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Posts Made By: Lee Spain

March 25, 2007 11:21 PM Forum: Sports

Insert basketball conversation here.

Posted By Lee Spain
Pssst . . . . I think technically we're supposed to talk about March Madness and basketball in this forum. Otherwise people might think amateur astronomers are nerdy. wink However, if Florida gets knocked out prior to the championship game, we don't have to mention it. In fact, we could just wait until football season starts up. grin

Other than that, I think a Florida-Ohio State game en route to the championship would be interesting. It would have an epic literary feel to it. 8)

March 28, 2007 02:19 AM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

Dog vocabulary lessons

Posted By Lee Spain
I really wish our dog would hurry up and learn his 200 words. At 7-months, he's got his sit, down, leave it, and stay pretty well in hand. He knows the sounds of the ice maker and any plastic bag crinkling in the kitchen. He knows that 9 out of 10 times when the car is stopped and the window goes down somebody is about to hand us food. Today, he learned how to turn the hazard lights on in car. But, I wish he could give me a clue when I ask if he is hungry or wants to go outside.

March 28, 2007 07:24 PM Forum: Pet Pics

Dan the Dog

Posted By Lee Spain
Here's our new pound puppy "Dan." He's a Bassett Hound/Golden Retriever mix from a pound up in the mountains of North Georgia. This shot was taken back around December---BEFORE getting neutered and before he graduated puppy school! shocked He's still crazy, but at least he can sit, down, leave it, and stay (for up to 10 whole seconds). Needless to say this nutbucket has cut into observing time a bit. I've been memorizing constellations and trying to spot them before he tries to eat something he finds on our evening walks. wink

March 29, 2007 01:10 AM Forum: Politics

Is Iran really that bad ...

Posted By Lee Spain
. . . or do you think they'll let the British sailors go without a trial?

March 30, 2007 12:46 PM Forum: Politics

British Sailors

Posted By Lee Spain
The British Sailors have been denied visits by representatives of their government and by the international red cross.

Fortunately, human rights groups all over the world are ---

http://www.amnesty.org/
http://www.hrw.org/

---doing absolutely nothing and are saying absolutely nothing.


April 1, 2007 01:05 AM Forum: Politics

Re: Is this just feelgoodism

Posted By Lee Spain
I don't think it is feelgoodism. If something gets executive attention and congressional attention and its an agreed upon good thing, I think it will eventually get fixed. No one is actually against good care for veterans. It's easy to vote for and it can be fixed...in a budget cycle or two.

But, the underlying problem we have in American society is that we feel that government and other public functions like utilities can be run like a business. Under this paradigm, functions are streamlined to provide only the capabilities needed for the absolute minimum price. Important strategic and military things like surge capacity, security, and redundancy are conveniently forgotten when you run things like a business. Every once in awhile an enemy or a hurricane will remind us of this issue. A system built for a few hundred casualties a year strains when subjected to a few thousand. If you think the Walter Reed scenario is bad now, think of alternative scenarios like --- a tactical nuclear weapon detonates just outside the green zone in Baghdad --- or North Korea, Syria, and Iran attack simultaneously. Suddenly, you wish your efficient low cost system had a ton of surge capacity.


April 1, 2007 01:17 AM Forum: Politics

Re: Is this going too far

Posted By Lee Spain
This is going too far. The citizen is supposed to report the suspicious activity and the authorities are supposed to take it from there.

When I worked in Northern Virginia, I spent many a long ride on the Pentagon bus across the aisle from a Muslim who wore a black trench coat, who carried a black duffle bag, and who read the Koran while muttering quietly to himself. As an American, you will never see anything more suspicious or more nerve-wracking. There's nothing to report. All you can do is sit there, remember your martial arts training, keep your eyes on their hands and on their bag, and be ready.

April 2, 2007 04:18 PM Forum: Sports

Ohio State ahead by $27 million.

Posted By Lee Spain
I just read in SI that the Ohio State athletic program brings in a $105 million dollars and the Florida program comes in second at $78 million dollars. I'd sure like to know where those numbers came from and what gets counted as revenue and if that is a net profit figure.

From the size of the discrepency, either ---
* the SEC has a bad TV and Radio deal, or
* UF must invest more in other less profitable, smaller, sports, or
* UF must have more and better paid staff and facilities.

I'm not gonna comment on the upcoming game because I don't want to jinx anything and I figure vengeance should be a powerful motivator for the Ohio State team.

April 3, 2007 05:35 PM Forum: Sports

What if they ALL stay?

Posted By Lee Spain
After two great seasons, you can't blame the UF players for leaving for the NBA and you can't fault a coach for leaving to coach for his alma mater.* However, there is a slim chance the all the Gators and their coach might stay put for yet another basketball run as seniors. grin One player might have to break for the NBA in order to help his dad out with medical issues and expenses. sad But, then again, UF does have one of the best hospitals in Florida . . . wink

*Note: You can fault a coach for leaving his alma mater to coach a sorry pro football team and the other USC...

April 4, 2007 08:40 PM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

Why is Mars heating up?

Posted By Lee Spain
I found this article interesting.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/04/mars.climate.reut/index.html

If Mars is heating up and Earth is heating up, I would think that at least some part of global warming is due to natural changes in the Sun.
This isn't to deny the involvement of greenhouse gases, but I'd think that it could help establish some solar variable that should be factored in when discussing global warming.


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