UConn James

From Jeff Probst's blog: Purple is definitely in trouble now. Obviously, if they can't win challenges.... This is the point where the Big-6 alliance has to break apart as it forms sub-groups that Krista pointed out at tribal last week. They're all going to have to work it to set some things up in case they lose. Yellow pretty much knows who it's going to vote off next (Philip). The day before/of the challenge is going to be critical for purple. Those divisions can really creep into how the tribe performs for immunity --- for good or bad. The circumstances of Russell's departure did play into it; it would be foolish to say otherwise. But I also think that wasn't where purple went wrong. Nor could it have been different based on the personalities they have in that tribe. As I believe AJ wrote, the only avenue Russell has left for any future Survivor is in an All-Stars edition. His reputation is an albatross that needs to be among other people with albatrosses to have a fair shot. I'm not sure why he agreed to appear in a season with a bunch of noobs. Rob has managed to control his group so far, perhaps b/c it has a number of somewhat naive youngsters. Neverthless, I think their unspoken strategy may well be that once the merge hits and it's "every man for himself," they take out purple's remnants and then backstab Rob the first chance they get. His idol has some significance, and the fact that he's managed to keep it secret so far is very much in his favor. As soon as he hears whispers.... Probst also defends "spa day" in this post.

As Matt and Christa were reading their bible, Natalie and Ashley were THIS ][ short of breaking out into soft-core porn. Philip had a big problem with this. I say, "Shut the ---- up, Philip! Grab a water, sit back and enjoy!" Instead, it's up to Rob to explain, "They're girls!" That's kind of sexist of him (OK, at least it's less sexist than what I just wrote...). Meanwhile, Sereta was apparently dumb enough to brush her teeth with a stick. You really can't go 39 days without brushing? Grant was the man in the challenge --- showing what got him into the NFL --- while the other dude was ripping his shirt off. What the hell was with that? Stephanie was trying to finagle her way ahead of Sereta in the pecking order. It didn't work. So apparently, purple is willing to take an injured player into the next challenge. They had been playing smart right up until tonight. Now there's division in their ranks, ostensibly with the Sereta voters vs. Dave. Matt again survived on Redemption Island. Really strong player, and I'll take odds that he's going to get back in, probably at the merge. But at that point, he may well have to ally with Yellow again.

Also, I caught "Limitless" a couple of days ago. It was entertaining enough, but it got a little draggy. I don't understand why the character doesn't go to Vegas and clean up instead of borrowing cash from a Russian mobster, but then that would preclude an action plot element. Its ending was morally bankrupt. Pale-fonted for spoilerage: He faced no prosecution for possibly killing the model (says he doesn't remember b/c he was on the ZMT(?) --- yeah, that's a great excuse!), he's ostensibly on a cleaner/purer version of the drug (that makes it OK to use drugs?), and worst of all [shudder] --- he's running for the U.S. Senate!

I'm a picky eater myself, but I'd be OK with the popcorn in a bag if it were unflavored or something like kettle corn. But, yeah, the butter mixture they put on that stuff is highly suspect in a LOSTian "DHARMA Ranch Dressing doesn't need to be refrigerated" kind of way. On the relatively rare occasion I make popcorn here, it's the Boy Scout plain kernels in the hot air popper, with some melted butter (real butter from a stick like Julia Child), some black pepper and a bit of Kraft parmesan. I don't like anyone eating on the sofa, tho; that's the reason it's rare.

I'm sorry, but you can't write something like that and then not offer an explanation (or expect that one will not be demanded)!

Cara was a tough read. I wouldn't say that I didn't like her. Her personality was pretty much subsumed by Jamie's.

Democrats were against "offense is the best defense" before they were for it.

I've only caught the odd episode and the finale in the past couple of seasons....

Or, his tantrums and unawareness will cause actual bodily harm. He nearly closed a car door on Christina's legs last night. I'll agree on your first two, and then go with LaKisha and Jennifer --- they've been quiet so far (not a bad thing) and I don't recall them doing badly on any challenges. How was that with the Cowboys last night, dead-lifting the solar panel boxes at both ends, one in each hand. Very obviously, none of the other teams was acquainted with manual labor. The Globetrotters strapped 'em on their backs in a way that just invites injury, and the others had absolutely no idea how to move heavy items. Need to squat and lift the weight with your thighs! What'd Jed/Cord say --- 'Control that burn!'?

Lot of stuff went down in this ep --- too much for me to even want to try recapping. It's hard to even keep track of who was in what place last time and where they are now. Not a fan of the "you're still racing!" concept. So in the aftermath of the continuation, all hell breaks loose. Kent and Vixen went from almost hopelessly last to contending. That really sucked that they used the U-turn... but I understand it strategically. Such bad luck for Jamie and Cara to have their driver stop for gas to really screw them over for the second time to end a race. If they aren't delayed there, they don't get U'd. But it may not have made a difference given the last task. But I can understand what aj (I think it was aj) wrote at the start that Jamie loses some of her allure when you see her personality. I realize that travel and a race like this can bring out a lot of stress, but there's just the little brusk / offhand comments from her. Also come to realize just how much of her from, say, that recent NFL photo set, is artifice. That dinosaur skeleton challenge was a toughie. Those just seemed too large for one person. Greg and Mallory made exactly the right choice to use the express pass on it.

