Joshua

America. I don't think it's that kids have changed, but that America itself is failing them. We all recognize obesity is a growing problem, but then our country is choosing to eliminate P.E. from public schools. Sports like dodgeball are outlawed for being "too dangerous" thanks to the voices of vocal critics. People wonder why kids increasingly prefer video games to playing outside. After all, we have all these sports leagues available for them. But that in itself may be the problem. Those fields are by and large only for league teams. Kids are shooed off the fields that are often chalked up and thus unusable save for teams during much of the summer. America is sending the message to kids that the only time it's alright to play sports is when it's organized league play, but in doing so is removing the element of fun that comes from unorganized sports. Take a look at what your younger family members are bringing home for homework. Schools are increasingly giving more and more busy work as though their primary objective is to train young workers for a lifetime of drudgery, rather than to make them enjoy learning. Kids are coming home stressed out under workloads similar to what their parents have to deal with, and are expected to be active in sports, jobs, and other responsibilities as well. Our public media constantly bombards kids with numerous agendas. Marketing from MTV (who owns Nickelodeon) and other sources sells kids on sex from an early age. Marketing of course focuses them on money and material objects. Rap music sells them on the idea that premarital sex, violence, and drugs are perfectly acceptable. On top of this, parents rarely have time for their kids any more. Apart from the increase of single-parent homes, there is also the matter of parents working so much that they have little time for their kids even when there are 2 parents. It is much more common now for both parents to be active in the workplace trying to make ends meet, while kids are shuffled off to babysitters or groups. What's more, our society has stopped seeing a distinction between "love" and "lust". Our society sells people, kids included, on the idea of "do what's right for you." Our society tells people to make it all about themselves, rather than other people. It's self-centered, which is what lust is. As a result, numerous marriages and relationships break up because "the energy isn't there anymore" or "the relationship lacks the excitement it once had." You see, people are only in relationships now for the sex/status/energy/excitement/passion the other person can give them. The idea of caring about others for who they are is foreign to them, and the concepts of commitment and sacrifice are seen as unusual and out of place. Our society has lost any semblance of morality or compassion and our kids of course suffer as a result. Our media shows almost exclusively bad news instead of good. And indeed, there's very little good news anymore anyway. People get increasingly discouraged. We elect a bunch of dishonest politicians and don't keep them accountable for what they do in office. Our whole society is going down the tubes. The problem isn't with America's youth, but with America as a whole.

I think some of it depends on what school you're going to and what the situation is. I kind of wish I'd gone the same route of just going straight to college. I really struggled in high school because teachers didn't like my learning-oriented approach. Some didn't like that I asked too many questions, some didn't like that I'd correct them, and some didn't like that I'd bring books to read during class down-time. I've had a much easier time in college because it's more learning-focused. High School too often seems focused just on busy work to prepare you for the life of drudgery that teachers believe the workplace to be, at least in my opinion. I did have some good teachers who taught me a lot but they were few and far between. I really enjoyed the P.E. program but I hate how they're eliminating P.E. from schools. I don't think they should short-change P.E. to get in health classes or driver's ed. Gee, that's smart. The nation's kids are more obese than ever before and tons of people are dying from obesity-related stuff, and they're going to cut out P.E. from the public schools. Don't get me wrong, there are some quality people in the high schools. But there are too many just giving busy work rather than encouraging their students to learn. Back in High School I could ace a classes' tests and learn the material better than anyone in the class and still fail the class. In college it's more about learning and classwork isn't meant to overload you or keep you busy but to help you learn the material. For those who can afford it, going straight to college might be a good choice. The value of high school, if you can get through it, is the social interaction, IMO. That's the one redeeming quality of it, since you'll never find that structured social interaction to such a degree ever again.You'd have to be smart though to get through the GED testing and move straight on to college, as well as being able to afford it, so it's not for everyone. For those more interested in learning though, it might be something to consider. With me, it seemed like I went to High School for 4 years and got 1-1/2 years of actual learning out of it. The rest was just busy work and useless learning systems with no application in the real world.

