to the disorder of weights, or even hundreds if you haven't been there in a few days and the staff is terrible. Is it really worth considering social cleansing against everyone that doesn't share your particular sense of organization?

I expected so much more...

The overwhelming majority in voting "no" for the second question, along with the overwhelming propensity of heterosexual males on the forum, should lead anyone to one very clear conclusion. Hookah smokers have small penises. That fact realized, silicon tits revolt me, and under no circumstances would I involve myself in any sort of romantic relationship with someone who had them. Taking her home from the bar after two dozen shots is another story. For breast size, I'm not adverse to girth, but since it usually is merely a bi-product of overall body mass, I prefer small ones.

How dare you openly acknowledge Bud Light Lime.

I enjoy musicals, plays, opera, and the works of Madonna, Kylie Minogue, David Bowie and Elton John, and I am a heterosexual man. I like terrible movies better than good ones. At least half the people that know me sincerely think that I am an alcoholic. Including my doctor. I regularly play video games. I own four laptops. I am considered a sexual deviant by most. I know absolutely nothing about cars or conventional team sports. I am on 'holiday' right now, which consists largely of sitting in my underwear in my parents' garage, mostly just smoking hookah, drinking and watching movies. I call myself an 'internationalist' but have never been to the Eastern hemisphere. I call myself a cynic, but genuinely believe in the possibility of world peace.

Shouldn't this question have been asked about 60 years ago?

QUOTE (Sonthert @ Jul 16 2009, 02:53 AM) A general failure in the educational system could explain that too, though couldn't it? Coupled with a dependence on technology and less survival threats that make people get more educated or die. The German system of education, based on age separation of children is absurd. Our Universities don't even do that. We need to go back to the tried and true method of children progressing at whatever rate is right for them; separation based on achievement. As it has been said before, in many different ways, a person that is not challenged will not progress. A blade that is not tempered will not hold its edge when used. Whatever you like. I guess there could be any number of explanations, but it amounts to the same thing; people getting dumber. For us to get more or less intelligent on the biological, evolutionary level would take thousands of years by anyone's estimate that I've been made aware of... and yet we've seen a steady downscrawl in the cognitive capacities of the masses, the exceptions and even the prodigies. I think that television and the internet have played major roles in the recent (perceptively) plummet in the aptitude of our species over the past five or six decades, but I think that it's much simpler than that. As life gets easier, we get weaker, in every sense of the word. The best example of this is the comparison between the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Mesopotamians. The former was advantaged by two amazing rivers which ebbed and flowed like clockwork, making irrigation both intuitive and easy, and were protected by the natural borders of seas, rivers and desert. The latter had three unpredictable rivers and no barriers. In this comparison of ease vs strife, as any historian will attest to, we see the outcome of relative intellectual complacency vs intellectual progress. QUOTE (r1v3th3ad @ Jul 16 2009, 12:50 PM) QUOTE (BohoWildChild @ Jul 16 2009, 06:31 AM) My girlfriends and I all made a pact...... It's bunk but just in case we're going to spend the countdown with our heels in the air. 'Rani I want in You... want to spend the 21st with your heels in the air? I know a big, hair guy named Jedidiah that could probably accommodate you

Warsteiner.

edit: people are absolutely getting stupider. the best two ways to determine this with extremely high probability, are to look at university standards today, and compare them with the standards of 200 years ago. in fact, the educational systems for seven and eight year olds was more complex and rigorous 200 years ago than graduate school is today. the other way is to simply look at the prominent intellectuals of that time, compared with what we have today. can you really hold up william f. buckley and noam chomsky to hobbes and locke? bill o'reilly to hume? bill maher to kant? john stuart to john stewart mill? there's no comparison. as recently as the decades between the two world wars, people still realized that they were living in extreme deprivation, that they were ideological slaves to a nation, and that real, solid, emotional connections between people were rare and precious. today the masses either ignore these things or directly water them down to the point of complete meaninglessness. we're living in an era of apathy, when 99% of global populations seem to consistently choose convenience and instant gratification over survival itself. one doesn't need ancient prophecies when one has a good pair of eyes; that our species is on a rapid descent into self-destruction is as blatantly obvious as any other reality that comes to mind.

someone might have replied with this already, but yeah. there is no mayan prophecy that the world will end in 2012, or that it is the last year of the planet. in fact, as far as i'm aware, there has never been a single prophecy in the history of the mayan culture and/or civilization. what it is, is their calendar; it works on a percentage system, and until the 20th century it was actually more functional and accurate than our gregorian calendar. the idea of an "apocalyptic prophecy" comes from the 100% point of the calendar being december 21st, 2012. i have personally interviewed about 120 rural myans in guatemala, mostly about surviving the genocides there but in most cases also about their belief in the significance of the date. interestingly, an overwhelming number of them all believe that there will be some massive technological collapse/failure/change at the globally systemic level, which leads many of them to take great pride in their lifestyle without the use of electricity and cars and such things. just clearing that up.

QUOTE (antouwan @ Jul 7 2009, 03:28 AM) QUOTE (gaia.plateau @ Jul 5 2009, 12:37 AM) Edit: Jesus, apparently GotHookahs no longer ships to Canada either? Are we being blamed for swine flu or something? I got my Perpetual River from them! is hookah-shisha then your only option? they carry kms now, not sure if they have any in stock still MNH ships to Canada... H-S hasn't had an interesting hookah since their Syrian stock ran dry last year... and there are a few others that ship to Canada. GotHookahs, HookahJohn and HookahCompany are the only vendors that have pipes I'm interested in though. The problem with shipping to Costa Rica is the $80 shipping fee.