I'll take malaprops for *5* Bob - Apropos of Nothing continues. . .

Earthfirst · 2006-09-05 15:32:30

We will haave to where naame tags, that way we will alswise know who we are taking too.
Hello Bob, hi Janus, bye Billyray. It is perfect.
Poor Pluto is now called a drawth. They like to be called little people, it is also rude to toss one like pluto with out asking it.

dicktice · 2006-09-23 13:56:19

If the cells in your body regenerate roughly every 7 years, how can marks like tattoos be retained. I have a pencil jab marked in my finger, incurred in elementary school, which hasn't changed since then. Any idea why artificially incurred marks such as those are retained. Scars don't disappear, and fingers don't regenrate of course, in higher organisms, but tattoos seem to do so. I wonder how...?

Mars...Let's Go! · 2006-09-24 21:12:41

I have no clue.

Grypd · 2006-09-25 14:31:23

Probabily due to it being below the epedermis layer and as such cell growth haapens above the marks and as such the marks remain

dicktice · 2006-09-29 17:07:34

But ... if memory serves: All our cells are replaced about every 7 years. Looks like we (not just me) need to google a bit, and then come up with a working hypothesis regarding not only the epidermis but reproduction of our insides as well. Effects of weightlessness on numbers of cellular itterations might be an interesting follow-up.

clark · 2006-10-02 05:36:05

Tatoo ink is imbedded into the dermis layer, which is the connective tissue below the epidermis.

Basically, the ink sinks into your body but never goes away naturally.

For more:

http://www.bmezine.com/news/edit/A30205/arttatto.html

cheers.

Palomar · 2006-10-03 11:02:59

If the cells in your body regenerate roughly every 7 years, how can marks like tattoos be retained. I have a pencil jab marked in my finger, incurred in elementary school, which hasn't changed since then. Any idea why artificially incurred marks such as those are retained. Scars don't disappear, and fingers don't regenrate of course, in higher organisms, but tattoos seem to do so. I wonder how...?

Good question.

Scars as well, yes -- and birthmarks too. Hmmmmm.

Now you've got me wondering!

Will see if I can get an answer from a physician.

clark · 2006-10-11 14:01:56

It's not easy being green.

RobertDyck · 2006-10-29 13:00:50

Happy Halloween! :twisted:

I went to a Halloween social last night, a costume party with members of a science fiction club that I joined when I was 18. It's interesting and disturbing to see a woman I dated when I was 18 now has gained about 100 pounds, and her daughter is a teenager, about to be 18 herself. It was kind of quiet, there aren't as many people, the club split up and the collective Halloween party for all the clubs only had a small number compared to the first Halloween social. I did get to flirt with one young woman; unfortunately her boyfriend was there too.

I went as an Arab. It's a male belly dancing outfit that a former girlfriend gave me. She was a belly dance instructor in Fargo, North Dakota. The colours match her outfit, bright orange and yellow and purple. The turban is real; I have to wrap it myself, with a jewelled (plastic jewels) broach on the forehead. I wore that outfit when she gave demonstrations, I was the sound technician. The pants have an elastic waist and the rest wraps around so it still fits. Most of my costumes don't fit any more. But in this age I thought what could be scarier than an Arab outfit with a turban? Moo ah hah hah hah!

Palomar · 2006-10-31 07:30:53

:shock:

Robert, I'm trying to visualize that. Male belly dancer?? I dunno...that's quite an image. You'll go as Mr. Spock next year, right?

Speaking of belly dancers, around 1990 a newly-retired (and very homely) physician sent photos of he and wife's "round the world" travels to our clinic. In one photo he was all cheesy schoolboy grin over a very beautiful, shapely belly dancer. He wrote in the caption: "Istanbul is very boring."

I thought to myself it probably is for the belly dancer.

It's interesting and disturbing to see a woman I dated when I was 18 now has gained about 100 pounds, and her daughter is a teenager, about to be 18 herself.

...that and "average Joe's" on infomercials who are 43 but look 53; women my age pitching for Oil of Olay; my sister now having to dye her hair because there's too much grey. :shock: The 40's are an interesting age group to be in [I'm 41]; people either look really good...or really do not. :-\

Anyway, glad you had fun. Probably the most original costume I've ever seen actually involved a married couple. Can't recall Randy's costume (this was in my early teens), but Cathy went as Oscar the Grouch -- including sitting in a trash can affixed to wheels which Randy pulled around all night long. Lol!

