Congrats to nkuvu!

I dunno, maybe it'd be best to start another thread for that. Ultimately this is nkuvu's thread (sort of), so you should at least get his permission first. I'd join in though. :D

If nkuvu agrees, though, go for it. This thread is turning into the nkuvu and Ed show! :p

-the valrus
 
Hmm, yes, now I remember. OK, so my first post was a joke on how to open an iMac. Soon after that I posted about trackballs. ;)

That was actually kind of my point. Some of us posted a lot between now and the first post, for some people it's just been a long time. For some it's both. I was just curious as to what made you think "Oh, I need to say something here." Obviously mine was less than serious. :)


We can talk about anything, no matter how heavy. There have been numerous threads on controversial subjects, such as religion, politics, OS X on an x86 system...

The key is to remember the basic forum etiquette rules: Don't be an idiot. Uh, no, that's not the one. (Pulled the paper out of the wrong pocket) Oh, uh, Don't attack someone for not believing what you do. Feel free to yell at them to get them to explain themselves. But definitely don't attack someone for poor grammar or spelling. I've seen a lot of people post in the middle of an argument with all kinds of typos, and I've also seen others belittle the poster for those typos, which is ridiculous. First, typing fast introduces more typos, being upset introduces more typos, and not everyone has English as their first language.


So shall I jump off that cliff and start a nice controversy? OK. Since you picked abortion, Kris, I guess I'll start on that one. ;)

First, let me state where I stand on humanity. I feel that humanity is a huge burden on the planet, and would be very happy to see our population reduced to anywhere from zero to one million people. I think that the planet can easily support that many people, and we could lead happy fulfilling lives. Well, unless the number is zero. ;) I'm not saying that I want everyone dead. I am a very firm believer in peace, as I was mentioning in the B&G. Instead, I would like to see our birthrate diminish so that over time the population is naturally thinned, or have us go colonize twelve hundred other planets. Or maybe have us go build a RingWorld (a la Larry Niven, aks me for details if you want). I feel that humanity should be sharing the planet with the animals and plants, not dominating it. This is the first problem I have with some religious people -- they often believe humankind to be superior to the rest of the animals, and therefore we can never see eye to eye.

That said, I think that there are a number of circumstances in which abortion is totally reasonable. If the woman in question was raped, for example, I would not have her carry the child to term if she didn't want to. Nor would I expect a teenage girl to carry a child to term after an 'accident'. That's accident like "Oops, we forgot protection" or "What kind of protection are you talking about? Helmets?" ;) I don't really care how the child is conceived for teenage girls, I don't believe that they are ready to be moms. (On a side note, I don't believe that 75% of the parenting population, no matter what age, is ready to be a parent) I do believe that teenage girls who become pregnant should have one or more of counseling ("You do know how to prevent this in the future, yes?"), be placed on some sort of birth control, or locked up in a tower so that the only way in is for someone to climb up their hair.

I feel that abortion should always be an option for someone who doesn't feel ready in any way. My roommate, for example, is just starting her college career. It'll be a few years before she's graduated, and probably another few years until she's financially stable. If something happened and she became pregnant, do you think it's a good time in her life to have a child? I would want her to be able to choose on her own terms whether she's ready, not be told by the government when that time is.

And in consideration of the above, I'd also like to point out that a lot of people abuse the operation, having one after another after another. In those cases, after say the second or third time, I'd start strongly suggesting some more permanent forms of birth control.



Alrighty, that should get something going...
 
Originally posted by Valrus
I dunno, maybe it'd be best to start another thread for that. Ultimately this is nkuvu's thread (sort of), so you should at least get his permission first. I'd join in though. :D

If nkuvu agrees, though, go for it. This thread is turning into the nkuvu and Ed show! :p

-the valrus
Click to expand...
And here I thought it was the Nkuvu show with a sprinkling of Ed! :D I feel like I've been talking to myself mostly, with Ed coming in once in a while to keep me going.
 
he he

yea, the tortoise and i were pretty chatty last night.:p

kris, there is already a nice (?) thread about abortion that ran out of steam a while back. you could either ressurrect it or feel free to start a new one or since nkuvu brought it up here, discuss it here. There is never anything unwise about discussing issues of importance as long as one keeps it relatively civil and accepts that others will have different opinions. it would be great to hear what a woman has to say about our previous attempts at discussing abortion.
 
