What Made You Smile/Laugh Today?

JMohegan said:

Do the Bachmanite families send their kids to private schools? At least they're ideologically consistent.

As for Allen, what I'd love to see are the high school's computer and science facilities.

My personal opinion on government spending, and control of the means of whatever, is that the government should step in when private investors can not do the job efficiently or effectively, and when the best interests of the general public would be at odds with the best interests of the investors themselves. A lavish stadium falls into neither of those categories, in my view, so I would have voted NO on that referendum.

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Allen HS offers the International Baccalaureate program as well as Advanced Placement classes. I feel safe saying that AISD puts a bit of effort into academics. their graduating class this year will be 1,151 students.

I only took a few minutes to browse the school & district websites, and couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, but for comparison, my children are in a little community about an hour away, with a graduating class of 369.

My children's district is building a new state of the art 3 story high school facility... several years AFTER building the [college size] football stadium; the remainder of the athletic program buildings/fields/training rooms/etc were the first priority in building the new high school (the athletics wing is already completed and being used). They will have state of the art science labs (their dad teaches physics and chemistry for the HS), each student will have their own laptops checked out via the school library, and they already have an excellent Advanced Placement class structure in place.

The football stadium is FULL every freaking Friday. It's the town's entertainment, and the community pays $ every Friday night to watch those boys do the football thing and the girls do the drill team thing.

It's surreal, it's (IMO) weird, but it's Texas. I mean we're talking about a world where people *cried* when they imploded the old Texas Stadium last week, and tried to sneak away pieces of broken cement as mementos.

graceanne said:

*pbth*

Def Leppard is seriously awesome.

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I weep for your children!

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subish2009 said:

Hey, now! "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is my stripper song. Don't be dissing it unless you want to suggest an alternative.

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There is an entire universe of musical possibilities that vastly eclipse that song. If you are honestly interested, I will put together a list of suggestions. PM me if you want me to.

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MisterSir said:

Point: If, by some depraved vagary of chance I'm ever forced into stripping (and for some reason, I can't use insane Teutonic metal), then it'll have to be this, both because I like it and it comes from an album entitled "American Made Music To Strip To".

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This would actually be on my list as well, and for similar reasons.

Hey hey hey HEY now. Read that carefully, I was NOT defending Def Leppard. I will defend Lady Gaga, La Roux and Rush to the ends of the Earth because in order they make catchy music, make catchy music and have a fit singer, and are the greatest band to walk this planet and I will throw sticks at those who disparage the genre, but Def Leppard suck - Rick Allen, however, does not.

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I am relived. Thank you.

Seriously though, given the Lady Gag-a thing, your musical taste is rather questionable. It is entirely possible for you to like the drek that Def Leppard produced to the tune of squealing, orgasming tween girls.

For those unaware, Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident when he was 21, and eventually had a number of things designed so that he could continue to play. The guy plays everything a normal drummer would use his left hand for with his left leg, and so his left foot controls (among others) the snare. It's hard enough to develop independence with your right foot without also having to do the same thing with the left foot but, if you haven't played the drums before, you probably won't grasp how phenomenally difficult a task it must have been to get to this level. I don't like the music, but for that, I have incredible respect for the man.

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Well, I won't call him a great drummer, but I do agree that his continued artisanship is dead impressive. That is dedication and persistent right there.

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graceanne said:

Not to take away from the interesting politics conversation, but

K'S HOME!

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Incredibly good news!! So happy for you, Graceanne

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Netzach said:

It was like the "not enough pencils" horror stories you hear about ghetto schools

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Having spent part of yesterday buying albout 600 pencils for MIS class, I see this in action regularly. Every copier in the school is broken and the other teachers come into her room to use her printer because it's the working one.

And the school? Situated in a fairly nice area of town, but the kids are bussed in. Whee.

(And, for informational purposes, she uses golf pencils. They're cheap, pre-sharpened, 7yr old hands fit golf pencils just fine, and the first thing her hood-rats do with any pencil is rip out the eraser for throwabale ammunition anyway.)

I am very happy...

... that MisterSir has a squeeze, finally! Well done, you.

...the Cutie mouse seems to have found her soul mate. Whoever this guys is, I hope he knows how lucky he is.

...that Gracie has her husband back. Very, very happy about this.

...that Etoile is going to Japan! So awesome!

...that Cattypuss got her man and continues to lose weight on her program. Double tap!

...that Hommy is setting new PR's with his lifting. Way to go, amigo!

...that I am alive and surrounded by so many interesting people, both here and in real life.

MisterSir said:

Point: If, by some depraved vagary of chance I'm ever forced into stripping (and for some reason, I can't use insane Teutonic metal), then it'll have to be this, both because I like it and it comes from an album entitled "American Made Music To Strip To".


.

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I didn't notice this until Homey posted.

I used to get flogged to this song with twin rubber floggers. We did it in a club a few times. Real attention getter for the shop that was selling my costumes. I was often the center of these impromtu floggerings/canings/demos because out of all the little subbies that floated around the shop I was the one that could take the most pain.

Good times. I miss my little exibitions.

Psst! Keroin! No soul-mate stuff. It gives me the willies!

