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Is the shutdown a means for Trump to get his wall? Or is the wall a means for Trump to keep the government shut down? The thing that I think keeps Dems up nights worrying is, what if we had a shutdown and no one noticed? The’re trying to make us think the shutdown is a bad thing; but the scariest thing they’ve come up with so far—and which the leftist media are trying to perseverate on—is the trash accumulation at some national parks. And since Trump, unlike Goon Barry, isn’t going out of his way to make the shutdown hurt average Americans; at least in Utah there are state and private entities that have been able to come into the parks and address a lot of that. Utah has announced that its federally-funded programs are good to go through most of February; and I imagine most red states are similarly prudently run and can make the same claim. It’ll be the spendthrift blue states that will feel the pain first. Meanwhile, give the shutdown another missed pay period or two, and many of the “deep state” federal employees who have been slow-walking Trump’s agenda will have no choice but to quit their jobs and take a position somewhere in the roaring economy. Trump could push this thing well into tax season with minimal additional political loss and effectively purge the ranks of the weaponized federal bureaucracy; and when the shutdown eventually ends he may well have an opportunity to be much more selective about who gets hired in their places. And even if not: @anatess2, I gotta give your boy props on this. This is the way GOP presidents are supposed to handle shutdowns.

Oh, dude. I get that. Sometimes, I have fight snacking on unhealthy things on a minute by minute basis. One thing to keep in mind, your body fluctuates weight on a daily basis--even an hourly. So, not losing 2 lbs in one day is perfectly normal. Be consistent in your behaviors and you will see the weight come off. Just be patient (I know! easier said than done!).

The real fun begins when people start missing their tax refunds, and Trump advocates a “partial government reopening” to at least send the IRS guys back to work. Do the Dems play along and let the rest of the government stay in shutdown while they keep dickering over the wall? Or do they refuse to send the IRS back to work unless every other federal employee can go back to work too? In the first scenario they lose a huge bargaining chip, but in the latter scenario the tweets practically write themselves.

I purchased a 2015 Ford F-150 a few years ago and while I was doing my test drive and review of the truck, I noticed that the car had impressive power with the new aluminum body and the EcoBoost engine. It was reasonably quiet until you pushed on the throttle and then the turbo would kick in and you could really hear it growl. When I listened to the engine with the windows open though, it sounded different. I did some research and found out that the engine sound is mostly electronic and pumped in from the speakers! The rise of fake engine noise The new trucks were significantly more efficient, powerful, and quicker than the prior models. But curiously, when they did performance testing with the customers, all the reviews were positive, except for the disappointing power. This totally dumbfounded the engineers, as they had definitive data proving that the new trucks were significantly more powerful. They realized that it might be because the engine was quieter. So they pumped in fake engine speaker noise that corresponded to the accelerator and turbo use, and the next customer testing was completely different. Everyone loved the new truck and couldn’t believe how much more powerful that they were… Since I like to hear my family and music, I asked the salesman if there was a way to turn off the fake sound. He was totally unaware that the engine noise was fake, and promised that he would investigate the issue. Couple days later - "nope, not possible to turn it off - or even modify it." He also mentioned that he had to make quite a few calls to find out the information, because no one in town had issues with or even noticed the new electronic ‘feature’. Well this got my ire up. But I really liked the power and comfort of the truck, so I went to the local car audio store and asked the salesman if he had any options to remedy the fake noise. After doing some research - the answer was no. But, he could get rid of the garbage stock audio system in the truck. He explained that Ford and most car manufactures used the lowest quality components and tweak the sound with the equalizer to create a reasonable sound environment. He showed me the options for higher quality speakers, sub-woofer, and amplifier, etc. And he had a showroom to display the difference. I was sold, with the thumping bass. He also stated that in a year or so they would come out with a in-dash kit that would allow me to make some upgrades and permanently remove the fake engine noise. I said fine, do it. When I went to pick up my truck the sound system was glorious. I turned up the volume / bass, and and the rear-view mirror began to rattle. It was awesome, until the turbo kicked in. The fake noise was even worse! It was ridiculous. So, I avoided using the turbo unless absolutely necessary, or if I was trying to impress someone with the fake noise. Eventually the in-dash kit arrived, and we were able to disable the fake noise ‘feature’ and incorporate a new a head unit. The fake noise is now gone and I love it. You can hear the real engine now, and it sounds fine to me. And, I know that it is real. Anyway, this made me consider, how much fake noise are we exposed to in our everyday lives that we don't even recognize. And I may give a Church Talk on the topic some day. So I made a list of some the fake noises that I dislike, feel free to add to it. 1) Cosmetic plastic surgery - you know what I’m talking about. It is getting totally out of control. Vaginal rejuvenation - Really??? Pectoralis implants for men? Who thinks of these things? 2) Deception in advertising - I have a B.S. in nutrition so when I see a jar of peanut butter listed as cholesterol free I go nuts. All plant foods are cholesterol free! Same thing with low fat 5 lbs tub of licorice. Weight loss products. Candy boxes at the movie theater. 100% Juice Pomegranate (fine print - 99% juice other than pomegranate) Arrgh! 3) Padding of resume or tinder / mutual account (Daughter in BYU). 4) Cheating in sports with performance enhancing drugs. 5) Creative pricing and special deal - 2 for 1 items. Every time I check out at Costco, I have to chuck out a few items because I only want a half-dozen bagels or muffins. 6) Online pictures. Perfect selfies. Photoshop. 7) Lying to get a Temple Recommend.

