MaryAnne Der Esel

Over on another message board we play this game called "Misquote the previous Quoter". You misquote a phrase the previous poster said, then add a snappy comment. Then the next person misquotes your snappy comment and ads thier own, and so on. Get it? Here's an example of how it works: Originally Posted by Ladybug: I'm the only one who got the last thread locked! Well, well, well, I'm the only one opening another new one! Originally Posted by nooneuno Well, well, well, my show closed on opening night!! Taking on Broadway, eh? Originally Posted by Ladybug Making children cry is fun, eh? Taking candy from a baby? Originally Posted by Steelroots: I'm a dandy Baby! Soooooooo........who's interested? I'll start: I wonder if the new superman movie will be any good.

The space ship (Or space machine, rather; no humans were onboard) is called Voyager I. Its sister ship, Voyager II was launched at the same time in the opposite direction. It is really interesting to think that something humanity created has ventured beyond our little spot of universe. But the fact that it took 25 years.......oh my.... But, of course, since then there have been amazing advances in spacefaring technology. There are actually solar sails that use the solar wind to power them along, as well as some kind of engine that starts of at something like 1 mph, and because of the lack of resistance in space [or something like that] it steadily and exponentially gains spead. It can reach thousands of mph and beyond! That should get us out of the solar system rather quickly. As for Voyagers I and II, Carl Sagan had a hand in those projects. I read his biography. The Davidson one, at least. He was quite the genius, though rather arogant. I feel sorry for him; he was a rabid athiest and is now burning in Hell's lake of fire, rather than forever exploring the universe he loved in the presense of the God who created it!

Wow, that was pretty neat. I learned quite a bit about myself, there. Thank you for sharing it with us.

North Carolina! North Carolina! Hooray!It has a wonderful climate - mild winders and summers, with *beautiful* springs and falls in between. We get just enough snow for a good round of sledding, enough summer sum for a dip in the pool, and in the spring and fall we sit out on our front porches sipping iced tea. Oh yeah. Life is good here.We also have very good public school systems. And as for post-secondary education, we have *SO MANY* coleges and universities - including UNC Chapel Hill, Appalaichan State University, and the famed Duke University. Being close to Duke also gives North Carolina residents access to excpetional health care. Trust me - I've been a patient there for many years and you couldn't ask for better doctors or more advanced medicine!Another plus is being able to live in either an urban area, the suburbs, or the country while still enjoying the pluses of the other areas. For instance, I live in the suburbs and about 5 miles south of me is downtown raleigh, while about 6 miles north is pure, country farmland. A person can live on a farm, but have an office job in Raleigh and on the weekends go shopping in suburban malls and stores! A lot of people do that! The options are great.Cary, North Carolina was recently voted the #1 city in which to live by Money magazine. There are plenty of other cities just like it here. Need I say more?

I, for one, am very sick of this ad-saturated culture of ours. If only we could transport ourselves back to the 1880's when life was simple, and every wore long dresses and rode in horse buggies! Anyway, I hope nobody decides to actually build a billboard in space; we already have too many clutering our highways. And, really, we have to many ads cluttering everything! The weirdest place for an ad I've seen so far: a sticker on a banana. It was the same size and shape of the typical Chiquita sticker, only it said, "Go see the Garfield movie!" Seeing that made the thought of billboards in space a little less remote.

Everyone I know who uses Firefox absolutely loves it. The best feature, they say, is the tabs. And being open source is always a plus. I've never personally had any troubles with IE, but Firefox really does sound like the better choice. I'll probably end up switching over someday.

I hate popups and it I can't, in good conscience, force them on people...but for $3.00 I'm sure there are plenty of people who would! It's a little scary that companies are now learning how to bypass pop-up blockers. Soon enough they will be obsolete and we'll be back at sqaure one with a hundred pop-ups staring us in the face whenever we click on a link!

Sim Town : Sim City for young kids Somewhere between Sim City 2000 and Sim City 3000 I stumbled upon Sim Town. What a cute game it was! You got to build roads and put down restaurants and all sorts of little houses. I don't think there were any taxes for the town; most kids in the 8 to 12 set wouldn't know what they were anyway. Basically you just built things. Has anyone ever played it?

It's one of those games that are on every computer. Has anyone ever taken a break from today's high-action, graphic-intense games to try their luck with minesweeper? It's really not hard; you just have to think for a minute. Oh, wait - maybe that's why so few people ever play it.... But seriously, though. Is there anyone here who enjoys it? Or even knows where it is on their computer?

