Jim

Slashdot.org, theonion.com, news.google.com are right up there at the top of my favorites and have been mentioned. Other, slightly more twisted favorites are: wonkette.com Cynical insider view of Washington DC politics. NewsOfTheWeird.com The title says it all... homestarrunner Check out StrongBad

I live in *cough* earthquake country so my needs are a little different. For batteries, I keep at least one "brick" of AA's in the refrigerator all the time. I use and rotate them so they are never more than about a year old. For water, I know how to drain and use the water in the water heater. I keep a small camping butane stove in the garage and I have a propane heater and a couple of 10 gallon bottles of propane. Be careful how you store propane, most home insurance policies demand that it be stored outside. Be careful of carbon monoxide poisoning if you use it in an enclosed area. Make sure there is plenty of ventilation. I have a case of baked beans, a case of small dannish canned hams and a case of tuna in the plastic pouches under the bed. We try to use and rotate them as well. Don't forget pet food. If it were me in hurricane country, I'd want a small radio that could receive the NOAA weather radio broadcasts on narrow band FM. I do have a little tiny Honda generator in the garage, but I'd not use it unless I had to. It's stinky, noisy and a little finicky. Not worth the trouble. Candles and kerosene lamps will do for lighting. Keep them and a handful of lighters and stick matches in a safe place. Other items that are good to have around are a .22 rifle and a couple bricks of ammo. If you're so inclined, a couple bottles of good liquor and a couple large containers of instant coffee.

As I read this, it's very difficult to keep my profanity in check. I'm angry at the BOT, I'm angry at Corrodi playing the running lacky shill for the BOT and I'm angry at myself. Mostly at myself for buying into this bullshi_t "don't question us" attitude. They were wrong. They deceived us. And hopefully there will be justice. Intimidated indeed. Corrodi didn't know the meaning of the word. It was just rhetoric to silence the honest questions of honest people trying to find out if their money was used honestly. Jerry, if you're reading this, sorry about my hardass attitude. I admired you. I listened to you and Del at the YWCA in Oakland and was moved. We trusted you and you let us down.

A Paypal payment to pawtucket@greasespotcafe.com will get to him, though he probably won't admit it in public :)-->

The first of a new generation of child astronauts completes her weighlessness training.

Nothing is quite so deafening as the sound of snowflakes on a hot summers day.

Never heard His voice, but I've heard voices like angels. They were singing in Latin.

I wonder if Rev. Lovelace knows how to dance around in tights?

My leanings have always been Republican, mixed with a general dispair over the crappiness of Republican presidents. I remember being reproved for marching in an "impeach Nixon" rally. I've refused to vote for either party's presidential candidate for the last 2 elections.

I shoulda left after the first book-burning.

I was going to do the first post on this thread, but after starting several times and closing the window instead of posting, I decided to wait and see what everyone else would say. I think that for those of us that are in our 50's, we did grow up in a marginally disfunctional envronment. Our parents had been children during the depression, teens during WWII and adults during Korea and Vietnam. They had a lot on their minds and sometimes being there to mentor and coach the kids was a low priority. My dad's work kept him away from home most of the time. When he was home, it usually meant punishment for me, for some infraction my mom informed him of. My mom was the best with 0-5 year olds. Just the best. But she never really understood kids older than that. So what do I make of it. They did the best they could with what they had and what the standards of the day were. We always had good food and warm clothes and working bikes. Did I do better with my kid? Yeah, a lot better. But I only had one and they had 3. And I have an excellent memory and tried not to make too many of the same mistakes that I remembered them making. When I think of my parents, I'm a little comforted by what I heard VPW once say: "If your parents are so bad, how come you turned out so good?"

Damn straight it would have been edited out if it didn't pass review. The A/V guys that prepared the master tapes were incredible at editing and could have fixed it easily.

Yeah, and grampa Moneybags, mom Moneypurse and junior Moneypiggie. Just kidding. He's a Rev whose last name sounds strangely similar to moneybags.

Really? I'm glad you told me.

Well said, Belle.

Probably true. I worked in the pro video field in the 80's and this was a big deal with quartz halogen lamps. Some actors came down with skin cancer and everyone was required to buy UV filters (just a piece of thick window glass) to put over the quartz lamps.

Thanks for the coffee spew. An exquisite mental image.

I can't agree with you. VPW loved technology. Going all the way back to shortwave broadcasts, old Wollensack tape recorders and black and white video, VPW always wanted the technological edge. Unlike LCM, he was not stupid and would use whatever tool that presented itself. Likewise, he did not hesitate to recruit the best and brightest to run his technology and he, in turn treated them well. I think that VPW would have organized some sort of official website structure along the lines of the way tree. Local *moderated* forums at the branch level linked to limb and trunk sites. Mind you, no substantial critism of TWI would be allowed, just a "bless you" sort of presence to "share your heart* with others and be a positive witness on the net. This would be enough to give the followers a place to surf and to feel connected. VPW would have loved it and it would have served his purpose well.

You're a cruel man, Hills. It'll take me hours to get that image out of my mind.

Lets assume that it's 1984 and VPW comes to his senses and sends Loy back to Kansas to be limb leader. Further assume that God grants VPW another 15 years of health. What would happen? I think that all this might buy another 10 years of modest to no growth. Meanwhile the Corps machine keeps stamping out brownshirts and sending them out to take over successful twigs, thus destroying the 'family' that drew many of us into TWI in the first place. On the other hand, if Loy were removed from corps leadership and VPW had done what he knew he ought to, the corps program would have been scaled back both in intensity and volume. VPW, pretty much an early adapter of technology, would have used the internet as a tool instead of cursing it as LCM did. I think this also would prolong the life of TWI. Loy's cursing of the internet just infuriated those of us who used it daily and inspired the critical websites that sprang up. VPW would have never canceled ROA. He realised a good tool when he had one and he also recognized the need to keep the rank-and-file generally happy. Remember the year of healing after the year of door-to-door? So what would we have? I think we would have 25-30 thousand faithful going to twig and ROA, not much growth, but not much attrition either. It's interesting to speculate, but that's all it is.

I like bitter coffee and bitter beer.

Definitely branch leader material Groucho. Maybe even limb leader. He has a good, quick mind and he knows his Bible according to TWI.

Yeah. I dreamed of being the first believer to give VPW a million dollars. I put TWI as the beneficiary to my life insurance. A lot we got out of it. Rosy sits on the throne lighting her fireplace with our abundant sharing. Oh, excuse me for a bitter moment...

It's not so much a case of *bitter* as it's a case of *doing the right thing*. I couldn't ask for a better life than I have. If I die tomorrow it will be without regrets knowing that I've accomplished much and left the world a little bit better. I've changed, I've moved on. On the other hand, I perceive that TWI continues with the same pattern of lies and control that VPW began and LCM perfected. Until I see some signs of admission and restitution, I have no desire to "let bygones be bygones"

They are welcome to visit me personally and try it. My email address is in my profile and I check it once a week or so. All they have to do is let me know...