Seen on Facebook: ”What if Trump just fined all the people who don’t want the wall—sort of like Obama did with Obamacare?”

Why not all four?

Actually, it's pretty easy to say that. If @Scott is even close to being right about the actual cost, then $1.6B is peanuts and they'd have known it. Giving that amount is nothing. Heck, maybe $5B is peanuts too and won't be even remotely enough. (Note: I'm not conceding the $100B guesstimate is reliable. Just making a point here.) And that, my friends, is my OP. This is about politics. It's a showdown to see who gets the credibility and momentum going into 2020. The actual status of the wall is almost irrelevant.

Tip of the day! This week we made a very large pot of chunky chicken vegetable soup using vegetables that are low in calories. The resulting soup is approximately 100 calories per bowl (Bowl = ~ 1.5 Cups ~ 14oz weight). On the first day I ate 5 bowls, which was extremely filling, and I still ended the day below my calorie threshold. The one downside was that the following morning I was 4 lbs heavier, however, that is temporary until the food is fully digested. To avoid overfilling myself to get sufficient calories, I replaced 1/2 cup of rice with 1/2 cup of veggies. This way I could eat fewer bowls and get more calories in; Ironic I know!!!!! Take Away: Hearty soup is great! Get full with lots of veggies and some protein; lose weight while not being even remotely hungry!

Well, confession time. We haven't really been doing the food logs on here lately but I've still been careful. The problem is that recently, I haven't been AS careful. Had a hit of soda on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Just one on each day... but still more than 0. Went back to abstinence yesterday. Last night I had a hamburger from Burger King... but in my defense, it was the smallish one and had all the veggies on it. No fries, no soda. Other than that I was meh yesterday. Breakfast was a lunchmeat sammich, had some leftover Chinese food for lunch (fried rice and General Tso Chicken) and a chicken/rice casserole with veggies in it for dinner. The burger came later. Been drinking water and Gatorade Zero.

I'm sure you already know this, but keep in mind that one pound of body fat has 3500 calories of energy in it, so if you keep a 500 calorie deficit daily it will take seven days to lose a pound according to the math. There is more going on in the human body than just this math, but one pound a week is great progress. That's 50 lbs a year if you keep it up. This time next year you won't be upset to report that you only lost 50 lbs in 2019.

Hi @SpiritDragon, I'm gonna bow out of this for now. I need to do some major evaluation to see where I need to go with this. I'm sick again today so I need to solve these problems first. I'm enjoying reading your mini-articles on nutrients and such. Thank you for taking the time to do this with us. I am reading them and filing them away to consider in my plan when I eventually get there.

