Search Results for 'Sl'

[B-squared]

hi helihu-

i just had budget blind put in 5 blinds in my house and they are just what i expected. Previously i went to Rodda and provided the measurements and did the install myself. Budget came out to the house, did the measuring and came back to do the install – very neatly i might add. plus there is typically a 25% off coupon in those books we get in the mail.

[Smitty]

Curious as to why you wouldn’t just get an ipad. It’s a kindle plus a LOT more.

Not a slam on your decision – just an AAPL investor curious about consumer choices.

[NicNDuB]

Ok I know I’m preaching to the choir, but as someone who worked at Harborview with the uninsured and later assisting HIV+ individuals to obtain insurance, I feel the need to point out that too often we frame the health coverage issue as an individual problem, instead of the public health issue it actually is. While I agree that we should be concerned about the most vulnerable populations in our society, not everyone shares this belief, but I haven’t met too many individuals who aren’t concerned about their own health and safety.

And this is where I believe the conversation needs to move away from “the most vulnerable” to “our collective well being”. Viruses and other communicable diseases love densely populated areas because their ability to live and “procreate” is dependent on hosts. When communities have a high percentage of individuals with compromised immune systems (e.g. children, elderly, and the disabled), diseases will setup residence in these hosts as they learn how to get around the immune systems of the healthy. If contagious individuals do not have access to healthcare, they essentially become a carrier which impacts everyone in the community.

This is where I like to use an actually case to illustrate. At Harborview I worked with an individual who was the sole supporter of their family of 4 (them-self, a spouse and two children). This individual worked as a cook in a nice restaurant that didn’t offer health benefits. Therefore, when they got sick, they continued to go to work since they couldn’t afford medical care or to take time off and still feed and shelter their family. This individual also expressed a strong value of being self sufficient versus being a “welfare family”. I met this individual when they were admitted to the hospital after being immobilized by tuberculosis. Moral of the story: If you think healthcare is an individual’s responsibility ask yourself how many others you encounter in your daily life and how strong your immune system really is.

Finally, this is how the proposed Medicaid cuts could impact all of us:

• Cuts to outpatient Rx benefits: MRSA and other diseases that are “highly resistant” have developed in big part because of a lack of adherence that allows disease strains to become immune to existing treatments. So we can expect to see a rise in “super-viruses” if individuals can’t afford to complete some Rx treatments

• On average Medicare takes two years to make a disability determination. In WA the Disability Lifeline (or GAU as I knew it) offered medical coverage during this determination process. So even if you’ve worked your whole life and believe you have a safety net should you develop a chronic condition or get seriously injured, ask yourself if you have saved enough to cover medical and living costs for 2 years while waiting for the government to process your claim.

• Hospice services and emergency medical funding: do we really want to stop providing emergency and end of life care? Because if so we’d all better get accustomed to watching individuals die on our streets.

Thanks for reading and now I’ll step off my soap box.

[ellenater]

I agree with JoB. I also prefer 7th Gen Free and Clear and scentless bounce. I have been interested in one of those “As Seen on TV” steamer balls but have not taken the plunge yet.

Those perfumey sheets seriously make me gag. :(

[brew]

Bringing up the Patriot Act and privacy issues….

The Below can and will have hugh implications on private communications….

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Sep 28, 2010 01:38 Updated: Sep 28, 2010 01:38

WASHINGTON: Broad new regulations being drafted by the Obama administration would make it easier for law enforcement and national security officials to eavesdrop on Internet and e-mail communications like social networking websites and BlackBerry phones, The New York Times reported Monday.

The newspaper said the White House plans to submit a bill next year that would require all online services that enable communications to be technically equipped to comply with a wiretap order. That would include providers of encrypted e-mail, such as BlackBerry, networking sites like Facebook and direct communication services like Skype.

Federal law enforcement and national security officials say new the regulations are needed because terrorists and criminals are increasingly giving up their phones to communicate online.