Originally posted by nkuvu

OK, so who remembers where their first post was? Mine was in a discussion of trackballs and mice and such, but I don't remember where...
Click to expand...
Okay, nkuvu, here's what you do...

1.) Go to your profile by clicking on the button called "profile" under one of your posts. User CP won't work.
2.) In the blue bar, there should be a link called "search for all posts by this user." Click it. In your case it may take a while :D
3.) Go to the last page, and go to the last post on the page. Voila! Here's your first post:

Originally posted by nkuvu

The accuracy of the trackball depends on the size of the ball. At home I have a Kensington Orbit -- medium sized ball, fairly accurate. Currently at work I have a Logitech Trackman. Small ball, difficult to place exactly. I used to have a Kensington TurboRing at work. Huge ball -- I could manipulate pixels with it.

I have known quite a few graphic designers who swore by trackballs -- they'd rather cut off their left arms rather than use a mouse to do the same tasks. Why? Precision.

Also, I have to say that I am very disappointed with the whole Kensington line, but only due to the non-optical technology. The Orbit and TurboRing have to be cleaned almost every other day to ensure smooth operation. And one of the rubber rollers on the TurboRing died, so I had no vertical movement at all, which is why I replaced it with the optical Trackman -- I love it. I've cleaned the tiny balls which support the trackball itself, but not because the motion was not smooth -- just because I feel like I should be cleaning something.

Finally, I think that a trackball is much nicer to work with than a mouse -- I never roll 'off the mouse pad'. It takes some time to get used to it, but hang in there before you decide you don't like it. You may decide that mice are better -- that's your thing. But don't give up just because it's different.
Click to expand...
Nice first post. :)
 
interesting - you appear to be right by 3 mins Ricky. I did a search for nkuvu with list in ascending order and the first post shown was the one i quoted. but time and ate stamps using your method clearly show you are right and i had nkuvu's second post. good job. and i guess this shows that nkuvu has a pretty good memory even after 1000+ posts:D
 
Yeah, I know how to find my first post, I was just too lazy to do it. I'd assumed that Ed did what you are describing.

My question was more along the lines of "Do you remember what your first post was without going and looking?"

And Ed, the reason I remember is because it hasn't been that long. :)
 
Originally posted by Ed Spruiell
... time and ate stamps using your method clearly show you are right and i had nkuvu's second post. good job. and i guess this shows that nkuvu has a pretty good memory even after 1000+ posts:D
Click to expand...
Why thank you. :D

Nkuvu's only been registered on Macosx.com for about two months now.. ;) He should be able to remember his first post. :p Look at his posts per day... awesome. :D
 
:p Yummy typo, Ed. :D :D

Actually I just found a much faster way to find first posts -- just click "search" under a user's post! :p Shortcuts are good...
 
So no one is going to talk about the controversial issues...?

Or did I just get every single person's opinion exactly, so they feel they don't have to add anything? ;)


I know, I know, not everyone hovers over the boards all day like I do. ;) *sigh* I suppose I should start getting my day underway...
 
Originally posted by nkuvu
So shall I jump off that cliff and start a nice controversy? OK. Since you picked abortion, Kris, I guess I'll start on that one. ;)
Click to expand...
:)

Alright. First, let me say I agree a lot with you nkuvu.

Some of the women that get pregnant today, isn't really ready to be mothers, in some way or another. For them an abortion could be a really good solution, but let's not forget that an abortion isn't "just an abortion". It's a tough decision, and I honestly don't think any woman would concider it unimportant or easy in any way.
Abortion is also about another thing, which you didn't mention, nkuvu. For women it's also about making decisions about their own body. Before it was (and still is, is some countries) legal to take an abortion, the woman had to stand in front of a "jury" and explain herself, and tell them why she should be allowed to take an abortion. Ask for a permission to make a diffcult life-time decition, which would affect her entire life. I think it's a human right to be able (allowed) to make your own decisions about your own body.
I would like, though, to point out that I think it's abosolutely horrible when abortion is used as contraception over and over again.