Well, they're prolonging the stays of soldiers who should've already been able to go home. There is no excuse for this kind of stuff all the same though. I think it's the whole U.S. that is messed up though and these soldiers are just representative of the declining morality in our country. We stuck these soldiers in a war based on false pretenses against a bunch of terrorists who resort to the most vile tactics and then kept from leaving many who served the terms they'd been supposed to serve. Numerous numbers of soldiers are coming back with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder just like what happened in Vietnam. The military is horrible at taking care of them once they do come back, either preparing them for the work force or readjusting them to the economy or giving them the benefits and pay they earned. With these soldiers... I think it's the U.S.' own fault what they're becoming.

I'm a Christian, and I have to say... I agree with pretty much everything you said. It is disturbing that people constantly use the Bible and Christianity as props for their agendas. It's disturbing the politicization of Christianity and the Bible, but even more importantly involving sides of issues that shouldn't even be Christian! As a Christian, I really dislike seeing the same Jesus who told us to love our neighbors and return good for evil and spoke against "eye for an eye" thinking is used by politicians to support warmongering and "eye for an eye" justice. I did not support Bush in 2004 (or Kerry) but voted for a 3rd party candidate. I don't think we had any business being in Iraq, I don't agree with the Death Penalty, and I don't see why universal health care is a bad thing. I don't believe in demonizing illegal immigrants. I can't understand why many make it the "Christian" view to say the opposite of such things. Catholics and some Protestant groups like the Puritans made the same error I think of saying they could harm others and judge others according to the Old Testament Law. But we are called to love our neighbors, overcome evil with good, and forgive others with the same mercy God has shown us. A Christianity without grace is a dead and worthless Christianity with the potential to be more evil than anything else in this world.

We were actually talking about this just yesterday in my group and how maybe it's that many Christians just focus on giving a Gospel message rather than just speaking truth to people. People need to search through truth themselves and throwing answers won't work, they have to think it through and be convinced of it for themselves. What I'm saying is, maybe rather than pushing for a decision on salvation, Christians should just talk it through with people about what they believe and what has the most meaning in life. We're each on our own journeys to find truth and meaning in life.And as a Christian, I don't like the pope (or any popes) either. <_<The closest I came to agreeing with the original poster is when he said all is filthy rags to God. God alone is good and worthy of praise, none of us should be having other gods before Him. Nothing and no one should be in competition for "first" in our minds with God. Friends will let us down, people will let us down, family will let us down. God won't.

I suppose you never read my first post. Abortions were allowed in the case of rape or the mother's life being in danger even before Roe v. Wade. But personally, I don't see why the baby should deserve to die because of what the dad did. Why does abortion rather than adoption have to be the answer? Furthermore, as I stated in the first post, cases of rape or the mother's life being in danger are very rare and hardly fit any sizable percentage of abortion cases. The large majority of abortions are the result of women who want to avoid the consequences of a sexually promiscuous lifestyle. But, let me turn this around on you: You want to focus solely on these very rare cases. Alright. Well then, would you be alright with abortions only being allowed in the rare cases where rape has occurred or the mother's life is in danger?

Easy way would be to get some 10 lb. weights and just while standing lift up and down (thumbs pointed straight up, just let weights go all the way down and bring up to the shoulder). Right arm for an hour, left for half an hour, or try both at once. That'll build up the arms, shoulders, and sides pretty fast. You could try olympic-style lifting. That'll build up the back and shoulders well. Pretty much any of that intense weightlifting stuff will build muscle very fast, but it'll be extremely exhausting and you'll have to really push yourself. Boxing with a punching bag would build muscle fast too. Also, don't underestimate the value of sports to build muscle. As far as supplements, I don't know about that. I never use anything beyond Centrum vitamin pills, and that rarely.

I use Firefox primarily because AdBlock Plus is invaluable. I love not having to deal with annoying ads from sites like MySpace and just having all ads blocked. Really makes the internet a friendlier place.

Okay, thanks. I guess I can probably do it on Xisto with an Add-On domain then. However, I have another question: once getting an Add-On Domain will I be able to use the 280 credit domain name change only on the Add-On Domain and not the regular domain (my job site)?