RobertDyck · 2006-10-31 08:40:31

A number of people in the local Star Trek club claimed I look like "Q", so I decided to go with it. I got a Next Generation shirt with communicator badge and captain's collar pips. I just wear normal black pants, belt, black shoes, and a black T-shirt underneath. The shirt feels too short, I have to keep pulling it down. 8) Sunday afternoon I went to a fundraising party for a local community centre. They had a costume contest, but few adults entered. I won for best adult male, but there was only one other man in. I wore black winter boots, it's cold this year. The prize was a chocolate icecream cake. They had a couple fire pits, the kids really had fun.

One guy at work suggested wearing a costume to work. I'll wear my "Q" outfit again, and wear it when giving out candy. I have Halloween size Mars bars, nothing but Mars bars. Since I'm founder and president of the local chapter of the Mars Society I thought it an appropriate theme.

I have an old costume from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. However, it doesn't fit any more. Local promoters at the time gave everyone in the local Star Trek club a free pass to the premier of Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn, on the condition we went in costume. I was surprised so see they changed the uniform already. I was 20 at the time. All my clothes from that time seem to be 2-4" smaller around the waist, I wonder how that happened?

Palomar · 2006-10-31 08:57:20

A number of people in the local Star Trek club claimed I look like "Q", so I decided to go with it. I got a Next Generation shirt with communicator badge and captain's collar pips. I just wear normal black pants, belt, black shoes, and a black T-shirt underneath

...oh that's right. I recall your saying a year or two ago that folks think you resemble "Q." I'm vaguely familiar with that character (have only seen the original ST, besides a handful of ST/TNG). Cool. Or should I say Q-l?

I'm much more of a Star Wars fan these days...thanks to Canadian actor Hayden Christensen primarily.

I have Halloween size Mars bars, nothing but Mars bars. Since I'm founder and president of the local chapter of the Mars Society I thought it an appropriate theme.

Certainly. Speaking of Mars bars, I've not seen any for sale around here in years. :? Snickers Almond is as close as it gets. We're passing out Star Crunch treats. Star...amateur astronomer...that's me.

All my clothes from that time seem to be 2-4" smaller around the waist, I wonder how that happened?

Chocolate icecream cakes as prizes...?

Stormrage · 2006-11-08 18:45:28

Local promoters at the time gave everyone in the local Star Trek club a free pass to the premier of Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn, on the condition we went in costume. I was surprised so see they changed the uniform already. I was 20 at the time. All my clothes from that time seem to be 2-4" smaller around the waist, I wonder how that happened?

Good film. Really good film. Sorry to hear about your waistline.

RobertDyck · 2006-11-30 23:14:06

I saw Howard Dean.

I'm a delegate to the leadership convention of the Liberal Party of Canada. Stéphane Dion is doing very well so far; we may win. Wednesday night they had Howard Dean speak. He even made some of his speach in French. The room cheered when he started to speak French. Howard paused and said something about "Fox News is going to love this". It was a very inspiring speach about election campaigning. I just have to brag to my American friends that I saw Howard Dean.

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-12-01 12:37:44

I saw Howard Dean.
I'm a delegate to the leadership convention of the Liberal Party of Canada. Stéphane Dion is doing very well so far; we may win. Wednesday night they had Howard Dean speak. He even made some of his speach in French. The room cheered when he started to speak French. Howard paused and said something about "Fox News is going to love this". It was a very inspiring speach about election campaigning. I just have to brag to my American friends that I saw Howard Dean.

A rather fine supplicant that one. Howard Dean is definitely a Democrat first and an American second!

RobertDyck · 2006-12-04 00:35:40

A rather fine supplicant that one. Howard Dean is definitely a Democrat first and an American second!

You say "Democrat" as if it's a bad thing. I thought America is a democracy.

