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So a New Jersey Middle School Principal has called for parents to ban their kids from internet social networking sites such as Facebook and Formspring, citing:



"The main problem, he wrote, is that tweens do not have the resilience to withstand internet name-calling.



"They are simply not psychologically ready for the damage that one mean person online can cause," he said."



Ok, granted that may be, but instead of the more common head-in-the-sand response of BANNING something... why don't our educators... try... oh... I don't know... EDUCATING KIDS?



"What? Teen Pregnancy? Push abstanence and make laws to stop them from haivng sex!"



"What? Internet Bullying? Ban the internet!"



Meanwhile an elementary school kid brings a tiny, lego gun to school and gets suspended because of their no-tolerance (and no-brains) policy.



Have we considered the approach of treating our tweens and teens like adults, expecting them to be adults and holding them to some adult consequences when they don't act this way?



Joey is calling Jenny a slut on Facebook? Joey is bullying Timmy and punched him in the hallway? How about putting Joey up on some slander and assualt charges and giving him 200 hours of cleaning trash up off the road side with some other convicts so he can get a glimpse at his future?



Then he can Twitter about his new friends he made that he might get to see in 10 to 15 years when they finally get out.



How about holding Joey's parents/guardians to the same? Isn't it their job to monitor what Joey is doing on the computer as well?



Society isn't going to run itself. We can't ban every new thing that comes along because someone may use it for evil instead of good.



Teach responsibility and life skills in school - this will help kids more than memorizing facts just to past a standardized test.

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dabbler
19:03 Apr 30 2010

Ban Baseball because of Base Ball Bats, Ban Woodshop, and Home Ec, because of Hammers, and Knives.



Radical Reactionaries can't stand them.



I was bullied at school, physically, vertual bullying..



some how that just seems far overrated.

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DireConsequences
19:21 Apr 30 2010

Ha! There's name calling in their halls! Why not do something about that first!



My high school used blocks for all social networking sites before it became a real issue. *nods* It was a precautionary measure.



And my freshman social studies teacher dated a student who was a senior and got suspended for it. She was eighteen years old! Her parents knew, met him, and approved!



He was an awesome teacher and actually cared about his students. He was more of a mentor than anything. He helped out two students who were being abused, but nevermind that, he was dating a student he NEVER taught and NEVER had sexual interaction with other than kissing and that's it. They only met in public places or with her parents there.



But the teacher who was in the music department didn't get suspended when it was uncovered he was embezzling money from our fund raisers and money to get us new equipment!



How was that supposed to teach us to be decent, respecting, honest, and functional adults? Heck, it definitely taught us some about "business" and social ethnics.



Most educators like to place the blame where it doesn't even belong. Instead of looking at the situation from a reality standpoint, they would rather look at it from a socially accepted standpoint even if it's illogical or completely wrong.

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Smile
21:44 Apr 30 2010

Amen.

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temptation101
05:42 May 01 2010

I agree with you!!



I thought we send our children to school to be educated about the world? I guess I was wrong.

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POST COMMENT

...I drank a very good beer. A very good beer I purchased with a fake ID... my name was Brian McGee... when I...er.. *ahem* that wasn't what I wanted to say... sorry.



I was considering how some people here are having "run ins" with admins... when I first joined the site I had my own. Mainly with Stabb. Funny thing is, once I got to know him I discovered he really is a good guy and there was a reason for the actions he took here. He wasn't out to get anyone - of course there were those he butted heads with - but mainly he got a bad rap from others for... well... doing the job he was asked to do here.



Before you cast judgement on someone doing their job, think about what they have to do. Try and see it from their persepctive.



An example I always use with my kids... the Empire in Star Wars. Ok, it's fictional... but when they say "The Stormtroopers are the bad guys," or, "Rebels are the good guys," I ask them to see it from the different perspectives.



Imperials are simply doing a job - they're not evil, they're just fighting for the political side they believe in - the side that they are convinced is right. Same as the rebels - they're on the other side of that coin and in reality, the Imperials see them as much as being the bad guys as the Rebels see the Empire as being the bad guys.



We're just given the story from one perspective and that is the Rebels are the protagonists... fighting for truth, justice, freedom and the Nobooian way... or, something like that...



...ok, I'm rambling badly... but, do you get the point?

COMMENTS

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Morrigon
16:27 Apr 28 2010

I think you're exactly right and that's what being open minded is about. (at least to me) Once you distill it down to bad guys and good guys, you're putting the blinders on yourself.



It makes it harder, opening your eyes and seeing the other side. I think that's why I sometimes wish we would get attacked by aliens and all have to come together to defend our world.



Ahem.

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Fatality
17:56 Apr 28 2010

Admins have to do their jobs. People just get mad because they are put in their place.