“We’re talking about lawfully authorized intercepts,” said FBI lawyer Valerie E. Caproni. “We’re not talking about expanding authority. We’re talking about preserving our ability to execute our existing authority in order to protect the public safety and national security.” The White House plans to submit the proposed legislation to Congress next year.

The new regulations would raise new questions about protecting people’s privacy while balancing national security concerns.

James Dempsey, the vice president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an Internet policy group, said the new regulations would have “huge implications.”

“They basically want to turn back the clock and make Internet services function the way that the telephone system used to function,” he told the Times.

The Times said the Obama proposal would likely include several requires:

Any service that provides encrypted messages must be capable of unscrambling them.

Any foreign communications providers that do business in the US would have to have an office in the United States that’s capable of providing intercepts.

Software developers of peer-to-peer communications services would be required to redesign their products to allow interception.

The Times said that some privacy and technology advocates say the regulations would create weaknesses in the technology that hackers could more easily exploit.

[JoB]

Smitty…

“The “inherited” (nice, huh?) national security that W “inherited”(get it?) has been corrected and improved because of the act.”

LOL.. I am sure you believe that..

but the Bush administration was briefed on Osama Bin Laden and the threat he posed and chose to focus on other security issues.. like how to justify a war with Iraq.

9/11 gave them a way to frame justification.. so they invaded Iraq and made Osama’s point for him… thereby inflaming the rest of the fundamental Islamic world… while managing to pretty much ignore Osama and Afghanistan. Sweet, huh.

Yup. the bad guys are still out there..

including some new enemies we created for ourselves :(

but that doesn’t answer the question of whether security has actually been improved by the patriot act.

did you actually look at what the patriot act dollars were spent on?

You might not want to look too closely at those expenditures…

that warm fuzzy feeling the patriot act gave you could dissipate pretty quickly:(

[herongrrrl]

A friend of mine gave me a bunch of little pouches filled with aromatic herbs to put in the drier. They made the clothes smell wonderful. Didn’t soften them any, but I have never understood the “need” for fabric softeners. I grew up with clotheslines as the standard method of drying laundry (including indoor lines in our garage in winter)–that’s a great way to avoid static!

JoB–how about just not using white towels? ;)

[Cheaptrixie]

In great shape with white slipcovers (great because easy to keep clean with bleach!). Paid $750 will sell for $500. Must pick it up.

[Smitty]

Agree completely.

“Chimpo” comes to mind as just one example.

I just hope after the Fall landslide that “voters are stupid” doesn’t become the theme again – especially since we were all so enlightened just two short years ago. It only seems to rear its ugly head when the “R’s” win. Funny that.

The media is just now beginning to set the table for the primary excuse. It’s either going to be A) People are stupid or B) The smart people didn’t vote.

Let’s revisit this thread in November and see how consistent we all are.

[JoB]

HMCRich..

you need to read more

and a wider selection of books.

The japanese have no more accepted “western values” than the chinese…

though they did benefit greatly from post world war II reconstruction .. their business model isn’t quite the same as ours…

Our marine corp was founded to stop pirates.. some of whom happened to be muslims.. but not all.

And lastly.. i wonder how you can speak to moderation when you think an entire group of people needs to be exterminated based on the fact that they choose to worship a different god?

Tell me how a muslim Fatwah differs from your statement if there are no moderate muslims?

Based on that analysis and using your example .. should we destroy those in Japan who still practice the Buddist Shinto religion of their forefathers?

After all.. they were perfectly willing to use their bodies as weapons against us in World War II. Who knows what they would do given the chance now?

All you have to do is look to our own history and our treatment of the aboriginal people here to realize that from their perspective we dished out far worse than anything Bin Laden could dream of.

Islamic people have been telling you all along that those who support Bin Laden’s fatwah and the however many that have followed it are a minority…

what would it take for you to hear them?

Unplug your ears.

[JanS]

who ever said that anyone thinks that they’re better than anyone else. Disagree? With what? That I don’t think Obama is from Kenya? That I don’t think he’s Muslim? Are we supposed to just accept people’s ignorance, and not try to educate? Are we supposedd to let some of these “idiots”…and you know they are…run amuck and bollix up this country more than it is already? Oh, please! Wow…way too early in the morning for this !Need more sleep!

