to have sex to even have a son

A likely question from uncultured Americans!

menage a trois is a peculiarly French custom. (accents omitted on account of /. horrible unicode support.) The man doesn't need time, he just needs a partner.

Mt. St. Helens did not affect weather because the blast was horizontal, if you remember the news there was a hole in the side of the volcano and later the whole north side colapsed. Also there was less sulphur dioxide expelled (1.5 million tons) versus 25 million tons of Pinatubo. (see below)

Now, Pinatubo did have a global effect. PBS writes: In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines produced ten times as much ash as Mount St. Helens and released more than 25 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. The resulting cloud - which formed a wide band around the planet within about a month - resulted in an overall cooling of the global surface temperature by about 1 degree Fahrenheit.

As you point out, Toba did have a greater global effect, but because it coincided with other fenomena, such as a solar minimum and several previous volcanic eruptions not by sheer magnitude alone.

Now, let's try exploding several nuclear bombs in different parts of the world and see what the effects are... If taking some classes in physics was enough for us to accurately predict the effects, we would be Lords of the Universe and not meek, tree-climbing monkeys. So I vote we dismantle the damn things and to hell with experimenting...

Sorry for the link in Spanish, but one of the banks I use in Mexico already offers an option to pay using my celular instead of my debit/credit card. (Clic on Pago Movil)

I can go to many stores (20,000 according to the bank) and simply clic on an app and the bill is settled electronically.

Another example is token authentication, which is used by all banks for Internet banking in Mexico but is rare (o was until about a year ago) in the US.

Why are U.S. banks so backward?

on who's party is being gored.

Hey! Leave Al out of it

He's against Global Warming and he invented the intertubes!

ducks...running away

Mr. Slippery joins the discussion about lube and sex goats; I'm sure there is good joke material there but I'm too tired to explore it.

Please forgive me and just ROL like I made a good joke...

Well, well, well...

Now that we know about the lube, pray tell us, where you can get an inflatable sex goat...

tsk, tsk, tsk, children need to learn to keep their traps shut, lest they embarrass themselves.

Man, have you got it wrong!

If life gives you lemons, find some TEQUILA!

And the profanity heard in such rooms is in direct proportion to the number of Windows servers...

Linus has the advantage of being able to curse personally those responsible for shit; whereas Windows admins can all only insult Microsofties collectively...

I usually don't respond to Anonymous Cowards but this time it's just too good to pass..

I live in Mexico, where the official divorce rate is 15% (per the article linked) versus 53% in the U.S. (Disclosure: I am a Mexican national, married twice to Mexicans.)

Funny thing, off the top of my head I can mention two close friends, both married 30+ years: one couple has spelt is separate rooms for years, the other one officially is still married, but they live in separate houses.

Why won't they divorce? Social pressure: family ties, what would the neighbors think?, I couldn't go to church being divorced...

You are mistaken lower divorce rates do not mean happier marriages... Just enduring hell.

Married, twice (1); divorced, twice(2). If online dating results are as stable and satisfying as those IRL, forget it.

Maybe I should try another tack?...

5'8" Male. Geek. Grown children. Looking for a...

In slashdot? Aw shucks! Forget it! Probably I will get a dog posing as girl...

For the curious: married (1) five years and (2) eighteen years

Whooosh!

That was the pink and invisible unicorn flying just above your head!

Cheers

Here is the official oath, directly from the Army's website.

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).

You see, first he swears to defend the Constitution and then to obey.

By his lights, the PFC was defending the Constitution against domestic enemies.

Unusual?

You mean usual activities with sheep and the wayward kangaroo...

Ah! Yes, I see you're American, mate!

Sorry davester666, don't generalize.

Yes, there are some people involved in drugs and other illicit business, but a significant proportion is way out.

I don't have numbers to give you, but consider that we are a country with 120 million people, a significant number would be millions of people.

Yes, certain areas, like Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua) and other border towns might have many people working on drug-related jobs, but not overall.

Unenployment is sitting at 4.9%, a much better number than in the U.S. and Europe. People get involved in drug activities because of easy money, not lack of jobs.

Sorry hairyfeet, we get guns from you guys. No need to go halfway around the world.

Perhaps one of the most ironic twists in the war on drugs is that the Mexican police gets arms from the U.S. and the drug dealers too! One from the government, the other from convenience stores in Arizona.