I'm posting this here because A) it makes me happy and B) I give up trying to understand the newest addition to the forum.

Starting in a few hours, I get to spend like 3 days with The Man. No work, no agenda, no schedule - just a wandery trip down through Hill Country and back. with art galleries and wild flowers and funky little vintage shops and hundred year old hotels and stuff.

CutieMouse said:

Psst! Keroin! No soul-mate stuff. It gives me the willies!

I'm posting this here because A) it makes me happy and B) I give up trying to understand the newest addition to the forum.

Starting in a few hours, I get to spend like 3 days with The Man. No work, no agenda, no schedule - just a wandery trip down through Hill Country and back. with art galleries and wild flowers and funky little vintage shops and hundred year old hotels and stuff.

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LOL. Well, I'm happy for your regardless.

CutieMouse said:

Psst! Keroin! No soul-mate stuff. It gives me the willies!

I'm posting this here because A) it makes me happy and B) I give up trying to understand the newest addition to the forum.

Starting in a few hours, I get to spend like 3 days with The Man. No work, no agenda, no schedule - just a wandery trip down through Hill Country and back. with art galleries and wild flowers and funky little vintage shops and hundred year old hotels and stuff.

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Sounds wonderful CM.

It's looking like Jounar's going to be able to drive when I visit next so I'm on the search for pretty little ruin areas. Something along the lines of the remains of a medieval castle in the middle of a field of heather. Just a place to picnic with a lovely view of history.

I've been eager to check out some vintage shops lately. Just in the mood to be surrounded by history I guess. Or maybe I need a culture fix. I haven't done anything culture based in a few months.

Messenger from Brooklyn for 267 after the absolute worst Phil Collins choice for this month. Remembering it's called Virtual Cheater when those two bedposts fell at the most opportune time.

Telling daddy I couldnt go upstairs to say hello to the two guys 'cause i was in my PJ's then realizing why he he looked at me all weird and then laughed at me.

Lying in bed after sex, half asleep...

Me: What are you thinking?"

Him "I'm thinking if the ceiling's strong enough in the bathroom, I could rig up a hook to suspend you from by the wrists, so your toes just touch the shower tray, make you drink two pints of water, use my enema kit to put two pints of water into your ass, bind your tits tight with rope, put weighted clamps on your nipples, and then go for a long walk with instructions that if I come back and find you've wet yourself or messed yourself, there will be SERIOUS repercussions".

And there was me thinking this bloke didn't have a dom bone in his body. I'd got all resigned to the fact that I was not going to get dommed by him, ever. Which was ok cos I love him and the sex is amazing and I decided love was more important than D/s. You learn something new every day.

Cattypuss said:

Lying in bed after sex, half asleep...

Me: What are you thinking?"

Him "I'm thinking if the ceiling's strong enough in the bathroom, I could rig up a hook to suspend you from by the wrists, so your toes just touch the shower tray, make you drink two pints of water, use my enema kit to put two pints of water into your ass, bind your tits tight with rope, put weighted clamps on your nipples, and then go for a long walk with instructions that if I come back and find you've wet yourself or messed yourself, there will be SERIOUS repercussions".

And there was me thinking this bloke didn't have a dom bone in his body. I'd got all resigned to the fact that I was not going to get dommed by him, ever. Which was ok cos I love him and the sex is amazing and I decided love was more important than D/s. You learn something new every day.

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Holy! Yeah, I'd say you misread that one! In the best possible way!

...the detour i made to the footy oval on the way home from shopping 2day
and the car action that set the scenic view from my car window....
lucky i wore loose denim today

Last night it was still light out at nearly 9pm!!!

Love summer. Love, love, love, love summer

Oh and this made me smile...



Had to crop the other chickies out of the shot, since they didn't agree to be on a forum full of pervs, but suffice it to say we were all pretty proud of ourselves in that pic!

Keroin said:

Oh and this made me smile...

Had to crop the other chickies out of the shot, since they didn't agree to be on a forum full of pervs, but suffice it to say we were all pretty proud of ourselves in that pic!

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I generally agree with the bike choices in that photo.

Homburg said:

I generally agree with the bike choices in that photo.

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The only one that didn't work well for this trip belonged to my friend H. She borrowed her son's Giant, which is strictly for downhill. Now, she kicked ass on the downhill sections but nearly killed herself on the uphill. No granny gears and we nicknamed the bike "Squishy" for good reason.

I'm borrowing my friend Ripster's bike while he's making his way up Everest but there's a bike swap this weekend and I'm going to see if I can finally get one of my own.

*Crosses fingers and hopes for royalty cheques*

CutieMouse said:

Psst! Keroin! No soul-mate stuff. It gives me the willies!

I'm posting this here because A) it makes me happy and B) I give up trying to understand the newest addition to the forum.

Starting in a few hours, I get to spend like 3 days with The Man. No work, no agenda, no schedule - just a wandery trip down through Hill Country and back. with art galleries and wild flowers and funky little vintage shops and hundred year old hotels and stuff.

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Yay! Sounds fun.

K was tickling me, and then he kissed me and I blew a raspberry on his mouth.