I just got back from the leadership convention. WE WON! Yeaaaaaaa! I chose to support Stéphane Dion after I got to talk to him 1-on-1 for an hour about hard core policy issues the day before the Leadership debate. One issue important to me was Afghanistan. That turned out the be the question for that debate, so I guess I prepared him. I supported Stéphane ever since that meeting; you could say he earned my support. He is well known for working hard. Michael Ignatieff went right to the last ballot, then lost. The president of the local riding association and the past candidate are a couple. They supported Mr. Ignatieff and expected I would also. I'm the vice president. This has caused a rift in the riding executive. Now that the leadership race is over, it's time to heal the party. Do you think I've earned that couple's respect now that my candidate won?

A friend called my cell phone this morning, I was still at the hotel. He asked for a Stéphane Dion button and scarf. I have a few buttons, all different, but no scarf. I had a whole bunch of scarves Saturday, but I gave them all out on the convention floor, mostly to Michael Ignatieff delegates. (snicker) I guess I did my job. I was leading the chant for Stéphane Dion outside the voting location for the last half hour before the poll closed for the last ballot. One Michael Ignatieff supporter came to me after Stéphane won to point out I promised her a T-shirt. I ran out of green Stéphane Dion T-shirts before I ran out of scarves, so I gave her the shirt off my back. I made a point of walking over to the Michael Ignatieff section to do so. My effort to heal any hard feelings that my remain. Of course I had a red Stéphane Dion T-shirt underneath; I'm keeping that one. Most leadership candidates handed out T-shirts for their delegates in Liberal red, but Stéphane changed to green for the last day, to be different when the final ballots were cast. In Canada the Liberal party colour is red, Conservative is blue. That's opposite to the US Democrat/Republican colours. Stéphane was the environment minister, now he campaigned with a strong environmental platform; that's why the green colour.

So now Stéphane Dion is the leader of the official opposition. If the Liberals win next election, he will be Prime Minister. Yeaaaa!

clark · 2006-12-04 12:25:55

America is a "Republic".

What's the difference between a republic and a democracy?

A democracy is a politcal form of government whereby the laws of the land are directly created, debated, approved, or turned down by all citizens.

A republic is a political form of government whereby the laws of the land are directly created, debated, approved, or turned down by selected represenatives of the citizens.

So what does that mean?

It means that we have a form of government that panders to the lowest common denominator, as opposed to a a form of government directed by the lowest common denomintaor. At least in theory that is.

In reality, we have somehow managed the best of all possible worlds! A form of government that panders to the lowest common denominator, directed by the lowest commoner.

Yea demagoguery!

RobertDyck · 2006-12-04 13:14:40

America is a "Republic". ... It means that we have a form of government that panders to the lowest common denominator, as opposed to a a form of government directed by the lowest common denomintaor. ... A form of government that panders to the lowest common denominator, directed by the lowest commoner.

Elitist, contemptuous, and insulting to average Americans. I think most Americans are better than you take them for. If you find Canadians don't like Americans, it isn't all Americans, just the elitists. America hasn't honoured its treaty commitments under NAFTA, has been buying out Canadian business, American large corporations use non-competitive business practices when attacking Canadian business, and the US government often supports those corporations when they do so. It's the elitist nature of a Republic that rubs me and many of my countrymen the wrong way. So call me a Democrat.

Actually, I admire the fact many bills in the US are passed by direct vote on the ballot. We need more of that in Canada. One strength with a parliamentary democracy is that the prime minister has to stand in the house almost every day and answer questions. Most of those questions come from opposition parties. A president in a republic doesn't do that. However, another problem that has been recognized by every party in Canada is that most bills are "whipped"; meaning party members are required to vote with the party. There are very few free votes in the house. The Reform party tried to address this several years ago, but other parties continued to whip their members so it just weakened the Reform party. Now that the Reform party merged with the Progressive Conservative, they don't even exist any more. It's ironic that the last leader of the Reform party is now leader of the merged Conservative party, and he's the one who muzzled MPs of his own party and "whips" them with every vote.

clark · 2006-12-04 13:33:48

Robert, do you know many 'average' Americans?

The average American speaks one language, usually very poorly.
The average American does not posses a passport.
The average American does not vote.
The average American cannot place all 50 states, nor Iraq, on a map.
The average American thinks creationism should be taught along side evolutionary theory.
The average American fails the same US citizenship tests given to legal immigrants.
The average American cannot name all the branches of their government, nor who their elected representatives are.

