Harehunter

I have switched to an electric razor for most mornings, but I still use a Track II when I want to get a really good shave. I've tried the newer three bladed contraptions, but they bite too much. More is not necessarily better.

It did. There is nothing more gross than picking cigarette butts out of urinals.

What a major pain in the cochlea!

 

I think I get the point. You guys are good.

I collect books. Books on programming in languages I once used, but unlikely to do so again. Mostly books by sci-fi authors I like: Heinlein, Asimov, Christopher Stasheff, Tolkein, Piers Anthony, Robert Asprin, a few others. I did part with my Heinlein collection to the son of one of my co-workers. He has the spark of imagination that I had at his age.

I well recall my time in the service, when preparing to leave a bivouac area, we all had to 'police the area', picking all the trash, including cigarette butts. You're right; it's pretty disgusting.

We even had signs in the bathroom "No butts in Urinals". Now that paints a pretty picture, doesn't it?

I know your experience. I grew up that way too. I suppose that is the main reason I never started. You'll do very by deciding early on to not start. It encourages me that there are young people like you who can make the smart decision to not smoke.

The point being that there are other risks besides smoking. Like I said, avoid the risks you can and prepare for those you can't.

Re-read the first sentence of the moral. I don't mean to live each as though you expecting to die tomorrow; live it so that you will have no remaining hurts, and make it a point to let those close to you know your affection for them. The point I am trying to make here is this; don't let the sun set upon you with conflict in your family. All too often, people will part just after quarreling, and one of them dies. The survivor then has the added grief of remembering how they had parted. In addition to that, try to enjoy life each day, and share that joy of life as much as possible.

I don't this could be said better. It bears repeating.

Such base pragmatism.

Game? What Game?

 

Of all the things that I have lost,

I miss my mind the most.

It was not intended to. It is just how I roll. And why.

The people I work with used to be serious all the time while at work. They all have a good sense of humor, but didn't use it while at work. Then the office was invaded by a wascally wabbit, who had an irrefutable penchant for the pun. I was always the source of the bad puns. After a while, my co-workers found themselves cutting loose with a foul smelling pun. Since such a thing had never happened before I joined the company, I got the blame.

 

The difference between a pun and a fart?

A pun is a quick shift of wit.

A fart is a quick wiff of ...

 

Oh well never mind.

Last year my supervisor and friend died of a heart attack. He had never smoked, drank only in moderation, but had been clinically obese for most of his life. When he was diagnosed with type II diabetes, he changed his life style radically. He changed his diet, his exercise, and lost about 100lbs. He was joking about about having to replace his entire wardrobe, but he looked great. One day after going shopping with his wife, he laid down and had a massive stroke. He died a few days later.

 

Long story short: There are many risks in life, but it is not worth worrying about them. Avoid the ones you can, prepare as best for the ones you can't. Most importantly, live each day as if it might be your last. Let the people you love know it on a daily basis. You never know when the good Lord will call you away.

Unfortunately, I am only an amateur. Almost all of the stuff I come up with is context based only; spur of the moment stuff. It is difficult to relate a pun after the fact. You have to retell all the stuff leading up to it so you can rebuild the context.

 

I prefer the hit and pun approach.

No, but the pun is mightier than the fart. It's a great way to clear the conference room after a meeting.

!!!Yike's!!! I don't need that kind of promotion. I'm already a Database Administrator.


Only in little snippets. This little dream sequence was the finale to Exile II, Crystal Souls.

Unfortunately, my pun is mightier than my pen.

"The Mad Monk Squad put their right hands together, and with one voice they shouted 'Avatar'! They rushed into the room spamming Divine Thuds on the dervishes, and Null Magic fields on the Rakshasi. The fighter/priests then charged with flaming blades and singing swords to thrash their foe, the strongest one taking on Garzahd himself. The three mage/priests continued the barrage of Thuds with a Field of Blades for effect, all the while keeping the Rakshasi helpless with fields of Nullity.

It was a bloody mess, but then again, this form of cleaning house always is."

I guess I'm going to have to do a map site of the Exile series now. That's going to take a lot of surveying and note taking. Getting the pictures is tricky since the automap doesn't show the whole section. Then there are the mark-ups to show points of interest. I wonder if I could get some help somewhere...

