Re: Gautam's energy levels (was: Re: My return and baseball)
Gautam Mukunda wrote: Hi Ticia, Thanks, I, umm, think. I don't think my energy levels are anything out of the ordinary, actually. If you're interested, my normal weekday schedule looks something like: 5:45 - wake up (Definitely the worst part of my day) 6:15 - go to the gym 7:45 - get back from gym 8:30 - leave for work gasp The man works out as well! *Before* work!!! deep jealous sigh Ticia ',:) -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping
At 10:34 16-11-2002 +0100, Ticia Luengo wrote: Sworn off cookies forever, But more importantly, have you sworn off *chocolate* forever as well? :-) Jeroen Give me chocolate or give me death van Baardwijk __ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Gautam's energy levels
Gautam Mukunda wrote: Without commenting on my own salary, I would point out that between the various taxes and government-mandated deductions in my salary, I end up paying 42% to the government. That's _before_ I deduct for my 401K and things like that. I also live in Manhattan. Despite the fact that I have _4_ roommates, my rent+utilities exceeds $1300 per month. Now *that* is obscene. You also have to eat most of your meals outside, which is probably more expensive than grocery shopping and cooking yourself. And those living expenses add up... do you get compensated for travel (both time and expense)? I certainly do not envy you your work hours being stuck at the office wearing your suit. I may have 60 hr weeks as well sometimes if I count my lunch 'breaks' and commuting time (average of 3 hrs a day) and home working time; I'm just glad I can finish my reports at home in my pj's, surrounded by my own home comforts. And then can take a day off to recover afterwards. I'm so lucky. :) Been discussing this with my husband, over here in Netherland we also pay a lot of tax but have many benefits as well such as being able to deduct the interest on your mortgage from your taxes. Our pension is in part deducted from our gross salary and in part paid by our employer, and is much cheaper anyway than in the States (same goes for insurance). And our contracts tend to feature 13th month extra pay and vacation pay (8% of your monthly salary paid out in May) and travel compensation and employer + governement sponsored childcare placing (which could be better, but we're making progress). Also you get government support for each child and tons of tax breaks for assorted issues. Being in the top end of the salary scale sucks over here (most rich people flee the restrictions), but being in the middle as we are it can be very beneficial indeed. :) It's interesting, actually, the cultural differences. Over here personal time is sacred. Most Dutch people get about 5 weeks of vacation a year which they like to spend in far off places either travelling or skiiing or roasting on a beach (bit of a necessity as well in this drab and grey country). And they work exactly 40 (or 37, or 22, depending on your contract) hrs a week, preferably from 9.00-5.30 (not counting lunch), after which they go on to their personal affairs (sports or other clubs) far away from coworkers. Foreigners here complain about how hard it is to get to know people, as coworkers hardly every socialize outside work (and when they do, it's a work-related outing); you have to make friends in your own way in your own time. The funny part is the Dutch do get a lot done in their 8 exact hrs a day, foreign managers have said that their Dutch employees simply make sure they get their workload done before 5, which is unheard of in say Britain. Behold the positive side of this personal time = sacred philosophy. People work harder and more efficiently and our national production per capity is as high or higher than in countries where people routinely have to work 60 hr weeks to keep up with the coworkers who also stay late, etc... Having said that, a lot of my coworkers seem to do very little indeed on any given day. I can only imagine what it must be like in other countries... ;) on a 37 hr contract meaning I work 41 hrs one week and 33 the next, Ticia ',:) -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping
J. van Baardwijk wrote: At 10:34 16-11-2002 +0100, Ticia Luengo wrote: Sworn off cookies forever, But more importantly, have you sworn off *chocolate* forever as well? :-) Don't be ridiculous! I've actually made my intake more efficient: I only consume the 70+ cocoa content tablets (preferably Swiss Noir and Noir cafe). They contain no animal fats (= bad), very little sugar (= worse) and yet loads of the really potent stuff you want the chocolate for in the first place. Works like a charm. :)) Ticia ',:) -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Humor: A physics joke
Saw this on another forum, though a few of you might like it: Heisenberg is driving down the road, when he gets pulled over. Officer says, Do you know how fast you were going? Heisenberg says, No, but I know where I am. Made me chuckle, anyway. :) Jim ___ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Colin Powell President
- Original Message - From: Dan Minette [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 5:22 PM Subject: Re: Colin Powell President Well, that's been falsified experimentally just this year in Texas. I dont think that one election race constitutes falsification. While I will agree that there is some truth to what you say about the electability of blacks it is not a universal truth. Blacks have not had all that hard a time getting elected in Texas, especially since the days of Barbara Jordan. Several black elected officials in and from Texas have been quite prominent. Ron Kirk, who was a black moderate Democrat, got a record low % of white votes in Harris county for a senate election, running against a fairly obscure Republican candidate. Both were fairly unknown. And then there was the election campaign that must have had some effect. Isnt it possible that the republican candidate just rode the republican wave into office? In other words, he got fewer white votes than did a Democrat who was far to the left of him running against well known and incumbent US Senators. Not sure who you are refering to here. Being black is a net negative. How else can you explain the low numbers of blacks in the Senate? Perhaps blacks have produced fewer good candidates so far? Not many people would vote for Jesse Jackson based on his message. xponent Votes For Blacks Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Gautam's energy levels