From an outsider's perspective, a government shut down seems like a reasonable-sized step towards smaller government

Why are we treating this parable as if it were a conclusive and complete explanation of final judgement?

So despite the misery in the title, I didn't *hate* Solo: An Old Western A Star Wars Story. My hate is reserved for Episode 8 and Star Trek: Into Darkness. Was it good? I mean, I dunno. Still digesting. There are two things though that I think were just not done well. And yeah, brace for spoilers. First, this movie should have been completely reworked and called: Lando: A Star Wars Story. Lando Calrissian was, without a doubt, the only likeable character in the film for me, and the only one who is at all interesting. He's not overdone, the character's backstory is added to without breaking anything, and we come away still feeling like there's a lot more to the character that we could learn and more stories to tell. He's charismatic, he's amusing, and he's possibly the only competent character in the movie because he seems to be the only character making rational decisions (when he's not sitting at the card table, anyway.) I actually felt bad for him that he lost the Millenium Falcon. Second, and this is the part that bugs me... Han Solo is a character who, when we first meet him in Episode 4, comes across like a guy who's been around the galaxy a few times and has a long and colorful history. We get hints about that history all through the original trilogy. What's the Kessel Run? How did Han and Chewie meet? What's the history between Han and Lando? Has he always been a smuggler? How did he start working for Jabba? Gee, I bet there's a lot of cool stories to tell about this guy. Nope. Just one. All of that history compressed into one single film. We learn how Han got his blaster, how he was an Imperial soldier, how he met Chewie, how he met Lando, how he acquired the Falcon, what the Kessel Run is... (Mind you, I have the exact same complaint about the prologue to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where we learn that in one single Boy Scout adventure, Indy acquired his snake phobia, his affinity for a bullwhip, his hat, and his personal style as an adventurer archaeologist. WHAT IS IT WITH YOUR CHARACTERS, HARRISON FORD???) So where else is there to go with this character? Had these latest Star Wars movies done well, what else could they have done with Solo to fill this stuff in? I guess we could have had the story of how he got on Jabba's bad side but... *sigh*. It feels like they were trying to cram it all in out of a fear that this movie wouldn't get a "sequel." Well, at least they got that right.

And Lucas gladly took the money, laughed his way to the bank and said... glad to finally get out of that hornet's nest. He's had his rounds with the fandom too even as the fandom have high respect and gratitude for the guy and continued to give him their money.

I have enjoyed and grown from the discussion as well. Good luck with your book Thanks, -Wade Englund-

Maybe I should change my pic.

Today I asked my middle child how her U.S. History class was going. She has a very young professor, and has previously told me that the class is easy. I prodded her on content. Finally, she said that the professor tries to sound objective, but clearly is not. He is antagonistic towards Christians. I asked how she came to that conclusion, and she responded that he, "Flat-out called creation stories myths." "Oh," I said. "He's actually right. 'Myth' does not mean false in history and in English literature. It means that the story cannot be proven, but is widely believe by particular faith communities." My daughter's experience relates well to your point. Who God is must be something we come to know by revelation. When the revelation lacks details, we must be convinced that subsequent explanations are vetted by the anointing and discerning of the Holy Spirit. If the academic disciplines of humanity lend some credence to our understandings, how nice. At the end of the day, though, @Traveler is spot-on. We must know and know that the faith we hold dear has come to us by divine revelation.

Yep. The going notion that I adopt, is Disney paid $500 mil for StarWars, and $3500 mil to get Lucas to agree to stay the crap away from it forever.

