Hernando's Hideaway. Another Thread "almost certainly not for you."

Why is everybody having trouble with sleep? Oh, that's right, I forgot.

George W. Bush aimed HAARP at the Middle East to disrupt their lives. They lost a lot of sleep and became cranky. ISIS isn't a group of extremist Muslims, they're a group of cranky Muslims.

Unfortunately, the waves were partially deflected by the inside of the hollow earth, where Nazis and Reptillians are roomies, and some waves have come back to the US.

One non-prescription pill I take (with the others) is Melatonin. It might be interesting for you to look into. My dose is 5 (whatever dosages are measured in) Gallons? Feet? Rods? Hectares? Newtons? Something.

a reply to: ketsuko

I can't afford to burn my bras. I need 'em for work. I did however skip through the house waving mine around in circles when I got home today. Will that do?

Ah, ketsuko, you should know better. Pics or it didn't happen. (Smile or leer, your choice.)

originally posted by: charles1952
a reply to: ketsuko

I can't afford to burn my bras. I need 'em for work. I did however skip through the house waving mine around in circles when I got home today. Will that do?

Ah, ketsuko, you should know better. Pics or it didn't happen. (Smile or leer, your choice.)

Are you sure you want pictures? I might weigh 450 lbs for all you know ...

O.O
Must.....
Get.....
Mental.....
Pictures....
Out.....
Must be *groan* gentleman..........


XD

a reply to: charles1952

Why is everybody having trouble with sleep? Oh, that's right, I forgot.

George W. Bush aimed HAARP at the Middle East to disrupt their lives. They lost a lot of sleep and became cranky.

Huh... I never knew that. It's George and his harp that caused my insomnia??

I thought it was simply stress caused by situational difficulties but you learn something new every day. Damn the George guy. (and his harp.)

Hey Charles how's it going? Is that giant mouse still there? I tell you a burst of .223 will take care of any vermin problem this side of Grayland, WA. Out at Grayland the friggen rats are as big as small pigs, practically bullet-proof. I know this because I shot one at the docks and the bullet bounced off. Go figure, I put a dent in my Barracuda trying to get away. (Almost a completely true story.)

a reply to: HarbingerOfShadows

Thanks, HarbingerofShadows, for that response. We can continue or not, your choice. Here at Hernando's we try to make people feel comfortable and valued. So go with your heart.

I agree with you that, if you were to arrange beliefs along a line some number (maybe 15%?, maybe 5%?) on either end would be classified as extremists, and the people left would be the moderates. No problem, you're right.

I wonder if some test more objective could be used. The reason I'd like that is the cultural reason. In Africa, eating insects is not all that rare (or so I've been led to believe). But in the US, eating insects would classify as extreme. So, if someone told me that they ate insects, I wouldn't know if that was extreme or not. Here's an actual quotation from General Sir Charles Napier, famous among other things, for capturing a portion of what is now Pakistan.

Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs.

Are there actual behaviors which can be seen as extreme by most or all of the world? How about opinions? I can see, by squinting, that amputation for a thief might not be considered extreme by large parts of the world. Stoning for adultery is tougher, but ... I can't see killing people because they leave your religion, or are not of your religion. And those are institutionalized, they're part of the people.

Oh, I agree that there are nuts in any religion and in nearly every group. Those, however are seen as nuts by everybody.

Do we have actions or beliefs that we can say with near universal assurance really are extreme?

a reply to: HarbingerOfShadows

Sorry, HarbingerOfShadows, you've got to face it like a man. Be brave. Here, have drink.

Actually, I'd say a better example of an extremist Christian would be someone who murders an abortion doctor or blows up the clinic. I don't hold with abortion myself, but I would never go that far to protest the practice no matter how abhorrent I find it.

Or you could talk about the people who still practice snake handling. That's pretty extreme, too.



And, I don't weigh that much if it makes you all feel better.

a reply to: ketsuko

I'd say a better example of an extremist Christian would be someone who murders an abortion doctor or blows up the clinic.

Yeah that's extreme. Killing people to save people that makes no sense to me.

Or you could talk about the people who still practice snake handling. That's pretty extreme, too.

This doesn't seem extreme to me. Simply an interpretation of doctrine that may not be right. That's the problem with stuff that's written, everyone seems to interpret it a bit differently.

Now muslims killing people for leaving the faith. That is not just extremism it's insanity and murder. Those supposed followers of islam who kill people who disagree with them are extremist and need to be met with deadly force.

a reply to: Bassago

Everything is Smmoooooooooooooth. By the way, a small correction. It was George and his HAARP, David and his harp.

Actually, the mouse went away, the sneaky vermin. The stories I keep hearing are that the New York City rats are supposed to be king. I guess they come in to each coast on cargo ships. I wonder if those rats bite people. I further wonder if they bit anyone in Africa, then climbed aboard ship. Would they consider biting anyone in the US? You can see where I'm going. Why can't the world run smoothly for a while? I know, Original Sin, but still . . .