[HMC Rich]

Ahem, The Japanese were a warrior society and lived by the Bushido Code. When they were defeated they accepted Free Market principles and the “Western Values”.

If Bin Laden were around he would be sending out more videos taunting the U.S. Supposedly when he dies his Fatwahs expire.

There are plenty of Jihadist’s out there. Do not under estimate these radical fundamentalists. If you are not of Islam, you are an infidel. The only way to stop a Jihadist Muslim is too destroy them. Losing does not compute with Islam. That is why they disappear for awhile when they do lose. I know this seems harsh but it is true. Our Marine Corps was founded on stopping Islamic Pirates. From what I have been reading, the word moderate Muslim doesn’t fit. Either you are Muslim or not is what I am getting from their point of view. Whether or not that is true, only Islamic people can tell me.

[HunterG]

The detergents these days…yikes. i just took a walk around my block and the only thing I could smell were dryer sheets. I understand wanting to have clean clothing – but good lord!

These detergents are so potent that I can almost guess what type of detergent and scent someone uses from 15 feet away.

What the major companies aren’t telling the consumer is that these scents people are becoming addicted to are comprised of nasty chemicals that are brutal to the environment, not to mention themselves! please people do yourself a favor and make the switch to an eco friendly laundry detergent.

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/07/06/the-toxic-dangers-of-typical-laundry-detergent.htm

http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/hrfragrance.htm

[JanS]

oh, I’ve been taking up some of the slack ;-)

[voodoo]

Diane – I’m with you; rules are rules. I am happy to take up the slack of annoying TR with flags on inappropriate posts. ;-)

[JoB]

and from the same issue..

an interview with Obama with his perspective on the tea party..

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/209395

“One closing remark that I want to make: It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election. There may be complaints about us not having gotten certain things done, not fast enough, making certain legislative compromises. But right now, we’ve got a choice between a Republican Party that has moved to the right of George Bush and is looking to lock in the same policies that got us into these disasters in the first place, versus an administration that, with some admitted warts, has been the most successful administration in a generation in moving progressive agendas forward.

The idea that we’ve got a lack of enthusiasm in the Democratic base, that people are sitting on their hands complaining, is just irresponsible.

Everybody out there has to be thinking about what’s at stake in this election and if they want to move forward over the next two years or six years or 10 years on key issues like climate change, key issues like how we restore a sense of equity and optimism to middle-class families who have seen their incomes decline by five percent over the last decade. If we want the kind of country that respects civil rights and civil liberties, we’d better fight in this election. And right now, we are getting outspent eight to one by these 527s that the Roberts court says can spend with impunity without disclosing where their money’s coming from. In every single one of these congressional districts, you are seeing these independent organizations outspend political parties and the candidates by, as I said, factors of four to one, five to one, eight to one, 10 to one.

We have to get folks off the sidelines. People need to shake off this lethargy, people need to buck up. Bringing about change is hard — that’s what I said during the campaign. It has been hard, and we’ve got some lumps to show for it. But if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren’t serious in the first place.”

If you’re serious, now’s exactly the time that people have to step up.

[voodoo]

Seriously, Christopher? You have to hijack this thread with more plugs for the Swinery??? Now I know you are in cahoots with them.

[dawsonct]

Republican leadership doesn’t care about America or the American people, just power and money.

Conservatives, please point out legislation your Republican heroes have enacted over the last 35 years that have been beneficial to society as a whole. And that certainly excludes their one and only economic policy of giving trillions of our tax dollars to the hyper-wealthy and trans-national corporations in hopes that they will create jobs with it. That doesn’t work, Republicans have been proving that since Reagan.

The latest example of this: “(the Creating American Jobs and End Offshoring Act) under consideration Tuesday would have ended tax deductions for expenses incurred when companies shutter U.S. operations and shift the work abroad; imposed a new tax on products once made in the United States but now manufactured by foreign workers; and offered employers a two-year payroll tax holiday on jobs repatriated from overseas.”

