lookin

Thanks. I also figured out a couple of tweaks in my browser (Safari) that made the wide black borders much less intrusive. Still black, of course, but much less funereal. Should have realized, but didn't at first, that a major overhaul like the one you folks have done might require some changes in my browser settings. Still trying to figure out what I can do to keep my browser toolbar from disappearing when I open profile windows. I can add it back manually, but need to do it every time I open a profile window. Other windows retain the toolbar, but profile windows don't. The toolbar is especially convenient in the profile windows as it lets me easily zoom the rather tiny default text. Since you asked, the "Total Members" statistics to the right of the Boy Toy logo may be in search of a better layout/placement. They look fine when I have text set to a small font, but they extend past the bottom of the banner into never-never land when I use a larger font. Perhaps they could be placed in a horizontal box of their own, or moved to the bottom of the screen where they won't muck up the primary site banner. As if you had to ask this crowd for guidance!

Hate to carp, but the new color scheme might turn me taphephobic. Stylish, no doubt, but the heavy black borders all round make me feel like I'm gazing skyward from a grave. Maybe after Halloween, we could get back to something more cheerful? ( Fully prepared to learn, however, that my druthers don't reflect the site's new direction. )

Owing to a translation glitch, the New MER makes an unexpected debut. AdamSmith upgrades to Gold.

With a site shutdown hanging over our heads, who can sleep?

Had a similar conversation last week with some friends, one of whom felt there was something going on with Obama that we don't know about yet: perhaps some bad personal news prior to the debate. All conjecture, of course, but he did seem to miss some easy opportunities to refute Romney's 'obfuscations'. My own response was that, whatever the outcome, I'm not looking for Obama to stop being Obama and try to out-Romney Romney. While the pendulum does need to swing more toward calling Romney out clearly, I would not be happy to see Obama turn into a Romney-like performer who lacks honesty, decency, and a moral compass, all in the interest of 'winning' a debate. I think he's better than that and so are we.

I believe it's possible for a businessman to select the products and industries he will help build. My own experiences include brand development and, in the nineties, we knew enough about the health implications of smoking that I would not have used any of my own modest abilities to help hook tobacco users. It's not impossible to choose where to put one's efforts, even if one has to sometimes make a personal choice between earning a bit more money and causing harm to others. It's possible, as you say, that Romney could have separated his business decisions from his moral convictions. But he didn't. In the article ihpguy cited, Romney has put himself forward as a morally upstanding businessman by linking himself with children shopping for school supplies: "The back-to-school season is here, and as parents take their children to shop for school supplies, I suspect that many of them will be visiting a Staples store," Romney wrote in an Aug. 23 Wall Street Journal op-ed. "I'm very familiar with those stores because Staples is one of many businesses we helped create and expand at Bain Capital, a firm that my colleagues and I built." Is it not fair then to tell another side of his story?

As TY and others have said, and with the caveats mentioned, it does seem likely we'll have an Obama Presidency and the continuation of a Democratic Senate. A couple of weeks ago, Obama was asked on 60 Minutes what would be different in a second term with the same Congressional lineup we have today. He responded that the Republicans would no longer have their number one goal of seeing him defeated for a second term and his hope was that, without that priority, they would turn their efforts to something more productive. But he didn't seem to say it with much conviction, and I couldn't blame him. I'd also love to see the momentum build for a Democratic House and hope that more campaign money will find its way into those races. But, even then, in the absence of an unlikely Democratic supermajority in both Houses, there's nothing to guarantee that Republican obstructionism won't continue for the foreseeable future. I do find myself wondering why Obama himself seems to be doing nearly all of the heavy lifting in terms of calling out the Republicans on their destructive behavior and I wish the Democratic members of Congress would take on a much larger responsibility for that necessary action. I'm stumped as to why they seem so reticent to do so, and rather ineffective when they try. So the only thing I can think of, in order to get more accomplished in Obama's second term, is for him to take the discussion directly to the American people. In my opinion, it's silly to think that four years of bad economic data and a terrorist attack a decade ago should undo a set of values that the country has spent a couple centuries crafting and two world wars defending. I think the majority of clear thinking folks understand this now, and there's no reason that the rest of us should fail to understand this eventually. It just takes a few leaders who are capable of articulating the facts clearly. Obama has exceptional skills as a communicator, and positioning the fundamental strengths of long-held American values against the temporarily mean-spirited and selfish values of a minority-of-a-minority party should be child's play for him. I hope he'll take it on.

Intelligence effort named citizens, not terrorists WASHINGTON (AP) - A multibillion-dollar information-sharing program created in the aftermath of 9/11 has improperly collected information about innocent Americans and produced little valuable intelligence on terrorism, a Senate report concludes. It portrays an effort that ballooned far beyond anyone's ability to control. What began as an attempt to put local, state and federal officials in the same room analyzing the same intelligence has instead cost huge amounts of money for data-mining software, flat screen televisions and, in Arizona, two fully equipped Chevrolet Tahoes that are used for commuting, investigators found. . . . Congress is unlikely to pull the plug. That's because, whether or not it stops terrorists, the program means politically important money for state and local governments. . . . "The subcommittee investigation could identify no reporting which uncovered a terrorist threat, nor could it identify a contribution such fusion center reporting made to disrupt an active terrorist plot," the report said. When fusion centers did address terrorism, they sometimes did so in ways that infringed on civil liberties. The centers have made headlines for circulating information about Ron Paul supporters, the ACLU, activists on both sides of the abortion debate, war protesters and advocates of gun rights. One fusion center cited in the Senate investigation wrote a report about a Muslim community group's list of book recommendations. Others discussed American citizens speaking at mosques or talking to Muslim groups about parenting. No evidence of criminal activity was contained in those reports. The government did not circulate them, but it kept them on government computers. The federal government is prohibited from storing information about First Amendment activities not related to crimes. . . . following the release of the report, Homeland Security officials indicated their continued strong support for the program. Quelle surprise! I can't imagine who in our own government will actually have the courage to step up and defend our civil liberties. Certainly no one has done so yet. I wonder if it will take someone from across the pond to remind us that we still have civil rights on the books in this country.