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Ticia ... Foreigners here complain about how hard it is to get to know people, as coworkers hardly every socialize outside work (and when they do, it's a work-related outing); you have to make friends in your own way in your own time. On the other hand, I can report from experience that, much like Japan, visiting on business is a real treat from the standpoint of socializing. You folks really take care of your visitors. Very much as in Japan, it's the foreign residents who tend to feel isolated. I wonder if the Dutch who visit here are as frustrated as the Japanese by the fact that here in the states, we don't ensure that our business visitors are sufficiently entertained each evening. I should note that my impression of the Netherlands has been colored by having been in Amsterdam on Queen's Day. What a party... And a note on salaries, professionals, etc. There's at least one very large exception to the pattern of professional hours and salaries we're been talking about -- aerospace, where even the engineers are unionized. That always seems strange to me -- very well-educated, highly paid professionals, some of whom practically work to rule. Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Gautam's energy levels
Ticia wrote: Nick Arnett wrote: On the other hand, I can report from experience that, much like Japan, visiting on business is a real treat from the standpoint of socializing. You folks really take care of your visitors. Very much as in Japan, it's the foreign residents who tend to feel isolated. I wonder if the Dutch who visit here are as frustrated as the Japanese by the fact that here in the states, we don't ensure that our business visitors are sufficiently entertained each evening. The few people I've met who have been on business trips to the States or Canada tended to fly all over the place in a few days time (cheap and efficient) add the jetlag, and no entertainment necessary. ;) But they did report being taken out for dinner, etc. So maybe it depends on the company... It does. The companies run by people who have been to Japan on business and see how the Japanese treat their visitors tend to treat their visitors in the same way. At least, that's what I gather from a very limited set of data points. :) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping
Steve Sloan II wrote: Sonja van Baardwijk-Holten wrote: Haven't got a clue as to what Oreo is. Oreos are a brand of round chocolate sandwich cookies with white creamy stuff (mostly lard, I think) in the middle. Hydrox is another brand that makes a similar kind of cookie. No lard. Oreo dropped the lard sometime when I was in college, IIRC. (Due to sensitivities to lard, my mother and I both learned to read labels. I think Nabisco dropped lard across the board, but I'm still careful to read the labels to be sure if it's a product I haven't eaten before.) I think they're using all vegetable fat for it now, but I don't have a package handy to confirm. Hydrox, to the best of my knowledge, never had the lard, so among other benefits, it was kosher all along. :) I remember at one point when I was in high school seeing such labelling on packages of Hydrox. (And if you have a sensitivity to lard, looking for product labels that indicate the product is kosher may save you a reading of that really fine print they use for ingredient lists.) Julia who is pretty sure nobody wants to hear about the last time she inadvertantly ate pig fat :P ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping
- Original Message - From: Julia Thompson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 10:58 AM Subject: Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping Julia who is pretty sure nobody wants to hear about the last time she inadvertantly ate pig fat :P Live pig or dead pig? xponent Inquiring Minds Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Colin Powell President
Kevin Tarr wrote: Does one county prove a trend? Is Harris County mostly dem? What about the other counties? In fact: what are these 'record low' numbers based on, polling data? Bah. (please don't flame me, I'm just making fun) I can tell you about 2 counties. Travis County, which contains most of Austin, including the part with the Capitol, a *lot* of state offices, and the University of Texas at Austin, is very dem. Williamson County immediately to the north, which contains a bit of northwest Austin (including where I used to live), Round Rock which is where Dell Computer Corp. headquarters are, and a lot of people who commute to Travis County, is very repub. It's also one of the fastest-growing counties in the US. I vote in the Republican primaries because in the local races, chances are the winner of the Republican primary is winner of the general election, and I like to make my vote count however I can. And I was trying to make a point of (black + repub) (black + dem) in white voters minds. People would turn out in droves to vote against Jesse Jackson. Not saying Ron Kirk is anywhere near Jesse Jackson. Both Kirk and Jackson are black, and both are Democrats. That's about all the similarity I saw, but I haven't been following either very closely recently to see where they agree and disagree on things. What I *do* know about Ron Kirk is that when his supporters were trying to get campaign donations, people would say that they'd just given some, when they'd really just given money to Kirk Watson, a white democrat who was running for state Attorney General, and who had resigned as mayor of Austin to run. (It was really bad when Ron Kirk's people called folks in Austin, but I heard of similar things happening when they called in Houston, as well. Or at least that's what I remember.) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Colin Powell President