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Bones
18:08 Apr 28 2010

Morri is right. There are no good guys or bad guys from our perspective. People make mistakes and in most cases when they've been corrected, things improve and become easier for both parties. Yes, there are times when members are unreasonable with their expectations of the site and it's staff, but that also serves a purpose in many ways (again, two different sides). I'll stop before I start rambling.

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Sinora
18:10 Apr 28 2010

The people who really need to, rarely if ever get the point, but the point is always worth making.

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Vampirewitch39
19:09 Apr 28 2010

I like to just agree to disagree and move on in life. :) Not that the person is wrong, they just see it in a different way then I do.

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birra
20:06 Apr 28 2010

DAMMIT! BONES AND VW, STOP PICKING ON ME!



The admins are out to get me!

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Nedra
22:48 Apr 28 2010

I would just like to say that I am DAM impressed that you worked in Star Wars to teach your kids about perspective.

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Joli
20:32 May 01 2010

What a great entry!

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POST COMMENT

Grrrr.



Just. Fucking Grrrr.

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Bones
04:01 Apr 27 2010

Sounds like a day for Scotch.

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Smile
04:18 Apr 27 2010

Woof woof.

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faeriemoon
06:10 Apr 27 2010

Sooo, should we leave you alone for a couple of days before we expect to have our "normal" Birra back?

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RedQueen
23:08 Apr 27 2010

Again- What I saw was a great time who just ran out of steam before they could get over that last hurdle. I wish they had gotten their second wind in time- but maybe next year?

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thanatoswhisper
02:13 Apr 28 2010

There is a disturbance in the force!!

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POST COMMENT

...sunny all week. Rain on Sunday.



Not only ironic, but friggin' annoying.



I guess the lawn will wait.

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sahahria
15:09 Apr 25 2010

Wooo but the coffee is made

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Morrigon
16:17 Apr 25 2010

It's a sign to slow down and stop trying to work so much.



The lawn can wait. For a sunny warm day. So I can throw a bucket of water on you again when you least expect it.



loooove youuuuu

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Smile
21:18 Apr 25 2010

Rain rain go away, come back some other day.

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Bones
00:42 Apr 26 2010

It shouldn't be too difficult to get a fire permit and just burn it! Okay, I'm joking. ;)

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POST COMMENT

On the powerplay, setting up a 3-on-2, your trailers are out skating you... why would you try and pass across to them?



Hasn't this been coached? Leads go to the net - trailer put the puck on net. If you're puck ahead of the trailers, THEN you try to set one of them up in the slot.



For pucksake...

...do you realize in thumbnail view it looks like your monkey's balls are showing...



...just saying.

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ThothLestat
14:50 Apr 21 2010

m-m-monkey?

*shudder*

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POST COMMENT

You know, honestly, somehow I don't see this as being a problem.

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Morrigon
14:36 Apr 21 2010

Your momma was standing for me all last night.

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birra
14:37 Apr 21 2010

What street corner? I think you need to do more market research - she needs the money.

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Morrigon
14:38 Apr 21 2010

Oh snap!

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POST COMMENT

...I used to be able to function on just a few hours of sleep over the course of several days...



...what happened to that?

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Smile
17:01 Apr 15 2010

You're getting older.. *hides*

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Sinora
18:08 Apr 15 2010

I used to be able to do that too....:)

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RedQueen
21:26 Apr 15 2010

I used to go to college, work all night, and then party after work.



Obviously that was a REALLY Long time ago...lol

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PandorasBx
23:56 Apr 15 2010

Uhmmmmm, dare I say it... :P Join the club, the "getting older" club or something like that.

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Bones
02:10 Apr 16 2010

Too much sex? ;P

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RedQueen
09:41 Apr 16 2010

somehow I doubt not ENOUGH is the problem...lol

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POST COMMENT

...because you know, they might be wearing duck lips, but they still have a beaver tail back there.



Just saying.

You would think a light switch, even one on a 3-way circuit or multiple control circuit would follow binary principles. 0 is off. 1 is on. That would be the assumption.



Right?



Case study: The ceiling fan/light in my kitchen.



As with most normal ceiling fans, such as the ones I have hung elsewhere in my house, the fan unit is controlled by a main power switch - a standard light switch at the wall. 1 is on. 0 is off. In the on position, two pull chains at the fixture control the light and the fan. For the light, 1 is on and 0 is off. For the fan, 1 is on (ignoring toggles for varying speed control) and 0 is off.



Simple, right?



Now, let's take a look at the ceiling fan in my kitchen, which came with the house when I bought it.



It is controlled by a wall switch, 1 is on, 0 is off. The speed control for the fan is actually a rotary dial on the side of the fan housing, and the on/off toggle is controlled by pull chains - one for the light, one for the fan.



Here is where we go into an area that would have Nikola Tesla scratching his head.



Wall switch set to on - pull the light chain, the light turns on. Pull the fan chain, the fan turns on.