It's the game that started it all - Sim City. I've played the original, Sim City 2000, Sim City 3000, and have been deep into Sim City 4 since it came out a couple of years ago or so. Is there anyone else out there who loves this game as much as I do? I just love carving huge metropolises out of expansive pieces of land. I get something out of watching a city grow from a small plot of houses and a watertower into a bustling urban area....so rewarding, somehow.

Oh my goodness! That's terrible! How in the world could they let so much tainted blood slip through the system and into the veins of patients? Imagine, the blood that was supposed to save your life was actually, in the end, what took it....I have much more confidence in the American Red Cross to supply safe blood, though. I know someone who has done an extensive research project about the safety of America's blood supply, as well as several people involved with blood donation, and I know about all the many precautions they take against gathering and distrubuting tainted blood. No plan is fool-proof, though. The scary possibility of contracting HIV or some other deadly blood disease will always exist as long as blood is being transfered from one person to another.

It really is terrible to see how so many people are not taking advantage of the opportunities the previous generation fought so hard to win for them. I respect Bill Cosby for having the courage to stand up and saying the truth: something isn't right in America. There is absolutely no reason why African Americans in a disadvantaged economic situation should be as they are now. Why so much violence? Why the drug use? Why the gangs? Those who use the cop-outs you mentioned are definitely not going to help find a solution.

There are so very many Christian denominations out there, and it is important to look into them all and recognize their differences and similarities. The most important thing of all is their belief in Jesus's sacrifice on the cross where he died the death that was meant for us so that we may one day see God. All other beliefs are secondary. However, that does not mean that the denomination's other beliefs are unimportant. The Bible repeatedly warns of apostate churches, whose members don't respong to God's call don't particularly care much about him or his presence in their lives. This is terribly sad, because God is the giver of everything, and I mean everything, that is good in this world! He isn't here to point his finger at you and tell you what a sinner you are; he wants to help you through your life and carry you up to his home in heaven when your time here is through. Just look at this verse: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." - John 3:17Does that sound like an angry, judgemental God to you? While it is true that God does not like sin - He is so holy he cannot allow it in his presence - he provided a way to completely, utterly, and irrevocably wash away *all* of a person's sins, no matter how great. That way is his son. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16All a person has to do is trust in Jesus to wash away their sins, and they will be made clean in God's sight. They will be free to partake of the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and best of all, they will one day reign in heaven by his side.All of that was spelled out clearly in God's Holy Word, the Bible.Now, this is where denominational differences come in. Some churches teach that you need something extra to reach heaven, such as doing good works, or that you don't need Jesus to wash away your sins because you get into heaven by simply "being a good person"....the list goes on. Some differences are quite trivial, but some are very serious and could jeporadize a person's chance of getting into heaven because they have been told an untruth. That's why it is so important to study God's word and how various denominations disagree on it.

Despite the French "Non" vote, the ratification process will continue. After all, 49% of Europe has already voted "yes". They can't ignore the will of that many poeple on the account of a small band of disafected Frenchmen, and they don't intend to. There have been talks of a re-vote for resistant countries such as France. If it turns out France and the Netherlands are the only nay-sayers of the 25 EU nations, well, I say they should give them a choice to vote "yes" the second time around or to get left behind as the rest of Europe unifies. This constitution is too great of an opportunity for Europe to let it snag on such a small group of people.My main concern right now, though, is that the Dutch are going to be the next to vote. With the "No" camp said to be leading the "yes" by 10%, it could mean two "no" votes in a row within three days of each other. That could bring the forward momentum of the Constituion to a grinding halt. Britian has expressed some concern over whether to ratify the document, and the French and Dutch vote could affect their decision as well as that of many other nations.

I can't believe it.....A European council spent 2 1/2 years developing a constitution that would unite Europe and give it more political clout in the global arena. It would replace the current 6-month rotating EU presidency with a permanent one, appoint a foreign minister, make taxes more uniform accross country borders, and allow Europe to speak with one voice on important issues. Rather than tiny, independent parts, it would have found strength in coming together as a unified whole.But, of course, a slight majority of French voters (54%, to be exact.) said "Non!". This creates a problem because all 25 European Union member nations must ratify the constitution in order for it to take effect as planned in 2006. Despite the French vote, the ratification process will procede. 9 countries represting 49% of Europe's population and 220 million people have alread voted "yes". Clearly the majority of Europe is all for the constitution.Now, granted, the nay-sayers aren't merely being dificult; they do have some legitimate reasons for voting "no". They fear an influx of cheap labor from eastern Europe would worsen the current unemployment situation (nearly 10%!), and that they may have to adjust some of the generous social welfare benefits they enjoy.Still, the Constition would be a great benefit to Europe. I hope it those people over there manage to work things out and ratify it.