Robert Seeberger wrote: - Original Message - From: Dan Minette [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 5:22 PM Subject: Re: Colin Powell President Well, that's been falsified experimentally just this year in Texas. I dont think that one election race constitutes falsification. While I will agree that there is some truth to what you say about the electability of blacks it is not a universal truth. Blacks have not had all that hard a time getting elected in Texas, especially since the days of Barbara Jordan. Several black elected officials in and from Texas have been quite prominent. Ron Kirk, who was a black moderate Democrat, got a record low % of white votes in Harris county for a senate election, running against a fairly obscure Republican candidate. Both were fairly unknown. And then there was the election campaign that must have had some effect. Isnt it possible that the republican candidate just rode the republican wave into office? I'm guessing that that's what happened in some of the races, that one included. Given the various records of the candidates for statewide offices, that's the *only* explanation I can come up with on some of those victories. :P Being black is a net negative. How else can you explain the low numbers of blacks in the Senate? Perhaps blacks have produced fewer good candidates so far? Not many people would vote for Jesse Jackson based on his message. I think Rob is right on this one. Julia just my $0.02 to add to the Texas senate race debate ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping
Ticia wrote: And because of this famous cookie, oreo has also been known to describe a person black on the outside but white on the inside. I believe it's an insult, so no offence anyone. When I was in college, one day one of my friends, a large teddy bear of a black guy, walked into the room I was hanging around in (might have been a study lounge, might have been someone else's room), pulled out an Oreo, and just before he popped it in his mouth, said Cannibalism! It's one of those things you don't call someone else, but if someone wants to laughingly call themselves one, you can laugh with them. :) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Gautam's energy levels
... some of whom practically work to rule. work to rule? Work to rule is a thing that labor unions do when they're bargaining, but not ready to strike. They'll start obeying every little rule, whether or not it is practical. One of those rules often says that nobody can be forced to work overtime, so nobody does. I guess it's passive-aggressive behavior on a group scale. Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Colin Powell President
John Garcia wrote: Powell was known in the US during his tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before the Gulf War, as he was the first black general to rise to this position. During the war, he was all over the media, and became more widely known. Definitely widely known. Way back in 1987, AE's program Biography featured Powell in an installment called _Colin Powell: A Soldier's Campaign_. The video tape is still available for purchase at Amazon.com. In 1995 and 1996, there were widespread calls for him to run for President; he was probably the only Republican of that time who could have defeated Clinton, because he would have gotten a very strong crossover vote from Democrats. That is all assuming he would run as a Republican, and there was some question about that as I recall. Before he announced that he was not going to pursue the presidential nomination, he wrote an autobiography called _My American Journey: An Autobiography_ (listed on Amazon as by Colin L. Powell, Joseph E. Persico (Contributor)) Sometime early in 1996, _Sacred Honor: Colin Powell the Inside Account of His Life and Triumphs_ by David Roth was published. And if I recall correctly, at some point during late 1995 or early 1996, he appeared on Oprah :-) There have been at least two or three additional books since then that I've seen on the shelves, and that's without really looking for them. So widely known is probably a bit of an understatement (Powell probably has better name-recognition than three or four recent presidential candidates I can think of...) Reggie Bautista _ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Saddam pays Gaddafi $3 billion to give his family safe haven in Libya
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-481908,00.html a.. Iraqi dictator plans escape route in face of US and British offensive SADDAM HUSSEIN has made secret plans for his family and leading members of his regime to be given political asylum in Libya in the event of a war with America or a successful internal coup in Baghdad. The extraordinary steps taken by the Iraqi leader to provide an exit strategy for key relatives and associates, which includes paying $3.5 billion (£2.3 billion) into Libyan banks, provide the first evidence that Saddam is now facing up to the prospect of being toppled from power. Even as he makes public statements of defiance and vows to defend his country against an American invasion, The Times has learnt that Saddam's secret emissaries have been visiting Libya and Syria to ensure that there is an escape route for his family and top cronies. The deal with Tripoli does not include providing refuge for Saddam or for Uday, his eldest son. If either were to seek political asylum in Libya, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi would come under intense international pressure, particularly from Washington, to hand them over for war crimes. Word of Saddam's deal with the Libyan leader has emerged from diplomatic sources in Tripoli following a visit to the Libyan capital on September 8 by General Ali Hasan al-Majid, a cousin and trusted member of Saddam's clan. General al-Majid is known by the Kurds of northern Iraq as Chemical Ali because he was in charge of the Iraqi forces which launched a chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988. He