If you want to turn the fan off, you then should pull the fan chain, right?



Wrong - pull the fan chain and the light turns off. So to turn the light back on, pull the light chain, right? No... pull the light chain and the fan turns off. Well, then to turn the fan back on you pull the fan chain? No... pulling the fan chain turns the light back on.



Now, if the fan wasn't on to begin with, the light chain simply turns the light on and off. If the light isn't on, the fan chain turns the fan on and off. But once both are on at the same time, all bets are... well... off. You actually have to pull the chains in an alternating sequence to get the lights and/or the fan to turn off and on again.



One of these day I am going to disassemble this thing and study it. Honestly, I can't even begin to imagine how it was wired.



Considering the fan in the bar room fell to the floor a few months after moving in, I'm guessing it was the same installer...

COMMENTS

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RedQueen
22:33 Apr 13 2010

okay, oooowwwwwww.....brain cramp...lol

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MissSacha
15:10 Apr 28 2010

Hmm. My best guess is enclosed in-line circuit. And ya better change that out and soon. No need for an electrical fire. Probably wasn't even a electrician who installed it but the previous owners.

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birra
15:36 Apr 28 2010

Yep, definitely not a professional install. If the fan is on high and I use the oven, the heat covection makes the fan wobble enough to cause it to bang and clank.



Morri always gets nervous that it's going to fall on me when I'm cooking. Heh.

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POST COMMENT

...sometimes self-reflection shouldn't just be aimed at yourself. Sometimes you need to reflect on the person you're with and what they bring to your life.



I've always been of the opinion that the person you are with should add value to your life - no, not just share the household jobs, but make you feel better about who you are, even if you don't need the boost. Someone who will help you live for your dreams and play out your fantasies. Someone who will share in your triumphs and comfort you in your failures. Someone who can, in some way, show you every day that you're appreciated, respected and loved by them.



And obviously, you should be offering the same.



As you look upon your life, give that some serious thought. Does the person you're with really add to your life?



I know it sucks to be alone, but it sucks even worse to be with someone and feel alone... or hurt... or diminished all the time.



Just saying.

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RedQueen
00:58 Apr 13 2010

Amanda Jones: I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons then alone for the right.



from" Some Kind of Wnderful 1987.



And I agree- and you just know when it goes both ways comfortably. I hope that you are as happy with yours as I am with mine, sugar....somehow I got a good feeling you have it, in spades.

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Haiku
01:00 Apr 13 2010

Great insight.

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RedQueen
02:39 Apr 13 2010

Forgive me for putting in the backwards quote- that was her answer, but it definitely not ours...

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POST COMMENT

...I'm so glad VR provides the invaluable public service of bringing together the hopelessly insecure with the unreasonably controlling into a dyad of blissful harmony....



....just saying.

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Morrigon
16:10 Apr 09 2010

Who let you out of the basement?!?

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BLOODLIFE
17:35 Apr 09 2010

You noticed that too huh?!! No taking advantage of 'em.

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Isis101
19:36 Apr 09 2010

Hee hee...let the games begin!

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RedQueen
21:35 Apr 09 2010

begin again, and again, and again....lol

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AlexandraAshes
22:59 Apr 09 2010

I thought they were the same person.



*chuckles*

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Nedra
00:34 Apr 10 2010

HA!

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CarnelianMyst
02:02 Apr 10 2010

Fifty bonus points for working "dyad" into a journal entry.

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POST COMMENT

...I always see "LadyDemetra" as "LadyDementia"...

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Morrigon
22:44 Apr 05 2010

Not a bad name...

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Haiku
22:45 Apr 05 2010

Being demented is fun..

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Anachronism
23:24 Apr 05 2010

Funny, I always see Birra as Beer. :P

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Morrigon
16:09 Apr 09 2010

Go to Olive Garden, they have Birra on the menu :D

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POST COMMENT

...well, it's not really summer, yet. But when the temps hit 80F in Buffalo two days into April, the windows get opened and the clothing gets shed.



But as with everything, there is a different side to that. A negative side.



Like when I'm in my office with the windows open and can't hear the person I'm speaking to on the phone because a motorcycle goes by and the sound of it obliterates any other sound waves within a mile radius of its location...



Don't get me wrong, I'm all for going 2-wheeled and a Harley that is tuned well sounds great.



But this... is just unnecessary noise.

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Morrigon
21:39 Apr 02 2010

I still have a chip on my shoulder that me and my old noisy car got pulled over for that very reason and I see so many loud as hell 'cycles breeze past cops who don't do a damn thing.



Noise is noise. If mine is too loud, so is theirs.

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birra
00:08 Apr 03 2010

I totally agree. A noise ordinance should apply to everything.



Mufflers are made for these things... they come from the factory with decent ones on them. The owners make them that loud on purpose.



It should be cited as such.

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POST COMMENT

Negative.



It just impacted on the surface.