Beware of Exiles bearing G.I.F.T.S.

What a re-bolting development that was!

I met a battle axe once. Oh wait, that was my algebra teacher. She had a saying:
"If you go below C level, you're sunk."

(Trust me, there is a pun in there.)

Actually, I fear you may be hitting too close to the mark. Having gone through eight voire dires, here is my impression. Prosecutors do attempt to get fair minded people who will rule on the facts. To lose on appeal because of jury bias is not an appealing risk. Defense lawyers look for people who may be sympathetic to their case. And all bets are off in a civil trial, especially on high priced class action suits.

Sulfras was an avatar. Do you avatar?

(That was one of my most favorite spells.)

That is the crux of the issue; should the State dictate behavior or should it be left to individual business owners to establish their own policies. You can make a strong case for either business plan for each option. Let the better business plan win out.

In Texas, there is no statewide ban on smoking in restaurants or bars. Restaurants are required to have separate sections. Some cities, including Houston, do have absolute bans including bars. There has been an increase in patronage of restaurants and bars outside the city limits. The debate on whether to institute a statewide ban is as heated as it can get.

BTW, I did point out that there are circumstances where second hand smoke can be problematic. Aircraft cabins have limited recirculation and can serve to concentrate the smoke to a level almost equal to that of first hand smoke. It makes sense to ban smoking there. There are other places where this is possible. Taverns and bars have high concentrations of smoke which could affect non-smoking employees. It is easy to say "If you don't like the smoke, go find another job". Not so easily done. With more lofts being built in the downtown area that attract a population of more educated people who choose not to smoke, there is a strong business reason for smoke free bars. But there is a goodly sized population that go to bars to smoke. There is room in the marketplace for both rules.

I think that high taxes on smoking affect the lower income people more than those who earn more. I would hypothesize that this is because those people who have higher incomes do so because they made the right choices, more than making wrong choices. However they learned to make those decisions, they learned also that smoking was not a good one. There are successful people who do smoke. But they smoke less than your average middle to low income population. This is just a theory, and as full of holes as a block of swiss cheese, so if you don't like it, feel free to slice off a chunk and chew hearty.

I don't smoke. I don't know why, I just don't. I don't advocate smoking. It is a dirty habit, the health risks of first hand smoke is confirmed (just as coal dust, grain dust, asbestos dust, dust in general, benzene fumes from gasoline, H2S releases from chemical plants, ozone formed from high UV days, etc). There is a greater risk of dying in a car crash than from lung cancer (the number of deaths from lung cancer are high, too blasted high).

I don't smoke, but I know how difficult it is for a smoker to quit. My wife tried vainly for years to quit. She finally did, thank God. You cannot cajole a smoker to quit; it just makes them more determined to -not- quit. All you can do is praise them when they do well, and shut the fluff up when they backslide. The State attempting to mitigate a behavior of choice is futile, and invasive. I have said it before, you can't regulate stupid behavior.

I don't smoke, but I generally oppose regulations that would ban it. I feel this is a personal choice option, the same as that of religious, sexual, or political affiliation. I may oppose your view, but I would defend to the death the right you have to express that view. Kufis, saris, yamikas do not offend me. They make me proud that I live in country where people are free to express their religious or cultural beliefs publicly.

BTW, Slarty. Re your questionnaire, 3b*,3d,3g**.
* While I think the general risk of second hand smoke to be inflated, I will agree that there are circumstances where the risk is real. I believe the basis of the second hand smoke scare lies in those restricted conditions, which is then taken to apply to all exposures.
** Again, I think the perception of the cost of lung disease due to second hand smoke on the public is greater than reality. Is there an effect of first hand smoking on the public? More than likely. I just think that there are far greater risks to be concerned about.

I grew up with two parents who smoked like chimneys. I served in the military at a time there was still a policy of "Smoke 'em if you've got 'em". I married a woman who smoked, I helped clean the tobacco grime in the house. I've worked in offices where more than half the people smoked (this was before laws were enacted that banned smoking in offices). I have never had any medical condition related to all that smoke.

 

In a word, Yes I question the assertion of second hand smoke as a general rule. I can see that there are some circumstances where it may be a valid claim; aircraft cabins for example. But as a rule, where ventilation is adequate, the risk is greater that other pollutants such as H2S or O3 could be the cause.