was also initially the Governor of Kuwait after Iraq's invasion of the Gulf state in August 1990, and is now one of the Baath Party regional command leaders. He is believed to have travelled to Tripoli to deliver a personal missive from Saddam to the Libyan leader, confirming the arrangements for his family. The sources said that in return for the $3.5 billion deposited in Libyan bank accounts, Colonel Gaddafi has agreed to give sanctuary to members of Saddam's family and to about a dozen senior officials of the Baghdad regime, with their families. The sources said they believed the regime members would include Tariq Aziz, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Naji Sabri, the Foreign Minister, and Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. The other officials were believed to be less well known members of the ruling Baath Party's regional command. In a separate arrangement, said to have been agreed in October during a visit by senior Iraqi officials to Damascus, an overland escape route was devised. It would involve Saddam's family members and regime leaders travelling from Tikrit, home of the Saddam clan, to the Syrian border via the Badiyat al-Sham desert which divides Syria from Iraq. It is not clear whether the sanctuary deal includes Qusay Hussein, the Iraqi leader's second - and favourite - son. However, the diplomatic sources said that if Saddam felt his regime was about to collapse, he would do his utmost to see that his family escaped, especially Qusay, as well as Ali, his youngest son, and his grandchildren. Western intelligence services assume that Saddam will stay to the bitter end if Iraq is attacked by a US-led coalition. Two months ago, Abbas Khalaf, Iraq's Ambassador to Moscow, denied that Saddam would ever abandon his country in time of need. This followed reports in France that Uday Hussein had gone to Moscow to seek a future refuge for him and his father. Intelligence sources said yesterday that the French reports were not credible. But they confirmed that the evidence of a deal for Saddam's family to go to Libya fitted in with information gleaned in recent weeks. The intelligence sources said that individual members of Baghdad 's Baath Party were known to be looking for potential boltholes in North African countries. They said that Libya made sense as a place to seek sanctuary, because many of the countries in North Africa were friendly to the West and would probably hand over wanted members of the Iraqi regime. The relatively uncontroversial list of people to be granted political asylum if Saddam's regime is toppled may have helped to persuade the Libyan leader to agree to the asylum deal. xponent Run Away Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Colin Powell President
In a message dated 11/16/2002 1:28:15 PM US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: So widely known is probably a bit of an understatement (Powell probably has better name-recognition than three or four recent presidential candidates I can think of...) I bet these the same three or four recent presidential candidates I'd rather not think of at all. William Taylor - Sir, by your own logic, if you do not get 60% of the vote for reelection, you should resign because it's not enough of a majority to be meaningful. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
I'm From The Government and I'm Here To Help You . . .
[The first holiday joke of the season . . . ] Santa Claus, like all pilots, gets regular visits from the Federal Aviation Administration, and, sure enough, shortly before Christmas the FAA examiner arrived. In preparation, Santa had the elves wash the sled and bathe all the reindeer. Santa got his logbook out and made sure all his paperwork was in order. The examiner walked slowly around the sled. He check the reindeer harnesses, the landing gear, and Rudolf's nose. He painstakingly reviewed Santa's weight and balance calculations for sled`s enormous payload. Finally, they were ready for the checkride. Santa got in and fastened his seatbelt and shoulder harness and checked the compass. Then the examiner hopped in carrying, to Santa's surprise, a shotgun. What's that for? asked Santa incredulously. The examiner winked and said, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you're gonna lose an engine on takeoff. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Saddam pays Gaddafi $3 billion to give his family safe haven inLibya
Things like these make me increase the faith in Humanity. How can Saddam be so sure that he will pay Gaddafi and Gaddafi will not betray him after he gets the money? Does it mean that there is one honest man in the world? :-) Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Work to Rule [was: Gautam's energy levels]
Nick Arnett wrote: Work to rule is a thing that labor unions do when they're bargaining, but not ready to strike. They'll start obeying every little rule, whether or not it is practical. One of those rules often says that nobody can be forced to work overtime, so nobody does. I guess it's passive-aggressive behavior on a group scale. Here in Brazil it's called _Operação Padrão_ , more or less _Operation: Standard_ Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping
At 10:58 AM 11/16/02, Julia Thompson wrote: Julia who is pretty sure nobody wants to hear about the last time she inadvertantly ate pig fat :P Does your husband know you are insulting him by implying he is overweight . . . ? -- Ronn! :) Professional Smart-Aleck. Do Not Attempt. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping
At 11:06 AM 11/16/02, Robert Seeberger wrote: - Original Message - From: Julia Thompson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 10:58 AM Subject: Re: [Recipe] Chocolate cheese cake, Re: Grocery Shopping Julia who is pretty sure nobody wants to hear about the last time she inadvertantly ate pig fat :P Live pig or dead pig? or long pig . . . --Ronn! :) I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed that I would see the last. --Dr. Jerry Pournelle ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