I think different credit unions have different rules for signing up. I found one open to residents and businesses in the area where I live. My plan was to join as soon as my current bank, Wells Fargo, followed Bank of America in adding a five dollar debit card fee last year. Since both banks backed down, I've stayed put. But I'm ready to make the move the instant Wells Fargo tries any more funny business.

I'm sure I'd have gone on looks too. So how could you tell he was bored? Did he yawn a lot? Or keep looking at his watch?

Thanks! I'll be singing it in the shower.

Indeed it was and inspired an image that tickles me still. I hope it will tickle Lucky.

Wouldn't mind getting hold of a Shoney's Big Boy Toy.

As if that's gonna stop us.

While the OP's post focused more on the friends and families of addicts, this Time article focuses more on the process of addiction itself. Not too surprisingly, the brain plays a major part in both the process of becoming addicted and perhaps one day in the process of managing the addiction. Also not too surprisingly, there seem to be as many subtleties in addictions themselves as there are subtleties in the brains of different folks and in the substances and behaviors to which they become addicted. And, once again, black or white thinking is not likely to capture the full range of behaviors that may, or may not, define an addiction. "Addictions," says Joseph Frascella, director of the division of clinical neuroscience at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), "are repetitive behaviors in the face of negative consequences, the desire to continue something you know is bad for you." One can easily find a range in the individual meanings of "repetitive behaviors", "negative consequences", "desire", and "bad for you". And there's certainly a range in the workings of the individual parts of the brain responsible for forming an addiction, as well as in the various substances and behaviors that can lead to an addiction. So it's no surprise, to me anyway, that many of us can see ourselves as addicts when the lower boundaries of the ranges are applied and that few of us may see ourselves as addicts when the upper boundaries of the ranges are applied. What was a surprise, again possibly only to me, was the level of understanding that was in place, even five years ago when the article was written, about the way the various parts of the brain interact and change in the development of an addiction and the possibility that some, though not all, of these interactions and changes may be one day be reversed. If I had known a half-century ago how strong a hold nicotine would have on me, I'd never have started smoking in the first place. Same with caffeine. But I didn't. So I began using both, and went through near-torture to finally quit. And, had I known many years ago how strong a hold an anonymous message board would have on me, I wonder if I'd have started posting in the first place. Oh, probably. I'm sure I can give it up any time I like.

I'll say! Also in the cast: Rob Lowe, Debbie Reynolds, Dan Aykroyd, Scott Bakula and Cheyenne Jackson.

I think one of the possible fallouts of a non-specific post about personal frailties is that some of us with personal frailties may come to believe that the post is directed at us. As I myself have a rather broad and deep portfolio of personal frailties, I find I'm continually muttering "Who, me?" Perhaps we could get a smiley for such occasions.

The jewels are hidden in a man's trousers. He is waiting in the lap-dance area. - I. K.

I think both candidates are hewing to a strategy of under-promise and over-deliver. Makes sense to me. Here's an interesting article from The Daily Beast that focuses on the "big lines" that clinched previous presidential and vice-presidential debates, lines like "There you go again." (Ronald Reagan to Jimmy Carter) and "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." (Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle). The article suggests that there's more to these debates than just the talking points; there's the strategy of goading your opponent into handing you a "gotcha" line. I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that Obama will scorch Romney, three out of three. Obama's a deep thinker and he's got a good head on his shoulders. I have no doubt that Romney will hew to a few well-worn factoids that will resonate with his base, but I doubt he'll have the depth of reason behind him that Obama has. And since the debates will likely have the most impact on the undecideds who, I believe, are more likely to be thoughtful voters looking for additional insights, I think Obama will put more points on the board.

As long as you remember to keep your hands off your hips, you should be OK.

It was the first time I could put together a bunch of songs that I wanted to hear, recording just the ones I wanted and in just the order I wanted. Probably still have an old party mix laying around somewhere.

Sez you!

I think you've nailed it MsGuy. Lest we forget, Tom of Finland was head of the Art Department at McCann-Erickson's Helsinki office for more than a decade. I'll bet he could have moved a few towels for the good folks at Cannon.

Actually, SIRI turns me off, so I just returned the favor. I realize I'm the only person in this whole wide world who still gets creeped out by everything I say and do ending up on Apple's servers till the end of time, but there you have it. Funny thing is, among my friends, and most acquaintances, I'm probably the most forthcoming person you'll ever meet. Ask me anything and, unless you're the love child of J. Edgar Hoover and Yenta Telebenta, I'll share all you ask and more. But that's only if I know with whom I'm confiding. Until I learn a lot more about what's likely to become of my personal information in these days of unfettered and persistent data storage, I prefer to be a bit less forthcoming.