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Comments Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit

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BudgetPOV: You are the Hand that Feeds You (and Your Family)

Tell them, “you might now where it’s been, but you don’t know what has been on it.”

Sometimes filling up the empty belly takes priority over making sure it is good, edible, or untainted.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 7:30 pm

The truth is, what *you* waste does not affect *their* hunger at all.

But it will affect *yours*.

Yes, it is important to try to be grateful for one has, and to eat what is on your plate. It doesn’t mean you need to like it. And cooking for kids, you need to make sure they like it or they won’t eat it (and it might wind up on your wall).

I had brussel sprouts ONCE that were prepared to not taste like garbage. The cook refused to share the recipe, and I have not touched them since.

Fortunately, my partner likes them.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 7:26 pm

One thing we did was to spend a couple bucks, and got six or so large “disposable” canisters (which have been used now for over 7 months). Large enough to store two and a half bags of pasta!

At the same time (because we had a real refrigerator then) we got some large bowls, about 2 quarts each, for leftovers.

I have known people who refused to eat leftovers. If you have someone like that in your household, I would suggest you send them to the grocery store with 5 bucks and tell them it has to last them for three days. They will get the picture.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 7:22 pm

Ah, right. I was concerned, because my partner laughed at the item on dumpster diving.

He’s doing penance right now.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 7:17 pm

Um. I’m not sure what you found humorous in the article?

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 6:23 pm

The Daily Planet, Vol. 7

Re: Firestations in Philadelphia

No, we can’t say for certain that the two children would have lived if Engine 61 had responded isntead. But the idea of dropping public safety should fill everyone with horror.

I would like to see how much the city execs voluntarily reduced their own salaries (wow, I said that with a straight face). Or whether they reduced other perks?

Re: Corporate Taxes

I don’t think I have the strength right now to be snarky about this.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 12:29 pm

Pessimism in the Age of Mass Manipulation and Plutocracy…

Adonai, don’t you love people who want you to “forgive” them, when they mean “forget I did anything bad, and trust me unconditionally”?

I had an ex-roommate royally screw me on bills once. I finally told him, “yes, I forgive you. But I will never trust you again.”

That really confused him. In today’s society, “forgiveness” seems to mean “permission to keep performing the same negative behaviors”.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 27, 2011 @ 2:13 pm

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 2:13 pm

You have such a stimulating family, my friend.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 2:08 pm

Yeah, I know the “blackballed” thing.

While I was not blackballed as such, circumstances amount to the same thing.

Never piss off a bank. What I did to Wells Fargo was so reprehensible, so underhanded, so unjust, they have yet to invent a circle of hell appropriate to me: I demanded that my employer compensate me for the damage they had done to my health.

I will never have a job with a bank again. (shrug)

But since my last three employers now require prospective employers to pay a fee to verify that I actually worked for them in the past (which is becoming a lot more common, btw), it is hard to get an employer in any other field interested in hiring me. Without having access to specifics, employers have to wonder why I got fired by a bank.

But I keep plugging away anyway.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 11:44 am

No, there is no place in our current society for a person who is intelligent, ethical, and moral. Especially if their moral code diverges from the moral code *actually*practiced* by the mainstream.

I have been trying to find a way for me and my family to survive outside of the mainstream, but it is very difficult. We would still need to find some way to pay for things we need, which means we have to offer something that the market values.

The strangest thing I see is that intelligence and ethics are not considered valid disabilities (yet). Judging by what happens around us, you would think they would be.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 2:55 am

Glossolalia 101: Pseudo-con Math

I’m not fond of Douglas Adams. While I admire his technical ability, he seems to have the attitude that the Universe is out to get you.

I much prefer Spider Robinson for quirky sci-fi humor. He points out the ludicrous, exalts the intellect, and has balked the Solar System Home Owner’s Association more times than I can count.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 11:31 am

Heh. Thanks.

We’ve been enjoying it so far, despite the cold, the wet, and the chaos.