I've just had an epiphany... Know what all this SJW nonsense really is? It's bigotry and segregation. Yeah, I said it and I MEAN it. Every SJW is a bigot and segregationalist. Know why? Listen to the way they attack movies and TV they've decided isn't diverse enough. There needs to be more "representation." So IPs like comic books, Star Wars and Star Trek attempt to placate them by giving them what they want. It's why We have ever increasing intersectionality in media characters. It's why the new Iron Man is a black woman. The new Spider-Man is a latino. The new Thor is a woman. Everything has to be "representative." You know… separate characters... but equal! I'm old enough to remember when those things didn't matter. When we were able to connect with characters in our favorite movies and TV because they were relatable human beings, like all of us. Who cared that Superman is an alien who looks like a white man? Everybody wanted to be like him and it didn't matter that he was white. Go to a sci fi convention where people do cosplay. You'll see people of all races dressed as the Last Son of Krypton. Nobody's walking up to the black man in a Superman suit and telling him he should take it off and put on the costume of some black superhero, like Falcon, Captain America (after Falcon becomes Cap in the comics), Warmachine or Steel. This guy likes Superman so he dresses as Superman. What's the freaking problem? Well, there IS no problem unless you feel like somehow we need a separate but equal superhero for this man to identify with. So now Star Trek Discovery has to have lots of intersectional characters.... black woman, gay black man, gay white man, Chinese captain... because surely nobody in any of those demographics will watch the show unless they see someone who looks and thinks like they do. We have a word for that kind of thinking. Know what it is? It's 'segregation.' Why connect with someone who doesn't look just like you when we can convince you that you're being left out unless your mirror image is onscreen? So... as a mixed latino man, should I be clamoring for more latino characters now? Or am I stuck with Miles Morales as Spider-Man? Am I allowed to like any Star Trek characters other than Commander Chakotay? Can I like any Star Wars characters besides Poe Dameron? Or should I be crying because nobody's put a Latino on the bridge of Discovery yet? Maybe what's important is that all of these characters are human beings. And that, we can all relate to... or at least we should, except for all the toxicity that's out there telling us to feel like victims 24/7.

... the same problem Star Wars is having. The Millenials growing up and running (or is it ruining) businesses.

No, he's a KISS fan.

My father is an immigrant who entered the U.S. legally. He never became a citizen but he remained a legal resident from then on. Oddly, he also supports illegal immigration. I don't understand why. All of his arguments are weird and illogical. Chief among them was the "Well they're not hurting anybody! Mostly they're just law abiding people trying to work and gave a good life." Well, no dad. They're not law abiding. By definition they're not law abiding, since they've already ignored the law at least once because it was convenient to do so. He also argued that they pay Social Security and taxes, and it's unfair because they're not eligible to get those Social Security benefits later. (This is in cases where employers were hiring illegals without checking their background. The result was that yes, they paid into these things.) But that isn't the majority. The majority are paid under the table, especially after the law tightened down on this stuff. Pretty sure those getting paid cash under the table weren't filing taxes. As for the unfairness of paying into a system they won't benefit from? Well follow the ^%@ law. Mind you, I probably won't see benefits from all my SS payments either, so welcome to the club... and I AM a citizen of the United States. And now there are people who are calling for illegals to have voting rights... People who entered illegally. Idiocracy is here.

Aaanndd... the Episode IX boycott is on. See, this is what people like @Scott don't understand. The Star Wars fandom is what it is because THEY ARE Star Wars. The Fandom built the expanded universe. They're not just passive fans where they just wait for the next movie to come out. No. They are co-creators of the universe! Fan fiction is just as much a part of the universe as all the canon. And they get analyzed and critiqued and built upon just like they are George Lucas' movies. George Lucas was very tolerant of copyright concerns in fan fiction because it is well-known that fan fiction is not to be monetized. Fan fiction creators and critics are VERY, VERY dedicated to consistency within the universe even as they create this stuff out of their own dime without any expectation of making one cent out of it. It's like the biggest challenge of creating these stuff is to be able to work within the current universe and have your work remain consistent as the universe expands. That's their reward for their efforts - that their work stay relevant in the universe. These stories (the good ones) get passed down to the next generation too! So, it is completely annoying when you got a fandom that cares that much about the essence of the fiction making zero money out of it and then being offered a multi-million budget movie that doesn't even care about understanding what a lightsaber is or what the force is or what a jedi is that expects a multi-million dollar profit! So Darth Vader fan fiction got copyright claimed by Warner Chappell/Disney for the music (which the creator hired a composer for and an orchestra with money out of his own pocket to create a Star Wars sounding background music). That's not the issue... the issue is then Warner Chappell MONETIZED the video and now it has made $80K (That's MORE THAN SOLO!) and all the money - 100% of it - went to Warner Chappell/Disney. HOW'S THAT FOR SLAP IN THE FACE??? So... the boycott is on. So if Episode IX is an okay movie but it tanks like Solo, it would be because of a fan backlash against Disney's actions on Shards of the Past.