Umm, the whole idea of abortion is ripping out the baby's brains with a hook or cutting off the head with giant scissors. That's what I'd call being "affected directly"... It's not a matter of cutting off the baby's support, it's often a matter of cutting off the baby's head. If the baby were simply delivered without its support it could live afterwards, and some when given the chance have. True, but I happen to think all abortions are wrongful ones and that regardless of whether someone's information is faulty, they shouldn't be able to kill others. There are laws against that you know. Parents do care about what their children are subjected to. Maybe the younger, more immature Americans might react that way but I'd hardly say the ones who don't would be the odd ones out. Our society's not that crazy yet. But the fact that the abortion movement supports the practice so wholeheartedly should make one question the morality of their movement. "What is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right." -Hippoparchus I see it as unmistakeably wrong that human beings kill one another to cover up their sinful lifestyles and avoid the consequences such lifestyles bring. To save lives I may have to go against what is popular, and that's fine with me. Abraham Lincoln didn't try educating all the slaveholders until everyone agreed slavery was wrong. He passed laws against slavery as soon as possible. Sure, education is a good thing, but you have to do what you can to stop present evil from occurring - everyone agreeing on everything is simply not going to happen.

Definitely Baseball, hands down I can't believe only one other person said Baseball... With baseball, anybody can play regardless of height or weight. With basketball it tends to all be tall people and with football all big guys. With soccer it's all a bunch of skinny cross country people. But with baseball there's a diversity I think it's because there's such a diversity of skills and different positions that many kinds of athletes can participate. Chunky guy without much running speed? He can make an excellent catcher or 1st baseman. Big football built guy? Probably a power hitter who'll take 1st Base, 3rd Base, or a corner outfield spot. Speedy guy without much throwing or hitting power? Could make an ideal Centerfielder. Slower guy without throwing power but gutsy and able to take a hit? Could be a great 2nd baseman where he'll have to face runners sliding at him but will have easier throws than a Shortstop. Agile player with a strong arm? Shortstop material. And while baseball recruiters are looking for bigger guys these days, many of the great power hitters of history were actually smaller than today's versions. The following hitters are among baseball's all time home run hitters: Mel Ott (5'9"), Yogi Berra (5'8"), Willie Mays (5'11"), Mickey Mantle (5'11"), Carl Yastrzemski 5'11"), Harmon Killebrew (5'9"), Hank Aaron (6'0"). Point is, you don't need to be huge to excel in baseball. I liken baseball to chess in its wide scope of strategy. You can play baseball all your life and still have plenty to learn. Baseball is awesome

Well, you would think there would already be sites helping Americans buy from America-supporting companies but I've looked and can't find anything even remotely similar. If I could find any I'd be happy to reference them on my site but it looks like all the info for it will have to be individually researched since I can't find any site that compiles it yet. My idea again, in case I was unclear before, is to make a site which compares all different companies based on a variety of factors so people can see which ones are best for America. Some of the factors would include: -Number of American workers in a given company -Percentage of all workers in a company that are American -Average salary of workers -Management salary info -Benefits given to workers -Good/bad news about company's impact on America (whether they're putting ma and pa stores out of business, outsourcing jobs, doing charity work, etc.) This way, people can go to the site and instantly get reliable information about which companies to buy from that support the American economy the best.

