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14339. robertjayb - 3/26/2005 11:46:30 PM 
Correct.
But a Brandy Manhattan, not a cute thing with straws and fruit slices, just a couple of marischino cherries and an extra smidgen of cherry juice.
14340. robertjayb - 3/26/2005 11:53:06 PM Finger food...
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Sales have dropped sharply at Wendy's fast food restaurants in the area of northern California where a woman claimed she found part of a finger in a bowl of chili, but analysts say the company's long-term prognosis should not be affected.
14341. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 3/27/2005 5:17:05 AM 
14342. thoughtful - 3/27/2005 4:10:20 PM That's adorable! ThanksWiz 14343. wonkers2 - 3/27/2005 5:03:26 PM Watch out! You'll be accused of kiddie porn! 14344. thoughtful - 3/28/2005 2:21:34 PM Sigh. I had my old pc from years ago and was cleaning up files. Came across a number of discussions I'd saved from the old fray/mote days including a very interesting discussion i had with pseue and pincher martin on the impact of soc sec privatization from 1998 and another on the impact of speculative money and china on the asian currency crisis. I had forgotten the level of discourse that used to be common here. Sad, really. 14345. judithathome - 3/28/2005 7:29:08 PM Well, I regret that every movie made today is geared toward 18 year old males with short attention spans but that isn't likely to change.
Sure, there were more elevated discussions when more people were here but it was their choice to leave. They know where this place is and could return if they so chose. 14346. thoughtful - 3/28/2005 8:28:41 PM I agree, but just like with the movies, the response is based on the confluence of demand. Unless we happen to get a bunch checking in at the same time who see and generate an elevated level of discourse, they won't be encouraged to stay. One good guy checking in, e.g., on the religion thread seeing the venom outflow there, or in the politics and seeing the equivalent of a blog of links to other sites, will easily get turned off and not return.
14347. arkymalarky - 3/28/2005 9:48:07 PM We had an amazing amount of vitriol in the Religion thread from the first I ever saw it. I used to stay away, even after having been here a number of years, and a lot of people felt the same about Politics and a few other threads. Eight years ago when I first looked in and then posted, I almost left before getting involved, because I had never anywhere witnessed the level of hostility and bickering I saw in here. The quality of discussion trumped it, but barely. It didn't for my dad and others who visited and found the quality of discourse wasn't worth wading through the feces-fling-fests. Dad, for one, lived an academic life and had a lot of quality discussions with colleagues that didn't require wading through or stepping around piles of crap. On that score, it's much better now than it ever was. Rarely do we have the level or duration of flame wars we did years ago.
I learned to ignore it just like I would ignore a babbling crazy aunt at the holiday dinner table, unless it was directed at me or was so disruptive as to shut down other discussion, but it always reduced my enjoyment of an otherwise excellent forum.
I also realize a lot of people may have gone to other forums, but most are just busier than they used to be, even those who've gone to other places, and forums in general have declined, from what I'm hearing and reading. People who did participate a lot and still have the time may be more inclined to do a blog. I have virtually no time to engage in lengthy discussions like I used to. I hope to get back to having more time this spring, but I'm probably an exception to the rule.
Another huge factor is that posting from work is done a lot less. I haven't posted from work since we developed the ability to put up pictures. I don't need any surprises on the job, though everyone irl knows I participate in a discussion forum. 14348. wonkers2 - 3/28/2005 10:15:40 PM A lot of employers frown on use of office computers for non-business purposes. In my previous job of dealing with unemployment compensation appeals I saw a fair number dismissals and protests by employers of unemployment compensation benefits in these cases. Many employers came down especially hard on dirty jokes and dirty pictures out of fear of sexual harrasment suits. The appeals board was split on the issue. My position was that the employer had to show that the dismissed employee was wasting a significant amount of time when he or she should have been working and that the rule was evenly applied to everyone. As far as I was concerned porn was not an issue unless displayed openly or sent to someone who didn't want it. I go back to the days when it was not uncommon for men on their breaks to discreetly peruse a Playboy kept in a desk drawer, to which nobody raised an eyebrow, let alone firing anyone. I find it hard to distinguish a Playboy magazine in a desk drawer from a similar picture on a computer. (My position was in the minority on this.) 14349. The Summer Woman - 3/29/2005 7:52:50 AM I just think that forums have a life cycle that they go through. In the beginning, if one is very, very, lucky, there is an accidental assemblage of people who stimulate one another's thoughts and ideas. If you are even luckier, they have a similar knowlege base to draw from, or at least an ability and willingness to learn from one another. the next stage, the variety of interactions starts to be limited, except when someone new shows up. In the final stage, people have become friends with shared history. This is not to say that interesting discussions don't still occur, but the novelty has warn off. Ha! Sounds like a marriage, doesn't it? Complete with circular arguments that never get resolved, so entrenched are the combatants in their respective corners.
