Randomness

[Entilzha]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080705/benefit_battles.html All I can say that is one system you got there.

[JadziaKathryn]

Yeah, don't you just love how Congress can't get around to fixing this messed-up legal loophole, but they never fail to vote themselves a pay raise?

[Alelou]

They also use government agencies as the shield when they want to declare bankruptcy and strip people's pensions away. Our congress is little more than a tool of powerful corporations -- on both sides of the aisle -- and until real campaign finance reform takes hold -- or until people get smart, follow the money, and make their voting decisions on something other than who can afford the most commercials -- that's probably how it will remain.

[JadziaKathryn]

Methinks Thomas Jefferson would be aghast.

[blacknblue]

This is called fraud.

[Alelou]

This has been happening to one degree or another throughout our history. You think the founding fathers were pure altruists? You don't think they had any property interests involved? It gets bad, and then a depression or something sets in and the voters get mad and throw the bums out. It's just that it costs a whole lot more to run for office now and the powers that be have gotten smarter about hedging their bets.

[JadziaKathryn]

This has been happening to one degree or another throughout our history. You think the founding fathers were pure altruists?

No, the founding fathers were flawed people just like everyone else. However, I think that there are some things they wouldn't have liked. A law that allows insurance companies to screw people over is one of them.

But, I think some of the changes are good. I don't think the founding fathers ever intended for the federal government to get involved in setting a minimum wage, but IMO a federal minimum wage is a good thing. Otherwise those poor people in Tennessee would be getting a dollar an hour.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

In some ways I'm way behind on current tech. But today I caught up one some when I bought my first ever digital camera - a nice little Kodak one, 8 mega-pixels, for about $170. It even has a video feature (that I haven't tried out yet).

[Alelou]

You'll enjoy having digital. When my old Pentax died on me, I had a cheap Kodak digital that died on me after I dropped it in the snow while I was out cross-country skiing. Then I thought, to heck with this, I'll get a cheapo used Pentax on Ebay and that way I can still use all my filters and lenses and flashes and stuff, built up over years including some when I shot weddings and bar mitzvahs for extra money. But while I was there I noticed a rebuilt Casio digital that wasn't too out of reach. So I got both (plus I got a cord that goes around my neck for the Casio so I can't drop it quite so easily!).

I haven't even used the Pentax once. The Casio is just so damned convenient. And it holds a charge FOREVER.

[JadziaKathryn]

I have a fairly low-end Kodak digital camera (the video feature often struggles to capture color correctly in bright light) but I love it. Until I came to Australia I had a film camera, but I don't think I'll ever go back. Digital enables me to take kazillions of pictures if I so choose.

Does this mean we now get to see the action figure collection?

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Does this mean we now get to see the action figure collection?

If you insist. And it just happens to be one of the first test pictures I took.

[Alelou]

Wow, they're on a weird planet where they tower like giants over the alien vehicles and religious icons!

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Wow, they're on a weird planet where they tower like giants over the alien vehicles and religious icons!

That would be alien Russia then. I have a collection of Soviet toy cars and some Russian Orthodox icons.

[JadziaKathryn]

Alien Russia? You need Chekov!

Hmm, their pants look like the gauchos that were in style two summer ago for women...

Anyway, the Andorian is my favorite.

On a totally different random note, this was posted to the Malcolm Hoshi Explosion Yahoo group:

In next week's TV Guide (7/14-20, 2008), Connor Trineer as Cmdr. Tucker makes Damian Holbrook's "Countdown: ten interstellar bodies of sci-fi who rock our world" (five male, five female) (p. 68).

[Alelou]

Yay, Connor! Yay Enterprise, for even showing up on a list at this point in its existence.