Alright, this topic really gets to me, so prepare for a long, long rant. I believe in a woman's right to choose, just as I support anyone's right to choose - just not to choose to harm others. Yeah it's a woman's body. So if she wants to use that body to go over and punch you in the face that's alright, right? It is her body you know. If she wants to walk around town naked it's her body, right? The whole "it's her body" argument falls flat on its face. Obviously a person's "rights" and "freedoms" should stop when they infringe upon the rights and freedoms of others. Your "right" to throw a punch should stop where the other person's nose begins. The right to hit others or abort them infringes upon a person's right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The right to public immodesty infringes upon a person's rights to not be visually or physically assaulted. If a woman has the right to kill her children, I guess you'd better try to stay on your mom's good side, huh? Some will say a baby is less human when in the womb, although from what I've heard Planned Parenthood abandoned that argument years ago. However, abortionists do not only defend the killing of unborn children, but live ones as well. There is a practice called Partial Birth Abortion, or late term abortion. Children sometimes survived these late term abortions with the same effect as if being prematurely born, and if cared for could live to be normal adults. However, under the law, it was legal for these children to be left to starve to death in back rooms of hospitals, AFTER BEING BORN. Nurse Jill Stanek famously testified in Congress about this horrible practice, and confronted Illinois Senator Barack Obama specifically on his notorious support for this abominable evil. Obama has consistently voted against bills to ban Partial Birth Abortion, but despite his best efforts a bill passed in 2003. However, thanks to furious opposition from the Pro-Choice movement, the courts refused to uphold it until this past year. Obama also opposed efforts to stop those transporting minors across state lines for abortions without notifying the parents involved. So kids can't get drive without their parents permission but they can end a life inside of them without their parents' consent? http://humanevents.com/2006/12/26/obama-more-prochoice-than-naral/ I've heard some defend abortion on grounds that women will just have coat-hanger abortions if abortion is made illegal and then end up killing themselves. My response is that it is their own fault for seeking to take another's life to avoid the consequences of their actions. In doing so, I am not arguing for them to face the consequences of their actions or be punished, I want better education so women realize adoption is a better alternative and that such illegal methods are very dangerous. I am not arguing for women to suffer the consequences of their actions, but for them to not be able to end the lives of others to avoid said consequences. It's like if a mother walks in the room and demands I kill her 10 year old daughter or else she'll jump out the window. Well, 2 wrongs don't make a right. If I do a wrong to keep her from doing a wrong to herself, it still takes a life and just makes me wrong as well. It multiplies wrongs so that even more people are in the wrong. If she chooses to kill herself, that's her own fault but at least then she doesn't make others pay for her lifestyle choices (in both cases, including the hypothetical one). Again, I'm not making that choice because I want to see her die, I'm making that choice because I don't want her to kill someone else. Some argue in favor of abortion because of poverty and women not being able to support their children. Well, adoption is an alternative. The problem then is poverty, and that needs to be fixed, but killing people is not the answer. Otherwise, you're arguing that we should send cops into poor neighborhoods to gun down all the poor people. Obviously that would be immoral, but it's the same argument in both cases. Some argue in favor of abortion based on cases of rape or the mother's life being in danger. Well, even before Roe v. Wade (the legalization of abortion), abortions WERE allowed by many states in such rare circumstances. Therefore, those are non-issues, and so rare as to be bad support for abortions as a whole. I will, however, say this: when a mother's life is in danger from a pregnancy, it is her life in danger as well as the child's, so that is the one case where I wholeheartedly agree that she should be given a choice to abort. That is the only time equal freedoms to life are at stake. To refuse her the choice to abort would be to infringe upon her right to life, just as the baby's right to life is at stake, so only then do I see it necessary for abortion to be an option. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that many of those telling people criticizing abortion to "mind their own business" fit into one of the following categories: A - Performed an abortion. B - Had an abortion. C - Active member of the Pro-Abortion movement. D - Guy sleeping around so women have abortions.

Alright, here's the deal: I'm thinking about creating a new site called http://imptestrm.com/rg-erdr.php?_dnm=www.usacompanies.com&_cfrg=1&_drid=as-drid-2300300503455222 (or at least the name I'm going with right now) to provide Americans with info about how many employees of companies are Americans, what percentage of total employees of companies are Americans, what the average salaries of workers are, what CEO's are paid, what benefits companies give workers, etc. Basically an informational site allowing Americans to support companies that are good for America.Anyway, here's the dilemma: I'm not sure whether to set it up on Qupis or Xisto. I wouldn't mind an ad supporting Xisto, in fact, I'd like to have it on the site since unlike my current site (a job site I intentionally try to keep out of search engine results), I think this one will have the potential to get good traffic. However, I want to give it a domain name with the 280 credit requirement after posting for the credits. Now, I looked on Qupis and didn't see an option to get domain names. But on Xisto, there are no ads. How can I have both? Also, does Qupis have all the same site features that Xisto does aside from the ads?

Like a lot of people here said already, just be yourself. For some reason people think those who don't bother trying to impress them are trying to act cool. Smoking, drugs, that sorta stuff might be seen as cool in some circles but if you think you've got problems already being unpopular, well, those things can cause you a whole lot more trouble.I wouldn't ditch people just because they're unpopular. If you really want to be seen as cool, try getting good at sports It's hard for people to see you as uncool if you can beat half the jocks in sports and arm wrestling. Some basic dress pointers like not wearing sweatpants, don't pull pants up to your belly button, don't tuck the shirt in while doing so, etc. can be useful. A lot of the people in middle school/high school are shallow and if you're seen as unpopular, odds are it's partly a looks thing. Also, you'll run into some jerks who just like picking on people for their self-esteem. It's like they want to make you fight back... of course, every once in a while they'll make a mistake and pick on the calm, quiet guys that you don't want to mess with, in which case it can be kinda funny. Also, it might just be a matter of having common interests with people. A lot of the so-called "cool" people are always talking about sex, drugs, cars, sports, or jobs. Again, being good at major sports (baseball, basketball, football) will actually make the most unpopular people be seen as popular, as weird as it might seem. A little weightlifting can go a long way towards popularity I guess.

