Winning arguments used to help you get laid. Of course that was before women learned how to roll their eyes.

So true. You have my invisible mod points.

I wouldn't presume to judge my own value to the company, but I might invite the business owners to do so. "I know I'm just a contractor and am easily replaced, but I enjoy the work I do here, and I support the company's mission. If a suitable position ever became available, I hope you'd be willing to consider me, because I'd certainly be interested." Then end the conversation promptly so they don't feel any subtle pressure to comment on your value.

I've noticed that the people who bring the most value to an organization tend to presume the least about themselves.

What I'd like to know is why wireless services are so much more affordable in Europe than in the U.S. What are they doing that we aren't? And can we start doing it over here?

"I shudder to think of what their definition of "fun activity" is."

Chasing you off their lawns?

My 'introvert' take on this is that extraverts recharge their energy from being with other people, just as I recharge from having time alone. When an extravert seems to want to spend time with me, I don't see it as personal, or assume they want to be my friend. I figure they like the energy they get from talking with me.

I try to see if I can get some energy from them too, just for practice. You know how some omnivorous animals evolved from a carnivorous ancestor? That's how I feel at parties. My preferred source of energy is unavailable, so it's to my advantage to play with social interchange, see if I can get some kind of recharge value out of it. It works more often than I expect.

...combat will continue with the Ahn Woon!

It's a theory on a technicality, because there's no rigorous way to disprove it. But it's like the theory of gravity: you'd have to be a fruitbat not to accept it.

And I thought creatures with prounds were extinct. Learn something new every day!

Funny how natural selection works even for those who refuse to believe in it.

And news of an amazing new breakthrough? Something tells me an IPO in on the way, followed by massive disillusionment. Investors, guard your wallets. As for the bacteria, I'll believe it when I see the data.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

Just how much is Wakefield paying her anyway?

Yeah, I'd really like to know the story behind that article. Lancet should do a root cause analysis of that paper's review process.

It's not hyperbole. Pertussis has undergone a resurgence in the past several years, in part because some parents are not having their kids vaccinated for various worries (of which autism is only the most recent). Pertussis can kill kids.

Can you cite any published studies in peer-reviewed journals that would support your claim?