Here is the quote- "To put this issue in context, may I remind all of us that we live in a fallen world and for now we are a fallen people. We are in the telestial kingdom; that is spelled with a t, not a c." https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/be-ye-therefore-perfect-eventually?lang=eng And BTW, as said in scripture, one of the groups in the telestial kingdoms- 103 These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. It doesn't say they "were" but rather "are" meaning they are still that distinction. How is it that there are liars and whoremongers in heaven?

If you already can play the flute you can expect to do so tomorrow Most of Western civilization eats well in excess of their protein needs which does put them at increased risk for kidney troubles and cancer compared to groups who are getting closer to around 5-10% of their daily calories from protein. Some studies will claim that the protein puts you at no greater risk because they compare high protein diets to standard western diets that are already high in protein. So if you're eating a lot of protein, especially from animal sources you do an increased risk of trouble down the road, but it is a risk that is matched to the general population around you. You might look at it more as something that you can reduce your chances of having kidney damage and cancer by reducing your protein intake. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1262767/ - Study drawing the conclusion that high protein is of no risk for the average healthy person. This is an ongoing debate without a definitive answer. We know for a fact that reducing protein is helpful for those with kidney failure and that eating more plant based helps to prevent comorbidities that may play a causative role in the progression of kidney disease. For instance, diabetes is one of the biggest predictors of kidney damage and interestingly enough eating less animal products appears to be protective - now whether that's because of the protein, fat or other inflammatory components I don't think has been clearly established. One thing that would certainly give me pause giving any one a green light across the board to eat as much protein as they want is the finding that as much as 75% of people with kidney damage who we know would be susceptible to excess proteins are unaware they have a problem yet. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17976426 I read somewhere that an estimated 26 million people in the united states have diagnosed kidney damage, if 3 times that many have it and don't know it that's a little concerning because unless we all go get tested we don't know if we are among them. I suppose one could at the very least go ask to have kidney function tested before embarking on increased protein intake.

That would be an early (late?) Christmas gift from Democrats to the President. During Government shutdowns, Democrats make it painful to make people miss the Government and its services. Republicans take the opposite approach, because statistically their supporters are less reliant on Government services and thus, less likely to get mad. When Obama was in the White House during a shutdown, he tried to make it hurt as much as possible by shutting down everything he could, including Federally administered public parks. That Included the monuments in D.C. I remember the news footage showing a bunch of WWII vets pushing aside the barricades to visit the WWII Memorial. Wisely, nobody stopped them. (The WWII Memorial is an open air series of structures. There's no staff, no facilities, no nothing that would need to be paid for to keep it running. It was only being closed off as part of the strategy to make it hurt.

I've experienced episodes like this on-and-off throughout my life. They've always freaked me out somewhat, but it never occurred to me (until I started reading posts like this) to attribute them to "evil spirits". I dare say evil spirits do exist, but I tend to imagine them tempting people to crime, provoking anger, starting wars etc. .... not spooking out people in bed with silly tricks. But maybe that's just be the way my mind works.

Get some rest. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything. Even gathering info to use later puts you closer to your goal, whatever that ends up being.