The LOOK on his face! ROFL

Now he's on the play-station.

I knew I should have let the kids break that while he was gone.

What made me smile?

Buying a coozie for my wine class, its called a Woozie!

Keroin said:

The only one that didn't work well for this trip belonged to my friend H. She borrowed her son's Giant, which is strictly for downhill. Now, she kicked ass on the downhill sections but nearly killed herself on the uphill. No granny gears and we nicknamed the bike "Squishy" for good reason.

I'm borrowing my friend Ripster's bike while he's making his way up Everest but there's a bike swap this weekend and I'm going to see if I can finally get one of my own.

*Crosses fingers and hopes for royalty cheques*

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I've *looked* at downhill bikes. They look all kindsa weird. Downhill does look like crazy fun though, I gotta admit.

I'm still absurdly happy with my Trek, but, man, I wish I had some extra coin to spring for a better fork, disc brakes, etc, etc. MIS has been talking about going trail-riding with me, and we actually took a look at a bike a few weekends back. She really likes one of the Trek WSD offerings quite a bit. We didn't have time for a test ride, but sitting on it in the store and playing with it a bit convinced her that she wants more bike.

Me? Trigger shifters alone were enough to convince me. I'd been riding with non-indexed levers for years and years, and those trigger shifters just blew me away.

Homburg said:

I've *looked* at downhill bikes. They look all kindsa weird. Downhill does look like crazy fun though, I gotta admit.

I'm still absurdly happy with my Trek, but, man, I wish I had some extra coin to spring for a better fork, disc brakes, etc, etc. MIS has been talking about going trail-riding with me, and we actually took a look at a bike a few weekends back. She really likes one of the Trek WSD offerings quite a bit. We didn't have time for a test ride, but sitting on it in the store and playing with it a bit convinced her that she wants more bike.

Me? Trigger shifters alone were enough to convince me. I'd been riding with non-indexed levers for years and years, and those trigger shifters just blew me away.

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Trigger shifters rock!

Downhill is all about the physics, right? So, they tend to be heavier bikes, with low profiles, guards on all the delicate bits that could connect with rocks and such, disc brakes and lots of swing on the suspension, (hence "squishy").

Giant makes an awesome bike with an adjustable suspension. You can lock it off when you're riding uphill or on the road, then unlock it for downhill. $$$ though - not quite in my budget at this point.

We did one hairy downhill run - intermediate level. There were only three of us who rode it the whole way down. The rest walked most of it, one girl wiped out pretty bad. But if you've done much dirt biking, it isn't hard to make the transition to downhill mtn biking - all the same principles apply. Also, you have to put your fear aside and commit. I love it. I cannot wait to do more and luckily we have tons of wicked downhill here.

everyone seems so grouchy right now, so . . .

Keroin said:

Trigger shifters rock!

Downhill is all about the physics, right? So, they tend to be heavier bikes, with low profiles, guards on all the delicate bits that could connect with rocks and such, disc brakes and lots of swing on the suspension, (hence "squishy").

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Ah, I get the "squishy" thing now. A friend has a full suspension bike and "squishy" is how I would describe it. I like my rigid frame and sprung front. Keeps me grounded while eating up some of the worst shocks.

Though I have a sneaking suspicion that steel works better for frame for me. Alloy frames seem to have this weird little vibration that is absent on the French Whore with its' lovely old steel frame. Buuut, short of shelling out the scratch for one of those sweet Surly frames, there's no graceful way to get a steel frame configured the way I want.

I really want to have this stupid bike collection, but I do not have space for it. For example, I am currently lusting over the intensely configurable single/fixie bikes made by Republic Bikes. viv positively fell in love with their Dutch Bike (http://*******/9RNg3f for the specific combo that she adores), but I like the Aristotle. I would love to have a collection of weird rides. Hell, I want to rebuild the sweet old Steyr 3-speed that I have in storage. I have no frikken need for a 3-speed at all, but that frame is so pretty and it has one of those cool 60's vintage Sturmy-Archer hubs.

Giant makes an awesome bike with an adjustable suspension. You can lock it off when you're riding uphill or on the road, then unlock it for downhill. $$$ though - not quite in my budget at this point.

We did one hairy downhill run - intermediate level. There were only three of us who rode it the whole way down. The rest walked most of it, one girl wiped out pretty bad. But if you've done much dirt biking, it isn't hard to make the transition to downhill mtn biking - all the same principles apply. Also, you have to put your fear aside and commit. I love it. I cannot wait to do more and luckily we have tons of wicked downhill here.

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Giant makes good shit, period.

I doubt that I'd touch downhill on my current ride. Maybe if I dropped the coin on disc brakes and then spent the time to get used to em. My current plain jane squeeze-and-pray system is adequate for what little hills we have here, but I'd need stop that I could trust better for any serious hills. And, honestly, I'd probably splatter my garden-variety no-frills fork all over the landscape.

One of these days I'll do it. My rims are set up for disc, so at least I'd not have to buy new hubs. Just need to buy the discs, calipers, new lines, and levers. Not much at all *sigh*

They're playing this ad on tv again

clarity