It has a more “small-town” flavor, even if it isn’t.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 3:00 am

Yeah, I am in the Couve. We relocated here at the beginning of February, to get away from Palm Springs.

Nice to be somewhere where we can be a bit weird and not have people follow us around like we are the entertainment (and Palm Springers tip really lousy too).

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 2:33 am

The numbers for the example “poll” were generated by a thrice-random random number generator, only as an example.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 2:32 am

Oh, funny, funny. 😛

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 10:54 pm

Something you *obviously* can’t do with history?

Anyone who tries to tell you that their subject is so much better than others is trying to sell you something. I don’t like people who try to sell me on something.

I had a bit of a fight in college over my major. I finally got tired of it (a very long story) and walked up to the college the day before classes were supposed to start. I walked up to the head of the English department and said, “I’m changing my major to Creative Writing. And you are going to be my faculty advisor.”

She gave me a hug, welcomed me to the department, and we got to work.

That controversy spread to every department, as I was (supposedly) one semester away from graduating with a computer degree that I would never be able to use for what I wanted to do.

I hope everybody takes the moral of that story to heart.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 7:45 pm

Glad you liked it. I think the first time I discussed GOP math was in reply to one of your posts on HP.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 7:40 pm

The Destruction of Planned Parenthood

I wish people would understand what Planned Parenthood is for.

I wish people would consider the concept of “family planning” beyond whether or not to use a condom or the best way to wake up their wife to change the baby.

As far as abortions, well I have my opinion. I try not to spew it all over the place, because I am not a woman. I will never have an abortion, I can not ever be in a position where one would be called for.

But personally… If memory recording and playback ever does become possible, I would love to see every 12 year old boy be required to experience first hand what it feels like for a woman to go through the process of giving birth.

And quite frankly, every girl, within 10 days of her first menstrual cycle, as well.

I would also like to see these pseudo-cons and theo-cons rounded up and forced to calculate the cost of every birth in the US, including pre-natal and neo-natal care, be forced to volunteer at least 14 days at a neo-natal ICU (with infants with fetal alcohol syndrome, drug addiction, immature organs, and all the other complications seen among premature births), and then submit a viable plan on how to manage our society with the addition of these extra lives.

I notice that Arizona’s “race and gender” law didn’t mention severe handicaps or HIV infection. Or any other long-term, usually fatal, health problem. I also noticed that there attempt to restrict abortion did not include funding for improved pre-natal care and screening.

The so-called “pro-life” movement seems to believe that every fertilized ova is sacred, but past birth they are disposable.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 26, 2011 @ 10:34 pm

Friday Music Thread – Favorite Films and Film Music

Oh gods, that looks horrible.

I loved “Music of the Night”, from the original.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 11:57 pm

That was a pretty good CGI, I have to admit.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 11:05 pm

I miss Ruth Gordon.

Bud Cort later suffered a terrible car accident and years of therapy and surgery. I was glad to hear that he has started working again.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 7:34 pm

Embedding that video has been disabled, but you can still click through to watch it.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 4:43 pm

Replace “http” with “https”

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 4:21 pm

Good song, nice video, but I had a friend in college (Film major) who insisted that Tom Cruise ruined every movie he was in.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 4:03 pm

He is also in a great role in Robots. (I posted a video from that)

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 4:01 pm

chasethis, you edited the link in the wrong place. You put the ‘v’ after the ‘www’. It needs to go after ‘http’

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 3:32 pm

The sound may be low on this one.

From Balto, a movie that should have done better than it did.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 3:29 pm

SallyT, I hope you see this

From Robots (I love animation and it has Robin Williams in it too!)

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 3:16 pm

My favorite movie scene (well one of them) is from Blade Trinity, where King is getting smacked around.

I would quote from the scene, but that would probably get my mouth washed out with soap. But the insults being tossed at the three vampires are hilarious.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 2:37 pm