Woe...check it out...that's me...all blue-highlighted and everything. How cool is that? In all seriousness, I've perused this string, though not word for word. As FYI, for me the biggest difference between the Trinity and LDS Godhead is that the latter allows for so much distinction between the three persons that Father and son have separate corporeal bodies. Yes Son prays to Father. Yes, out of Son's respect for Father, He declares Abba to be "greater." No, Jesus was not saying He had betrayed himself when He called out, "Father, why have your forsaken me?" The three persons are distinct, yet truly one--truly the one God. Muslims and Jews accuse us of tritheism, and reject our explanation of God's oneness. Our concern is that the LDS Godhead, with its "oneness in purpose" approach lends some justification to the Judeo-Islamic criticism. We've discussed this before, and I know there are some very scholarly and profound defenses of the LDS teaching, but just as many Evangelicals in particular (my camp) misstate the Godhead doctrine, so I sense that some LDS misapprehend the Trinity. Trinitarians do not deny that there are three distinct persons. We are not Oneness--'Jesus Only'--modalists. On the other hand, in saying that the Father is spirit, and that only Jesus has been and is corporeal, we contend that our "one God" is one in essence, despite being three distinct persons. The LDS view may be easier to understand, but to Protestant/Catholic ears, it is much harder to categorize as monotheism.

Yes, and I indirectly account for that, along with other things, in my "However" paragraph. I think the information disclosed went well beyond what Moroni explicitly included in the book. Since I don't have access to what all Adam and Enoch may have experienced, I can't rightly say. Were I to guess, though, I think it may consist of something along the lines of a pull vs push experience. By that I mean the Adam and Enoch may have required help (i.e. a "push"--in Enoch's case, it was clay to the eyes) to bring them to a level of faith needed to see into the heavens and observe spirits, if not the beginning to the end; whereas with Mahonri,, his faith automatically "pulled" the vision of the future, if not also the past and preset, into view.,. I believe that he saw, among other things, the future mortal body part (finger) of Christ. Yes, there are multiple ways in which visions occur. In short, there are layers of meaning within the Chapter to to accommodate and reconcile the seeming conflicting statements of Church leaders as well as your personal view. Thanks, -Wade Englund-

Great reference Great point - a reference number of use to some is 0.8 grams of protein per KG (2.2 lbs) is the suggested amount of protein intake for the regular population. Thus a 200 pound individual would need 200/2.2 * 0.8 = 80 grams of protein. This already includes a buffer to ensure it is enough for 97% of the population as different people have differing requirements due to biochemical individuality. The point is most people 50-60% won't even need this much, but to ensure no one is left behind the recommendations are higher. It's easy to eat in excess of 100 grams of protein without putting any thought or effort into it. This is really interesting. I have read piles on the wonders of vitamin c in treating a plethora of conditions from measles to arthritis, the cold and flu to cataract prevention, but I have not read of it having a protective effect against protein poisoning in the kidneys. I suppose it's powerful antioxidant and antipathogenic properties would make sense in providing protection to the tissues of the kidneys against damage and possibly neutralizing some of the damaging agents before they cause trouble - I just would have also wondered about the excess excretion of vitamin c also putting stress on the kidneys. Fascinating. It made me think of this video showcasing some interesting research on animal products in the diet causing kidney trouble that could be eliminated by taking anti-inflammatory medications. Perhaps the vitamin c is doing something similar to squelch inflammation and protect the kidneys. Do you have any sources I can look at on that? https://nutritionfacts.org/video/which-type-of-protein-is-better-for-our-kidneys/

I'm not a farmer but I believe that there is more than one kind of wheat. And quite possibly, in addition to seperating the wheat from the tares, some farmers might seperate their good wheat from their bad wheat and treat them in different ways, and sell them to different sellers for different purposes. ( know that at least here in Australia, we have good hard Winter wheat, and wheat that is not Winter wheat, and they are sold for different amounts and different purposes. Probably there is more than one kind of tare. These importants fact are completely overlooked in the parable. This is just one example of the dangers of relying too much on a particularly narrow interpretation.

Mostly made it. Zero fast food. Did not eat sparingly, but ate all protein and carrots. One single peppermint. Then dinner came. Ate two homemade buttermilk biscuits, because wife made them. Along with 330 cal worth of "snaps and beans", which is good healthy stuff. Those two biscuits will probably mean I don't go down a pound. But you don't say no to wifemade biscuits! Longer wait to a cheat day than I'd hoped, but didn't blow anything.