Huh? For me it shows it below the picture... I can't help wondering if it's displaying differently for me on my computer based on some of the comments I'm receiving. It should be showing up as this on Internet Explorer, right? And as this on Firefox?

Alright, thanks for all the advice! To Karlosantana: I might try blues and whites for the scheme. Are you sure the buttons are too small though? I always stick to a 1024x768 screen resolution so maybe it doesn't work well with other resolutions. I tried some other resolutions though and didn't see any problems, are you sure about them being too small? I noticed the flash menu looks better in IE than Firefox for some reason, and the colors show up better. Maybe it's a browser-specific problem?To SaintMichael: Thanks for the color ideas! Maybe I should try some more work on the design itself just because the JPG's can load at slightly different speeds which doesn't always look the greatest when loading, although fortunately it loads pretty fast.To Sonesay: I suppose putting a name up there could work but I worry it would distract from the site itself, and I'm not sure it's needed for a job site. Maybe it's just because I'm used to thinking in terms of flashy banners though, and a simple plain text banner wouldn't look too bad.

I don't think it's so much that the activities aren't fun for kids anymore... as that they're unavailable and kids don't grow up realizing they're fun. P.E. is being eliminated from public schools as we speak because all the education system cares about anymore is their precious test scores. Educators are cramming kids with homework to turn them into hard-working automatons by elementary school, and giving them workloads your parents would have flinched at if not run away crying from. As a result of being worked like their parents, and pressured to get jobs to get ahead in the real world when not busy with school, kids are coming home absolutely exhausted and drained. They don't have the energy for sports, especially since they don't grow up with the physical activities their parents did. It's easier to get their fun from video games and the computer, which don't require physical energy. What's more, take a look at the baseball fields in your city. Yeah, there's a lot of them, but they're only open to organized teams. Try to find one open in the spring or summer that's not chalked up for someone to play on. The only sports recognized now seem to be the organized team ones, and kids just aren't given room to play anymore. There aren't the vacant lots or unused baseball fields for them to use. And if lots are vacant, you can be sure owners have up "No Trespassing" signs and lawyers all too happy to sue kids and their families. The team sports are as regimented and time consuming as any school activity. Kids can't just have fun anymore, it has to be structured, organized to a "T" fun. It's not the kids that are failing America. It's America that's failing the kids.

Indeed, which is why Lawyers make good racquetball players but not good tennis ones. :PYou might not like me for this, but I don't like lawyers for the same reason I don't like debate teams It requires arguing for a side you don't get to choose rather than out of conviction about which is right (some lawyers do choose though, as perhaps might some debaters).I think when someone is that willing to argue any side it seems like hypocrisy rather than conviction. A lot of lawyers strike me as just out to get a paycheck rather than find out the truth. How many would actually leave their client if finding out the client was guilty? Most would continue to defend because that's their job or at least they see it as their job.Their job, if so, forces them to be dishonest. I'd hate to be on a debate team unless getting to choose a side and a topic I feel strongly about. I'd hate to be a lawyer unless I get to have clients I believe innocent with the understanding that if I at any time consider them guilty I can walk away from the case.