Their openly stated object from the moment President Obama was elected was to stop every bit of legislation put forth, their greatest fear being that the President would find success improving our lives in some way.

They are ideologically opposed to the good of the American people, and when you vote Republican because of social or economic issues, you are their useful idiot.

How’s that workin’ for ya?

[JoB]

perception is everything.

Obama didn’t create this economy but there is a 24/7 campaign to blame the failure of recovery on him and it is working… as that MSNBC poll reflects.

The bad news comes at us in headlines that jiggers so generously shares.

the good news is hidden on the back pages and mentioned in afterthought.

it is so much easier to fall back on slogans than examine evidence…

a fact of advertising that the republicans are counting on this midterm election.

if they can discourage democrats and disillusion independents they can count on the militant ignorant angry to give them back control of congress.

This is why so much big business money is financing the tea party.

That wouldn’t be a good thing since their sole goal for the next two years would be setting up a presidential defeat. If they pass any legislation that allows the economy to recover… Obama will be re-elected.

Electing republicans only guarantees us at least 2 more years of economic stagnation..and that is the best case scenario.

[Carson]

JoB,

Why do you think you will be able to buy hard booze at the corner store? Again, you assume the worst case scenario as opposed to what logically will happen. If one or both pass it will take the legislature YEARS to change the system. They will add fee’s and taxes and regulate the available licenses. Whats to say they don’t give towns the ability to regulate the number of places that can sell hard booze? Whats to say they don’t requite license fee’s that would make it too expensive for smaller retailers to make a fair profit. There are dozens of ways to effectively regulate the sale, again, you assume the law passes and every gas station will sell bottles of Jack Daniels at the counter. Next time you leave the state, check out what other states do, you might be surprised how well it works there.

[Ken]

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

my isp is my former employer (wolfenet). I was the network operations manager at the time of DSL roll out in Seattle.

I admit the ISP end was setup with no limit and several features not available to casual customers, but I was told the limiting factor for current speeds below 1.5 was the setting in the ISP end of the circuit. Now that I think of it, since I use transparent bridging (RFC1483 Bridged) the carrier qwest cannot limit my speed below the ATM wirespeed of the dslam I am connected to at the CO. PPPOE and PPPOA customers would be different since qwest owns the first tcp/ip hop in the network path.

[ellenater]

BigPhil,

West Seattle is very friendly, IMO. Go to the same places over and over and you will become a familiar face. It is too the point where I can no longer get lost in this part of the city without running into someone I know–has it’s good and bad points.

Welcome! West Seattle is the best neighborhood in this city by far. Seriously…

[redblack]

ken: nyet! (edit: well, maybe this doesn’t apply to new subscriptions…)

i am currently running 256kbps DSL on qwest lines with a second-party ISP based in vancouver, WA. and i have been for about 10 years. i was one of the first private citizens in the city on the DSL bandwagon.

.

it’s only been in the last year that i have had the option of upgrading to 1.5 Mbps for an increase of only $10/month.

.

yeah, i’m a “slowsky,” but my gaming days are over – for a little while. email, music, and photos take up the bulk of my CPU time, so i have no real need for fast-loading content.

[anonyme]

DP, I know you love to play devil’s advocate (especially apropos as related to this thread) so I won’t take your little barbs very seriously. But instead of throwing out quotations and questions just so that you can snipe at the responses, why don’t you tell us what YOU think they mean? Why don’t you interpret Voltaire for us? Share with us what you believe, and why.

[HolyKow]

And to all those that claim that we should use the bible as the basis for the law…..

hk

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and

female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of

mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you

clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in

Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price

for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in

her period of Menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how

do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates

a pleasing odour for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbours.

They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus

35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to

kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an

abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I

don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I

have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses.

Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the

hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.

19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig

makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two

different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments

made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also

tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to

all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them?

Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family

affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)