This is the real question, isn't it. I believe that, ultimately, it won't. It cannot. The test we face is not one of intellectual prowess. It is one of humility.

@unixknight, you know what would be cool, though? If Vader comes back as a Force Ghost. Not Anakin, because I think the last of the fans will implode if Hayden Christensen shows up (although I really love the guy as Anakin) but Vader. As a force ghost. Doing a man-to-man with Kylo smacking his emo bum.

That's true, and I'm confident ultimately he'll win the standoff, so the whole national emergency thing should be a moot point.

They finally do his character justice but as a force ghost and not when he was alive. Luke Skywalker. Not the greatest Jedi Master Alive but the greatest Jedi Master Dead. Ugh. And Leia... with Carrie Fisher gone, they're gonna bring her in from footage that did not make it to the main cut. Ugh. Like, oh these were not good enough to be in the movie but we'll use it now because... we need that massive Skywalker conclusion to make Episode IX money. It's just... ugh.

I have no problem with midichlorians and I love Jarjar but I'm not stupid enough to tell those that DO have a problem with midichlorians and Jarjar that they're silly to be upset.

Oh right from the beginning. So like, 5. But for different reasons than I like it now. I agree with all of that. Fair enough. I was initially reacting because it felt like you were casting aspersions onto people for whom they're more than just movies. That's true, though I'd maintain that while Star Wars has plenty of content for the kids (big spaceships, things going BOOM!) they're also for adults (sophisticated metaphors, storylines, drama). I also think George Lucas is a liar. This is the same guy who said he made his movies only for himself, then cashes massive royalty checks for all the licensed merchandise. But yeah I agree with what you mean here. You're a brave one with @anatess2 around. (But I agree)

I'm not taking sides in this string. It does seem appropriate though to share how impressed and humbled I am to be part of a group of workers who take our mission seriously, and remain dedicated, despite being caught in the middle of this.

I didn't know that. Thanks!

Good job, man. My weapon of choice when trying to avoid the snacking urge is to get lost in an activity that I tend to lose track of time with, like a video game or painting minis. Whatever y our hobby is, if it's the kind of thing that gets you "in the zone" where you don't think about the rest of the world, it can be a huge help.

I am taking thins to the extreme; I had a perfect opportunity for a cheat day on Friday (Movie theater outing with work), and I took a pass. I am going to try and reserve my first cheat day for when I am really craving it; we'll see how it goes. That said Keep it up! Alas, I have not yet been exercising as part of my weight loss this year.

I've given back 2 of my 3 cheat day gain. 2 more to go, to continue towards my goal. I'm eating well and exercising. This is not a "starve myself thin" diet. Today: Breakfast-yogurt. Lunch-chili. Snack-apple. Got 1400 cals for the day left on my plan, I'll shoot for 1000. Exercise: 30 morning pushups. Wellness center before lunch, 3 sets of different weight exercises. Focused on upper body today because I have a sore calf for some reason.

So, your daughter is seeing some rather scary things, medical professionals can't account for it and the best they can come up with is a "well, MAYBE it's this..." answer. Brother, I hope you're right that they aren't there, because I can't imagine anything harder for a child to deal with than to have actually be seeing evil spirits (which you mentioned you believe in) but nobody believes her, even her own dad.

The “Righteous” will be resurrected in the beginning. Not “Righteous Latter-day Saints”. There will be Catholics, Protestants, atheists, polygamists, Scientologist and others alive and kicking during the millennium. Even the beginning. ”only righteous people will live on the earth at the beginning of the Millennium. They will be those who have lived virtuous and honest lives. These people will inherit either the terrestrial or celestial kingdom.” (https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-45-the-millennium?lang=eng)

Welp, I’m quitting again. I hope I can make it longer than last time.

I’m going to be so happy when I quit. The problem is that cigs control you. They’re also gross and embarrassing.