MarginOfError

And I thought I was indecisive. Wouldn't it be great, however, if we were judge based on the number of times we left the church?

I leave the church every week.

What is this, a World's Biggest Nerd convention?

I guess I'm unique. I would rather live in the past. Seriously, I think I was born 150 years to late. God had better have a good reason for making me wait til now. I would much rather have been a Rocky Mountain fur trapper.

Curse the internet! I hate doing this, but my understanding of early ship building is quite clearly flawed. Now I'll go have a good cry and plot my revenge on those who have exposed me. Can you say golden emerods?

I just want to point out that the box in that picture probably over-represents the size of the earth a few million times.

I didn't have in mind mini reactors in the cars. I had in mind using the nuclear power to recharge the batteries. A neat way for gas stations to survive, actually, would be to have large quantities of batteries, and instead of going to get your tank topped off, you go in and trade the battery of your electric car. Swap out the battery and go on your way. The gas station then recharges the battery that was there and puts it in the car of a future customer. I haven't put much thought into this, so I know they idea suffers from myriad flaws, but hey, why not kick it around?

The greatest thing about that scripture is that it says nothing of timing. We may be required to forgive all men, but we may not have it in us to do it right away. That's fine. If you can't forgive them now, then you probably are lacking either the emotional or spiritual strength to forgive. But if you set aside the problem and essentially ignore it for a while, you can work on other, smaller issues that you can improve in yourself. Eventually, as time passes and you make these other, smaller improvements, you're likely to find the emotional and spiritual strength to forgive these major trespasses. I think one of April's conference talks was in the same vein, but I'm too lazy to look it up right now.

We could also breed hamsters to run on wheels and turn turbines for power! Just think...giant hamster farms!

None of these ships would have had a chance on open water. I've often suspected that the Jaredite barges were intended to be submerged. Remember that they had to put an air hole in both the top and the bottom, implying that the barges tended to get rolled around a bit. They were pretty well abused by the waves and the wind. In those conditions, to be on the surface and taking that abuse could be hazardous to the structural integrity of the hull, and catastrophic to the life contained therein. Submerging the barges would have protected the hull and the voyagers from the jolting forces that would have been experienced in those conditions. Then again, I could be very wrong; afterall, I wasn't there.

I don't know that economically feasible is as much a question as economically rewarding. After investing all the money into developing the infrastructure, I don't think oil prices would drop as much as people like to think they would. I keep on hearing that the oil companies could cut into their record profits to make the investment, but let's be realistic--they'll pass the costs right on down to the consumers. I'm actually a big proponent of nuclear energy. It's succeeded in Europe and Canada because they built their nuclear energy system en masse. Nearly ever plant in those countries is identical, so if something breaks and a replacement part is needed, they can get it from another factory if they can't get it from the manufacturer right away. The US nuclear system was built with nearly every plant being unique in its design. Do you have any idea how much it costs to get a custom fit replacement part for a nuclear reactor? That's why nuclear energy failed in the States. If the US built an average of 2 nuclear power plants for each state, we'd have enough energy to heat our homes, run all the electricity we wanted to burn, and perhaps even power a large proportion of the vehicles on the road, all while reducing the emissions into the environment that everyone worries about. Someone said something about drilling for domestic oil would provide a lot of jobs for Americans. That's true, but a lot of those jobs will be unskilled manual labor jobs. Sure, it's better than nothing, but nuclear power would require a huge workforce of nuclear technicians that would have to be trained, ie white color jobs that can't be outsourced. Go nuclear.

The knowledge of shipbuilding wasn't very advanced at Jared's time. The Jaredites would have had enough trouble imagining a sea-worthy vessel, let alone picturing the tools necessary to build it. At that time, Astrology was still in its infancy, and Astrology is what eventually gave birth to navigation. If the Lord had shown the Jaredites how to build a ship, they would have been clueless about how to even use it. Furthermore, the Jaredites needed eight vessels, and boxes can be built much more quickly than ships. By Nephi's time, people had learned to make small boats, and Nephi would have at least had some preconceived idea of what might float. I don't know how big the air holes were. Probably big enough to dispose of waste and circulate air. I'm not sure if glass had been discovered yet, but if it had, it would have been bubbly, discolored, and weak. Since the Jaredite barges had to spend a great deal of time underwater (due to the winds used to blow them across), the glass likely wouldn't have withstood the pressures needed to get the barges underwater.

I agree, we should have been looking at the options for drilling about 20 years ago. At this point, however, it really isn't worth it. On the one hand, we don't have the infrastructure for a massive drilling program. So the oil companies would have to shell out the money to get it set up. To pay for it, they raise the price of gas. Then they have to transport the crude oil to the refineries. That means either a lot of ships and trucks or new pipelines. Both options are very expensive. Costs get passed to the consumer. So, producing domestic oil, unfrotunately, won't relieve the price at the pump much at all for at least 20 years. So, if newer technologies and better energy sources are within 20 years of feasibility, why not invest the money in creating the infrastructure for distribution of that energy source?

Ha ha ha ha...that's hilarious! On the one hand, I see the need to protect doctors who choose not to perform procedures that they have personal moral obligations to. On the other, I see the need to ensure access to health care for patients. I was really annoyed by the case in California where a doctor refused to perform an abortion, gave a reference to a doctor that would, and was then sued for discrimination. What bothers me more is that the doctor lost! So, the guidelines that Bush is proposing are supposed to help prevent that. But they do seem to be a bit over reaching. I think the regulations need to be that if a person's doctor chooses not to perform the procedure (or prescribe the medication) then he is safe from litigation as long as he refers the patient to someone who will perform or prescribe. Furthermore, if the referred doctor isn't covered by the patient's insurance, the insurance should have to pay the bill anyway. This way, patients have all the access they expect when they go to the doctor, and doctors don't have to break their ethical/religious boundaries. And the doctors are protected unless they refuse to give a reference.

why don't you all just shut your pie holes!!!! Wait, that isn't in the right spirit is it?

I'm not sure what the degree of your brother's autism is, but my first instinct is, honestly, to laugh. Talk with the Bobs and make sure they understand the situation. As long as they're aware that the autistic mind is perfectly capable of seeing a minor disturbance as a major offense, they should be able to accept that it has more to do with the condition than it does with them. In the meantime, try to keep your brother away from the pulpit.

Did you read the article?

Both frightening and amusing. New HHS Proposal News Story

I can hear the response now: "What do the stooges have to do with this?"

apparently I've misrepresented the situation. She was in bed the first two days, and walking about some by the end of the second day. The third day we snuck out of the hospital for a walk. The fourth day she was cleaning up the room. She got home and had no problem with stairs at all. She was moving about normally after a week and probably could have been cleared to drive even, but we didn't let her on principle.

I'm not disputing that. All I'm saying is that there are situations that exist where a gay couple might be preferable to a straight couple.

My wife was up and cleaning her hospital room after her c-section. I'm guess that isn't normal.

Actually, I'm all for that. Wouldn't it be nice if you had to have a license to be a parent? lol

what's wrong with this. I know several gay couples that would make better parents than a LOT of the straight couples I've met.

Well in that case, let's really open up about how men are discriminated against. Women get all the cool stuff.