I'll bite.

On one hand (har) yeah, staying home does make a lot of sense. Many women these days do seem sort of man-hating and entitled. My girlfriend and I have had almost all female roommates over the last 5 years and I will say that most of them have been incredibly socially awkward, or massive liars, psycho-emo-bitches, or pretentious hipster douches. We had a couple who were pretty cool, both hard-working and fairly sociable, but sane women seem to be in short supply (maybe renters are just inherently crazy?). Other female acquaintances have acted quite similar, though. I also ran into this while dating in the past. Many, many women seem to have some pretty wild expectations when it comes to guys, or maybe don't know how to express themselves effectively. Who knows. YES, it sucks.

**OTOH** Having a girlfriend who I click with is pretty awesome. My opinion is that it was worth the 10 years of dating/craziness before I met her. Part of me says that porn and games ARE ruining some people (I know at least 3 of them and it's very sad as we hit our early 30s and they still act like they did 10 years ago). It's an excuse to continue acting as before, feeling "safe", and basically not moving forward much as a person. It's an excuse not to go out and socialize, so the socially awkward people who in the past would all probably have a lot in common and have their OWN social group at a party are just staying home to play games, look at porn, and post on forums (eek). It gets the mind off other things, but isn't all that productive usually. The (semi) awkward geeks I know (including myself) used internet dating to great effect, though.

So, basically, yes. There are probably a LOT of women out there that are not Wife material (if that's what you're looking for), because let's be honest that the internet may be degrading social skills of EVERYONE. However, with some persistent courage, some exercise, and a bit of wit it's possible to have a LOT of fun with other women. Trust me, despite how they might act they are definitely looking to have a good time too (so why are they so stand-offish, nutso, mean? Treat yourself like chocolate cake. Not everyone wants chocolate cake RIGHT NOW, but they do in general and if you catch them at the right time they will, um, devour you. Metaphorically of course. In a good way. I hope.). So... many of them might be "crazy" but sex and good times can definitely be worth the trouble if it's all kept in perspective, and if you're creative it shouldn't cost very much money either. Then, once you meet someone really special, the ballgame changes again.

Sure sounds like they wanna keep the European Union together, doesn't it?

This is gonna get awfully interesting.

Bullshit. They'll just pay to have it suppressed when the police department comes to them and says,"Hey, guess what info we've got? Pay up/give us favors."

This will only be illegal against those who don't have enough money/connections.

Yes, they are right here in good old LIbertyville, IL (about 35 minutes north of downtown chicago on the highway). However, yes, they have a very heavy presence in China, I believe with factories. it's been that way for at least 7 years, probably longer.

I'll show you learning. How about that I just learned Win7 over the past year, and now that I'm settling in to it alright MS is changing things *again*.

Learning should be on their part, that constantly changing things makes life difficult for people. Unless this is a VERY intriguing usability upgrade then I find this development disturbing.

If you think that chicken little is "still holding enough nuclear weapons to wipe mankind from the face of the earth", as well as "ecological damage that is measurably real and causing health problems to people", then I hate to know what your definition of serious is.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

A lot of the science now is showing that eat less/exercise more doesn't produce much in terms of results over the long term.
There have been studies done on eating less/deprivation, and the repeatedly conclude that it's bad. In extreme cases, of course (like eating a pound of bacon at each meal) there is room to cut back, but in general the whole idea of introducing fewer calories may not be the cure-all many think it is.

Obesity is actually a sign that we're not giving our body the nutrients it needs, so it stores fat. So eating better (read: more nutritious food) is likely to fix things more easily. Of course, exercise isn't bad or anything, it's just not a cure-all.

Sorry, Washington D.C. is in the other direction.

Oh they have a plan alright. The idea is to gut all regulation and bankrupt the government, pushing the wealth into their own hands in the process so they can reshape the government how they want and privatize most of it in the end. Seriously, read up on Tex Colson and all the think tanks from Nixon on. Plain as the nose on your face.

Hell, it isn't even free. They charge an awful lot in "protection money" for that service.

To follow up on that: No, people shouldn't get too many handouts. They get used to those really easily and it often ruins productivity (see the 3rd world and our "aid" to them)
However, selectively figuring out how to help people in the most invisible ways possible that don't allow for abuse of the system ought to be what government does.

People will do what is most obviously (by their perception) of the most benefit. If people see they can get a handout and it's better to them to get that than work hard, if they've been taught or learned to think this way, they'll take the handout every time. However, show them that there is better opportunity and a better way to live through some work and they're much more likely to take that, I assert.

Great, that's fine, and I agree. However, when the opportunities don't exist for one to take care of oneself then there's a problem, or when the things we eat, drink, and do are very hazardous, unbeknownst to us, then that's not self-reliance. That's called Dumb Luck If You Live, and twisting this idea into "haul oneself up by one's bootstraps" is insane and vicious. It's what the Rs are doing now! "Let's remove all these regulations, and when it shakes out we'll just say the losers weren't self-reliant enough. Heh."

People. Need. Help. Those of you who "did it all on your own" are delusional. You got LOTS of help from other sources, but maybe you're too insecure to admit it.

dingdingding

Also, the older generation doesn't SEE the problem. They think that we should just work harder while they get to reap the benefits of our hard work as they stay in positions until the age of 70+ because they didn't save enough for retirement.

I *knew* it! Hipsters.