Most Americans are not better than I take them for, and in deed, are usually about what I have come to expect.

I find it ironic that you seem to believe in some mythic virtue of character that embodies the average American person, yet denigrate the very leadership, freely elected and chosen by the same average American, that is the source of so many your gripes.

Our government here generally runs amok because those in power know that the populace is not all that bright and can be jerked around. I wish it were otherwise, but it isn't, so pretending otherwise seems pointless.

RobertDyck · 2006-12-04 13:54:53

Americans I know are computer programmers, aerospace engineers who work for NASA or a NASA contractor, an MIT alumnus, an MIT nuclear engineering masters student, a Princeton physics Ph.D. student, one belly dance instructor and one entrepreneur who is a tattoo artist. I met several others at Mars Society conventions but don't know all their jobs. One Mars Society member I communicated with regularly on the previous message board was an auto-mechanic, but won the Chrysler award for best mechanic on the east coast every year until they stopped giving it out. You make a judgement whether the people I know are "average". But TV producers and music organizers are always underestimating their viewing public, claiming they won't understand anything sophisticated. When given the opportunity, Americans appreciate quality, they can handle sophisticated entertainment. I believe underestimating the public is an on-going trend; many elitists do it.

If we're going to get into a political debate, move it to another thread.

clark · 2006-12-04 14:14:23

This isn't politics, this is cultural.

Belly dancer aside, the americans you know are not average.

TV producers and music organizers do not underestimate the tastes of the general american consumer, which is largely why the music, movie and tv buisness is booming.

American's do not appreciate quality, unless you count our love affair with scripted reality and vote-a-thon TV as quality.

This is the same society that freaked out when a nipple was shown for 3/10 of a second.

I believe overestimating the public is an on-going trend, those with unrealistic expectations not predicated on facts do it.

RobertDyck · 2006-12-04 14:51:33

TV producers and music organizers do not underestimate the tastes of the general american consumer ... American's do not appreciate quality
This is the same society that freaked out when a nipple was shown for 3/10 of a second.
I believe overestimating the public is an on-going trend, those with unrealistic expectations not predicated on facts do it.

CBC Radio 2 had short biography of Igor Stravinsky. Producers at the time said the American public would never appreciate something that sophisticated. So he produced his own show. Every performance was sold out, Americans loved it. From Wikipedia

... innovative ballets essentially reinvented the genre. Stravinsky also composed primitivist, neo-classical and serial works. He wrote ensembles in a broad spectrum of classical forms, ranging from opera and symphonies to piano miniatures and works for jazz band.

Yes, Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" was a joke. This extreme reaction from a country that consumes most of its internet bandwidth on porn. I think it's time for America as a culture to address sexuality as an adult, not adolescent. But I shouldn't lecture on that; I don't live in America any more.

Many people will behave to meet your expectations. If you condescend, they will become juvenile. If you expect maturity and act disappointed when they aren't, they will improve to meet that expectation. Since America is supposed to be a democracy and "Land of the free", I choose the latter. At least it'll keep me out of trouble with those accusing me of criticising America.

Tom Kalbfus · 2006-12-05 01:21:43

A rather fine supplicant that one. Howard Dean is definitely a Democrat first and an American second!
You say "Democrat" as if it's a bad thing. I thought America is a democracy.
I just got back from the leadership convention. WE WON! Yeaaaaaaa!

And America loses if the Democrats choose to keep their campaign promises of ending the war on a tight schedule of 4 to 6 months regardless of the outcome, because the outcome will most likely be a defeat for America if you go that route.

George Bush does have one card left to play: If the Democrats defund the War, then George Bush and Dick Cheney can then resign, thus leaving President Nancy Pelosi to lose the war, and then ... and then a new republic challenger will run against Nancy Pelosi and say she deserves to be defeated because she is a loser, she was the olny female Preseident to deliberatly lose a war.

RobertDyck · 2006-12-05 07:21:20

Response in "Political Potlock I".

Rxke · 2006-12-06 08:47:35

Response in "Political Potlock I".

Ah. Very sane of you Robert. Thank you.

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