Yup. Watch this presentation Sugar: The Bitter Truth (or on the UCSF site http://www.uctv.tv/shows/Sugar-The-Bitter-Truth-16717) by Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology.

It's over an hour long and he explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Fructose gets metabolized in the liver like alcohol, but with some nasty hormonal and cholesterol-raising side-effects.

You're welcome. I've heard many opinions over the years. My wife and I were an unusual couple. We met in 1985 when I was 22 and she was 41 (and twice divorced). She never could get pregnant, and certainly not when I met her, and I promised her that I was fine with that. When people asked if we had children, I usually started with a simple "no", but people would then ask "when would we", to which I would reply that we couldn't and that it was okay - really okay - then many, many people would immediately responded that we could adopt - yada, yada, yada - sigh.

My only regret was that we didn't get more time together. Sure 20 years seems like a long time, but not with the right person. The day before Thanksgiving 2005 she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died seven weeks later in Jan 2006 - just like that, or so it seemed.

Remember Sue...

Obligatory: Family Decals

My wife and I couldn't and didn't have children, so we were the couple on the right. She died in Jan 2006, after 20.5 years together, so now I'm alone, but I don't regret one second of our life together - just the two of us. We kissed, hugged and said "I love you" every day, held hands wherever we went and did almost everything together. She even died in my arms. I still wear my wedding ring every day.

A more apt question would be "Does the creation/existence of the Universe and Life require God?"
There is, as yet, no definitive proof either way. Personally, I believe God is *not* required, but others believe something else. Either way, belief doesn't make it true and that's where the arguments usually start.

Sure - original M$RP.

Well... During the interview for my second real job, where one of the interviewers was one of my former college professors, they described an NFS problem they were having and I help them come up with a workable solution, which impressed my professor's boss. The job was with a contractor as a sysadmin for the super-computing network at the NASA Langley Research Center, which included several Convex and Cray systems.

Granted, the job was real and they were hiring, but helping solve a real problem didn't hurt my interview.

...Isn't that true for most substances?

Because fanboys eventually grow up to be fanmen and put aside such childish toys. :-)
[ Note: It's a *joke* fanboys. ]

"C" - the Adventure / Zork of programming languages: "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike."

Right. That would be Hack :-)

Oh they understand safe words; they just want you to say them often and loudly.

• Verizon: Bring out the testicle clamps!
• Customer: Oh Crap! Flugan..basja..sbiner holzeen?
• Verizon: Do you mean Fluggaenkoecchicebolsen?

So many people misunderstand those "Can you hear me NOW?" ads ...

I did LISP and Prolog programming as a college research assistant in automatic and fault-tolerant programming techniques, back in the mid '80s. Both languages are awesome. A/C responder is correct, Prolog is appropriate for Watson.

True, the standard plate follows a mask/template, but each plate is uniquely numbered and, therefore, distinct - even plates with the same sequence from different states/countries, if you consider the plate as a whole. But I see your point.

I was just venting a bit about the Snopes article. Though I'm not an expert in English and sometimes fall victim myself, sloppy speech/writing annoys me. Like TV commercials for upcoming shows that say "All New" when referring to a single episode - grrrr ....

Call them all "Marklar". The individual will be clear by the context.