And then, there is the fact that the "newness" of forums, and the internet, has worn off. And I would agree with Arky that many of the people who used to participate have entered into new situations in their lives: marriage, a job where surfing isn't permitted, new babies, etc.
It will be interesting to see whether at some future time, another stage develops - when lives change again and a forum becomes re-energized by people returning as their circumstances permit. Their is some evidence of this phenomenon already - when someone pops in after a long hiatus, it's like a celebration. 14350. The Summer Woman - 3/29/2005 7:54:55 AM Man, that post is full of spelling errors! 14351. Macnas - 3/29/2005 8:51:42 AM Ah yes, the introspection that makes the Mote seem like a 40 something neurotic who cannot be happy with what he is, is unsure about what he is going to be but finds what he was better every time he thinks about it.
Thats not directed at anyone by the by, we are all of us guilty in this regard from time to time.
I remember some of the discussions here being just too hard to understand. I remember getting into things with others and afterwards looking back on what I wrote and thinking, "that wasn't me that wrote that, was it? why did I say that crap?"
So know I just stick to what I know and like, and try to be as much like myself as possible. I'm just not clever enough to even pretend to be intellectual. 14352. alistairconnor - 3/29/2005 10:57:35 AM Note, the melted chocolate was not (in principle) for me, but for the daughters. In fact, it wasn't too bad : the small-fry chocolates were somewhat fused together, but the animals were all still recognisable, though somewhat mutant-looking.
Next gag : on Saturday, we parked the van for the night in a pine grove near the sea on the Côte d'azur. Once the girls were asleep, I hid the chocolate stuff, all of which was wrapped up, behind various trees. I sent them out to hunt on Sunday morning, and No. 1 Girl came back puzzled : behind one tree she had found torn wrapping paper, ribbon, and the small sweets and chocolates that had been inside a chocolate animal... luckily the other stuff was OK...
We decided it must have been a fox, because the missing animal was a chocolate chicken. 14353. Magoseph - 3/29/2005 3:13:13 PM Thoughtful, here is a quote from Resonance which sums up what I think about the future of forums like this one,
“We, the people who choose to spend lots of time online and have a sense of membership in an online community (and, due to the nature of the net, can choose our communities) are still in a minority. But it's a growing one. I know people from Sweden better than I know some of my neighbors. And I believe this trend will only increase with time as computing power and cheap bandwidth make the online world more entrancing and life-like.” 14354. Magoseph - 3/29/2005 3:30:08 PM Post #14353 is addressed to Summer Woman--sorry, thoughtful. 14355. thoughtful - 3/29/2005 4:20:57 PM don't be sorry...it was a good post to either of us.
Well, as i recall i first joined the fray because of michael kinsley and I think he's what attracted the initial participants we had here.
I don't think he'll be coming back any time soon... 14356. arkymalarky - 3/29/2005 11:45:40 PM I always wondered if Paul Krugman attracted so many economists in one place, as well. 14357. RickNelson - 3/30/2005 4:30:27 PM ahhh, some memory lane posts. I always like those, and think alike.
Good to read ya all. As arky posts, some of us, like myself, as you know, have become distracted by some change in life. I'm pretty happy with mine. Miss ya all, keep thinkin' of ya and I'm trying, like now, to be around. 14358. Magoseph - 3/30/2005 4:31:24 PM Good morning, everyone—a week ago, I thought the winter would never end. This week we have a beautiful weather --temperature in the 60s today and predicted for the rest of the week. I want to take the hardy houseplants outside, but I wonder if that is wise.
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