Milk is awesome It goes well with just about any food, too. Some people say it puts them to sleep, but for some reason it wakes me up. I think it might be a chemical thing somewhat specific to me, but I'm not sure why it works like that. Some other really healthy foods I know of: Tomatoes (beta-carotene), Blueberries (anti-oxidants), Spinach (tons of vitamins)The only thing with Spinach though is you've got to eat it fresh. Then it tastes like lettuce, only better. But after a week or so it starts tasting like the stuff in the can. I tried eating that before with salt, seasonings, all sorts of stuff. Nothing can make the canned stuff taste good. I can't imagine how people can eat it like that. I think Popeye was insane If it was fresh Spinach I could understand

Personally I'm a big advocate of sports. People want to make exercise a chore. But sports are fun The only problem is it's tough to stay active during the winter. Baseball is pretty much out of the question. Basketball outdoors is unlikely unless the snow clears enough on the court to play. Football can be played but is tougher to do. Still, if you integrate the element of competition into it with other people, it gets more fun. For example, there's a cool game called swordfighting where two people lock hands with the index fingers pointing outwards at the other person, and then both try to be the first to poke the other person. It ends up similar to sword fights because you have to use leverage and momentum. I've seen some really undersized guys win against big towering guys because they could maneuver better with more agility, and move more unpredictably. You can actually use other's strength against them by going one way and then getting them using their force the other way, then reverse and swing the arm around at them. It can result in really cool looking acrobatic feats too like backflips, frontflips, feet coming off the ground to dodge low attacks or bending backwards Matrix-style, and punch-like jabs where the other person's strength can't stop your own in a straight frontal move. Also, if there's little space, you can just make a rule where neither person can move their feet or else loses. Also, you could have pushup competitions or situp competitions. If by yourself you could get a 10 lb. handweight, there's a lot of exercises you can do with. I personally have liked using it in conjunction with a bar for Olympic style weightlifting as well. Anyway, my point was, sports or competition are great and fun for staying in shape. You could race your friends, play badminton or pingpong, all sorts of stuff. Sports are exercise, version Fun.0

"Pilgrim's Progress", a new modern-day amplified translation but one that doesn't paraphrase or shorten anything. It was really good :PAlso, for the person who read LOTR on page 1, they might find some of the stuff by R.A. Salvatore interesting. I used to be really into his stuff years and years ago.

Actually, from what I've read, 12 minutes is the minimum amount of time needed for an aerobic exercise to build the fat-burning muscles that are the primary cause of weight loss (no, dieting is not what most results in weight loss, but exercise). Plus, it takes more time for less-intensive aerobic exercises like walking, so 30 minutes would be more effective I would think. My mom showed me a book she liked, "The New Fit or Fat" by Covert Bailey, and the main point he makes, which I agree with, is that exercise is the primary cause of weight loss. Dieting can actually cause long-term weight gain because while it results in short-term weight loss, the weight lost can be partly in muscle, muscles which burn calories; and thus people will have harder and harder times losing weight after the dieting. I know from personal experience that no matter how hard I try I can't get my weight over 170 lbs. because I stay physically active. Another friend of mine is in cross country and he too can eat whatever he wants but has almost no body fat percentage and gains no weight. 2 of my brothers used to be very chubby but after just 1 summer of playing baseball with me every day lost a ton of weight and since then have been in track and cross country with no signs at all of gaining the weight back. One has so much extra skin though that he can bend it and twist it in weird ways from all the weight he lost. Bailey in his book makes the point that if you want to be in shape, go to a person in shapeand see what they do. He suggests finding a 12 year old boy and imitating him. When he jumps up and down, you jump, etc. It's the physically active people who are in shape, and what's more, once they get in shape, they do exercise naturally. They don't try to park close to stores, they might jump around while walking; they do what Bailey calls "insensible exercise." (I think that was his term anyway)

Eek! An intruder! Just kidding Welcome to the forums! Make sure to read the rules, Xisto can be a little more particular about the use of quote tags, not double-posting, and making quality posts than most forums you'll go to, but otherwise it shouldn't be too bad. Just make good, non-spam posts and the moderators should be happy to accept your site request. Enjoy the forums!

I don't really get the indent in the Objective area, that doesn't seem normal for a Resume but that's just me. Otherwise, it looks pretty good (you edited it well), but you've got a lot of noticeable space in the middle near the Skill Set. You might consider explaining a little about what you've done with each of those skills in the past, maybe how you used them on a job, created a project or site with them, etc. You could just put a hyphen after each skill and then some brief info that will help employers see how you've used the skills in the past. It's up to you though, the employer might be interested just by the skill set and ask you for more info about each one. Or that info might be better put in a Portfolio than on a Resume. As another alternative, you could put a hyphen after each skill set and provide some brief info about how long you've used the skill and any formal training in it you received.