Umm... you realize that Ghadaffi/Kaddafy/Cadhaphi/Kedafe/Quadaffi/Gedaphfi (Who knows. One (or all) of these may be correct) is still in power over like 90 percent of Libya, right? And that this action is not intended to remove him? If we're intent on protecting these people in these few areas, we're going to need to be there for the rest of Ghadaffi/Kaddafy/Cadhaphi/Kedafe/Quadaffi/Gedaphfi's natural life, and his sons'.

Looking at it again, I can see the point. But he's still a sh--head. Here's an actual case of an elk poacher in the Montana section. So, he committed the crime in Montana, was tried and convicted in Wyoming federal court. The appeals judge in this case acknowledged the conundrum, and then basically told the defendant 'tough sh--.' Unless it's taken up by the Supreme Court, which is highly unlikely, the Congressional bill stands and this case serves as an established precedent of jurisdiction for all Yellowstone cases to be tried in Wyoming federal court. Even if this poaching case or a theoretical murder case were taken up by the Supremes and overturned, the solution would ostensibly be to move for a change of venue as DC Tom wrote, which most any judge will grant, and try in either a Montana or Idaho court.

Then again, I wouldn't go mocking whether seismic activity interferes with whales' innate migration sense. We've just scratched the surface on marine studies. It has been shown that earth's magnetic fields are used by many species as a guide in migration. IIRC remember NOVA showing an experiment involving a pod where scientists attached some kind of magnetic interruption devices to whales, and they went off course in a parallel shape to their normal migration pattern. There is some data that suggests earthquakes are preceded by electromagnetic anomalies. I really wouldn't dismiss it. And by some strange coincidence, 'THE-SKY-IS-FALLING!' earthquake reporting has grown by leaps and bounds as the 24/7 media has become more prolific. Huh... That's weird.

That was a comment based on previous BUSHBAD postings.

I think Tom was going for sarcasm there....

You just admitted you created redundant threads. And just because some other people do it, that makes it all right. BTW, one of the threads doesn't mention a state in the headline. This is like posting one topic as "Senator calls for stricter nuclear regulations" and then starting another as "Lieberman wants tighter nuclear regulations." And next week, it'll be "Kerry, Chambliss look to increase nuclear regulations"? It clogs up the board. But, I'm sure the mods have NOTHING better to do than merge threads for people who can't organize two similar thoughts in their dope-ravaged mind.

Until sometime down the road, this comes around to bite us in the ass when we least expect it, when Ghadaffi/Kaddafy/Cadhaphi/Kedafe/Quadaffi/Gedaphfi or one of his sons, say, orders the bombing of another airliner, or worse. This won't ever be forgotten. Whenever they can get some blowback in, they won't hesitate a second. As you know probably better than anyone here, the idea that we can be involved like this and not get our hands dirty with our drones or jets is the height of arrogance. Our defenses still aren't tight enough to catch everythng, even 10 years on. One might argue they do this anyway behind the curtain. And that was before the $36B in frozen personal assets. Unless Libya never sells another drop of oil, there'll soon be enough money to start some fresh havoc.

In Gene F. style, maybe tomorrow I'll start 50 separate threads on how much each state is in debt or in surplus (if there are any) for their upcoming budget. I'll dedicate Nevada and Delaware to you, Tom.

Well... so much for connor/Frenkle/etc.'s 'At least Obama won't drag us into war with another country!'

In the TBD Terms of Service, under the DO NOT POST section: "posting the same information/opinion in an excessively repetitive manner." So, you're just going to crap all over the board and leave the moderators to clean up after you? Nice. This place depends on us following the rules and keeping discussions grouped accordingly. There's no exemption b/c one person wants to bring more attention to a particular cause.

Further.... This professor is a sh--head.

How could the 6th Amendment be "poorly worded" according to this loophole, when it was ratified before 1791 with the Bill of Rights.... and the National Parks weren't created until the Theo. Roosevelt administration near the turn of the 20th century? It would then be a failure of the parks bill to not allow for a viable means of prosecution for crimes committed w/in the parks at the nearest feasible court. Is this prof just working off of the wording of the Constitution and extending a geographical quirk into a pretty shallowly-researched hypothetical? This would suggest so. NPS Law Enforcement or the FBI (or, this section reads, the Sec't of the Interior can appoint pretty much any enforcement division s/he chooses to) have jurisdiction in the parks, and they can cooperate with state and local enforcement. So, if crimes are investigated by federal enforcement, wouldn't they be prosecuted in federal court --- the 10th Circuit covers all of Yellowstone, even across the state borders --- since it happened on federally-administered property? I found the link above in about 30 seconds, so I'm sure there's a lot more detail on it. I would be a little surprised if something like the establishment of criminal jurisdiction isn't mentioned somewhere in the totality of the parks bill.

A despot pissing on the U.N. "strongest possible measures" language, knowing that they're weak sisters who won't ever actually do anything of consequence? Well that's never happened before.... Seriously now, can we just shut down the U.N. and turn it into low-income housing or something?

Actually, I posted this several years ago, too.... Link I believe that was meant in jest on Lombardi's part.... They don't go into the nature of the tumor, but here's hoping for a swift treatment and recovery.

Just as a board upkeep issue, Gene, are you planning on creating a separate gd thread for each and every state that decides to take this up? Why could this not have been merged into your current embryonic stem cell thread?