declanr

I teach martial arts, and have a few recommendations. The first question is of course the training goal, it seems since your child has special needs the goal is mainly self-confidence? Not knowing what kind of special needs-I would also factor in any learning disabilities, physical/coordination impairments etc would also play into what styles. Many Tae Kwon do or karate schools have long forms to memorize which could be problematic for a SN child and frustrating, Judo is a more kinesthestic based art, and could be easier and more fun! A kids boxing class could be good, judo, or kickboxing. I would find the instructor, class, learning enviorment that is most comfortable for you child as a focus than worry about style in this case. Try a few schools out, be careful what waivers and contracts you sign, and if you have to sign a contract I would insist on a provision for removal based on the special needs of the child. good luck D

I'm a guy, and I love them. They improve my posture, and although like one poster said its like not drinking soda for a day, but those are the extra calories I wouldn't have walked on a daily basis anyway...they also helped my back, but I think partly due to fixing my posture. They do make me taller FWIW, I'm already 6 ft so I don't exactly need the boost.

FYI, the "we will never be wrong" type of blind follower-ship above was exactly the Nazi's rationale in defending themselves for perpetrating the holocaust. Disagreement should always be welcome so long as it is not an ad hominim attack. Dec

It depends on your state law, but I do know that it can be considered a "conditional gift", meaning if you marry or stay married the gift remains valid, if not it is revokable and returnable. Also to keep in mind is the normal disproportion of a wifes ring cost and the mans, normally the wifes is more expensive, do you think it really fair that each person keep their own given the disparity in value? Hope mediation went well. best Dec

Seido has an incase cover that is awesome Applications are dependent on your interests, I like the news (USA today is good), and weather chanel app. Stay away from apps with low ratings, read review before buying or downloading free apps. AFter a few years of using the iphone I switched to the Google phone (nexus one), it has almost twice the screen resolution and processing power, also it has mostly the same apps and I can run it on Tmobile at half the monthly cost!! It is coming for verizon soon....

So sorry to hear this bubbaman. I think dreams can go either way. A friend of mine is a neurophysiologist, and tells me that dreams are a way for the brain to organize and discard information and that meaning shouldn't be very relevant beyond perhaps the generic topic of what you think is relevant in your life as an issue (which obviously this is). Most times the frontal lobe is not engaged and thus dreams aren't really very determinative for decision making, etc. A good article he reffered me to is here dreams - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com, the bottom of the page has many good references. An unfaithful wife that won't address her alcoholism is a serious problem, and I don't think it is unreasonable for you to want a divorce, certainly your kids might be better off being raised in a happier single parent home than in that situation. If you could forgive the infidelity and get her help perhaps it is salvageable, but that is a tall order, and a very personal and fact specific decision. Either way, I wish you the best and hope you and your children end up happy and healthy regardless of the means. DEc

Arrogance seems to be the point in which you cross the line from confident, to obnoxious, narcissistic and over-confident. I was in a band once, and I understand the situation, it seems every band and some point has a guy like that. Tamiele pointed out a big problem with many people who may not normally be arrogant, or over-confident. But they have made up their mind that the way they are living their life be it by being a good LDS member, or whatever, is the best and only way to live, then they look down on others who do not. This is piety, or religious arrogance, and I think its one of the worst forms of arrogance. There are around a Billion Muslims in the world who "know" Mohammad is the prophet and Islam is the one true religion, I think at the point a person can say "I know", instead of "I have faith that...", or "I believe that..." X is true, they have reached the point of religious arrogance. The same goes for Christians, Jews, etc. Oh, and happy easter! Dec

Exactly. It is very ironic and hypocritical. Personally the more research I do, the more I feel that there could be a God (I hope so), but that no one religion owns the truth, or has the elite "gospel" or doctrine. Statistically religion is a function of geography. Where you are born most likely determines what you define and believe in as "truth". This should say much to any intelligent person, and should signal their need to evaluate things more objectively and less blindly, unfortunately, many people are not capable or intelligent enough for this type of circumspection. Dec

And Islam rules you out because of that fact. This is my point....

I am not a member, just an investigator FYI. But I have seen a simliar situation with my best friend, his wife decided to become "re-born" all of the sudden, and it put his family through some turmoil, he is now divorced, and his young son pays the biggest price. She insisted he go to church with her, he refused, she would pray for him, see her church leaders about him, try to get other members over to "be friend" him. All of this had a very negative effect on him, he felt extremely disrespected as a person, and felt that his wife was no longer the person he married. They went to counseling, but ultimately it had to end, I think a larger issue besides her attempted conversion attempts were about how to raise the son. He wanted the son to get a more rounded education, and not pigeon hole him into a faith as a child. I dont know if that helps you in any way, just my observations. I think communication is key, and I would avoid trying to bring her to your bishop for advice, go to a neutral source for counseling, so she does not feel ganged up on and work it out. Good Luck Dec

So basically you are saying any research is poor if one does not "seek the godhead" ..pray, etc.? This brings me back to my earlier point, millions of people DO seek god, just not the christian god, and have just as strong a faith, and they still have the same evidential problems. Fable stories of evolution? Are you aware that the debate among scientists is over concerning evolution? There are millions of pieces of corroborating evidence for evolution, not one against, yet you are quick to call it a fable when you believe a book thrown together from many 300+ years after events happened, by anonymous authors, translated and edited multiple times? It is incredible to me that your powers of reason are so lacking and bias toward your blind faith. This is poor reasoning, and demonstrates no evidence at all, it appears from reading history Josephs character and reliability are somewhat questionable. You are making a great assumption in claiming the Joseph saw or heard anything, again, no evidence. What about all the other prophets in the all the other religions who claim visions? I understand what you are telling me, and I have read the bible, part of the book of Mormon, and numerous other religious texts. Why do you not subscribe to the five pillars of Islam? Have you read and prayed about them sincerely? Have you prayed 5 times a day and lived by the laws of Islam to find out for yourself? I can go on and on just as you did but for pages and pages of other examples asking you to do the same method of "research" for all of the other religions. Is there more objective evidence for the bible and the book of mormon being true than for the Torah, the Quran, the Vedic Scriptures, The Tao Te Ching? Thanks for the reply, Dec

Excellent, thanks again. Dec

I would think it would be possible, but it would take work, I found this link, I can't vouch for it, but it would be worth a try! How to Raise Your Child's IQ, Guaranteed Oh, and here is an article on WebMD with good info: Can You Boost Your Child?s IQ?

I do not believe in the death penalty, it is much simpler for me than a morality v. society question, as humans we are of course subject to error, the DP is irreversible error. Also in this Country I believe it is more costly to execute somebody that to simply incarcerate them for life.

This poster really drives home the principle behind why I am searching in the way that I am. in the same sentence this person said their faith is blind, but then said they "know without a shadow of a doubt." This is extremely contradictory, and insulting to the human intellect. What this quote really means, is candyprpl believes because of faith. That is fine, but lets call it what it is. The presence of an idea or belief in your consciousness does not constitute knowledge, a person can have false ideas and false beliefs. If one is to acquire knowledge, one must have a method of distinguishing truth from falsity. As I have said before simply reading a book, praying, and getting a personal subjective feeling/validation about those thoughts has led billions of people to other faiths, how is their faith less valid? If you say its not, then by this standard, no faith has more or less truth than any other, and it doesn't matter to God if you are LDS, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, etc. This is why I ask these questions, and bother to do actual research. Dec