I honestly can't understand when young girls say they are against abortion. (Some don't even want to concider the circumstances!)


Kris
 
I know this isn't going to help continue on the conversation, but I agree with you Kris. We actually had an abortion thread not too long ago. It was strange because you had a bunch of men (and Jadey) arguing about women's rights. It would have been nice to have your views added to that thread.

See, this is why we need a topic where we don't all agree! I'm still holding out for the capital punishment for cute little animals topic. :D
 
Originally posted by RacerX
I know this isn't going to help continue on the conversation, but I agree with you Kris. We actually had an abortion thread not too long ago. It was strange because you had a bunch of men (and Jadey) arguing about women's rights. It would have been nice to have your views added to that thread.
Click to expand...
From the way you said it, Racer, it sounds like Jadey was on one side and the bunch of men were on the other. Is that a complete misinterpretation of what you said?
See, this is why we need a topic where we don't all agree! I'm still holding out for the capital punishment for cute little animals topic. :D
Click to expand...
OK, I definitely disagree with you there. There are way too many cute little animals being killed for testing of human products. There is no reason we need to kill more.

Originally posted by Kris
I think it's a human right to be able (allowed) to make your own decisions about your own body.
Click to expand...
I agree, but let me play Devil's Advocate here for a second, since no one else seems to be joining our discussion (hint, hint :) ). Let me first state that these are not my opinions, so don't go flaming me, K?

The choice for an abortion doesn't just affect your own body. You're affecting another life, that of the fetus. In effect, you are murdering another human life, one that has no defenses other than our legal system.

Now here I'm going to go ahead and provide my personal rebuttal, because I love arguing with myself. :D

When exactly does it become human? And why is it all right to destroy the mother's life (assuming that she doesn't want the child) for a minimum of the term of pregnancy to save that one life? I say minimum because having a child (i.e., being pregnant) and giving it up (aborting or giving up for adoption) is a life altering, traumatic thing for any mother.

So even if that child is given a chance, who is to say that it is going to have a happy, full life? Who is to say that it won't end up living on the streets or in an orphanage? the government? Hah. Don't make me laugh. The government (at least here in the US) provides so little care for its youth that it is frightening. Just take a look at public education. Even for children that live with their biological parents the school system does next to nothing to ensure that the children of today become good people in the future. Public education is little more than teaching someone to blindly obey the rules.

And that's a good scenario. Will the government ensure that the child, once carried to term and given for adoption, will be placed in a stable, loving home? It might try, but the government is spread out too thin to be able to guarantee this. What about the medical costs for the mother? Last time I checked, government supplied medical coverage was a pipe dream. We are not a country with socialized medicine.

So my responses to a few bumper stickers I've seen:
"Choose life. Your mother did!"
Yeah, that's assuming that I am a happy, fully productive member of society. If I feel that I and the majority of the populace would be better off not to have been born, this is a ridiculously stupid statement.

"Protect Human Life. Stop abortion"
Again I ask, when is the bunch of cells in a womb a life? At the moment of fertilization? When there is a distinguishable heartbeat? When it is born into the world? How about when it can survive on its own with whatever help we can give it (e.g., premature babies who would die without human intervention). How about we all choose a different number between 0 and 270 (the approximate number of days for pregnancy) and draw straws? Whoever wins gets to decide when the fetus is a human life.

OK, I'll stop now and let someone else get a word in edgewise...
 
I'm not going to participate in this discussion because something bad always happens when I give my opinion on a touchy subject.. :( so don't feel bad if I don't reply to any more stuff in this thread.
 
pondered by nkuvu
From the way you said it, Racer, it sounds like Jadey was on one side and the bunch of men were on the other. Is that a complete misinterpretation of what you said?
Click to expand...

The parenthesis around Jadey's name was to note the exception to the bunch of men part of the statement. Without the parenthesis, your interpretation would have been correct.
 
Originally posted by ricky
I'm not going to participate in this discussion because something bad always happens when I give my opinion on a touchy subject.. :( so don't feel bad if I don't reply to any more stuff in this thread.
Click to expand...
Well you don't have to talk about touchy subjects if you don't want to. Feel free to follow along if you're interested, or start another conversation. We're able to multi-task, just like OS X. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top