If I run across a giant mouse that isn't moving (so I have time to aim), my first choice is an anti-personnel round fired from a tank. Failing that, a .50 caliber burst does pretty well, too. (Of course, if they're close, a grenade will often do the trick.) The only drawback to a .50 caliber, is that they're the very devil to put under your pillow for home defense. (And you can forget about concealed carry.)

a reply to: Bassago

Well, I guess the snake handling is extreme in that it hinges everything based on one tiny point in scripture. But in terms of how the snake handlers act toward those around them, no I wouldn't call them extremists.

Extremism is about doing things to the starkest extent in some way. So that could be by following one bit of scripture to the exclusion of many others or by being willing to kill those who don't conform to your ways of belief or by hedging yourself in to a rigid set of laws you do not allow yourself to relax in any way. Heck, even the Amish are extremist in a way.

Extremist doesn't always mean bad. Look at extreme sports.

a reply to: charles1952

A while back I was at the rifle range and some dude brought in his 50. cal BMG. The bloody thing was huge and he had it in his truck bed (where he fired from.) It was quite ridiculous really and don't get me wrong,I love guns. When he was done firing we were all half deaf. And this was on a piddling 250 yard target range.

I do believe these 50. cal weapons will be one of the deciding factors if the US ever has another civil war. They can shoot out to a mile it seems and god help anything that isn't more armored than an APC. But for mice.. no matter how big, lol. All I can say is if you need the 50. then make sure you have those DU shell as well. We wouldn't want anything to live on the land afterwards.

I'm going to stick to my small caliber arms with lots of body armor. Those rodents can be a problem. If they bring in diseases as well then we're screwed.

Picture of me rat hunting.

a reply to: Bassago

You are absolutely right. I don't have any desire to use one of those again. But, I have a possible solution for your rat hunting, and you'll be able to put a doughnut in your mouth while in the field. Honestly, though, I'd rather face a .50 than this thing.

a reply to: charles1952

How did i miss your message? i apologize...

we have had fab conversations, whats the topic now?

My goodness, this must have been one heck of a rat. Far be it for me to ruin a good man vs mouse battle, but I must say that over the years I have learned one thing for certain. Once things escalate to the point of explosive warfare the mouse has definitely won. Might I suggest a few drops of Balsam pine oil. For rodents of all sizes it's the worst smell in the world.

@HarbingerofShadows, I took a look at your thread and while I tend to stay out of belief system team sports, as an atheist I appreciate your approach.

Here the subject has turned to extremism. How is it measured ? does it only become a problem when it's forced upon others through violence and coercion ?

@Charles, The eating of insects is an interesting example of possible objective test. Unless we take in to account that more than half of the worlds populations regularly eat insects as part of a "normal" diet. If we look at it this way, wouldn't the west be extreme in it's aversion to the practice ?

My mind strayed back to the idea of the extreme in the context of religion and the one thing that jumps out at my is fear. Could it really be that the fear of damnation or punishment leads some to try to create a world where one never has to be afraid.

a reply to: Darth_Prime

Welcome Darth Prime, Good to see you. I'm sure that Mrs. G will be along shortly with something delicious to eat. In the mean time, the bar is open please help yourself or I could wing it until a proper mixologist arrives.

Penny

a reply to: Darth_Prime

Darth! Good to see you! What can I get you to drink? Let me steal you away from the crowd for a minute. grab one of those chairs over by the fireplace and we can have a quick word before you start mingling.

I trust you've read the OP, and maybe looked at a few pages here and there? If not, give it a try. Hernando's is unique. I mean exactly that, I don't mean that it's unusual. There is no place on ATS like it, and it [I]is[/I] a place. Just ask Mrs. guohua over by the bar, or pennylemon, ketsuko, oh, just anybody.

I've mentioned before that there seems to be a kind of force field around this place. Somehow, and I honestly don't know how, the "wrong sort" of people either don't post, or make a post or two and leave. The "right sort" stick around, flourish and grow. The regulars at Hernando's have made this, I don't know how to put it, I'll just call it the best place I've ever seen.

One thing I want to emphasize before we talk about the current topic, is that the regulars are to be respected and cared for. Anyone posting here becomes one of the family. We worry about each other in times of trial, we celebrate successes, we sympathize when one of us is hurting. We don't attack each other, or make anyone else look dumb. Our conversations aren't about "winning."

Oh! Thanks for the drinks. Just put it on my tab please, Darth_Prime is new here, you can put his orders on my bill for a few days. Yes, I know my bill is pretty large, it's all that Bassago's doing. Well, I'm paying it off and I've cleared it with Mrs. G, so it's all right.

OK, where were we? Right.

This is a place where anyone can feel safe all the time. That alone makes it different from any other thread, but it allows us to be more open than we normally would be. I know you've taken more than your share of hits in the forums, but I don't expect any of that sort of thing here.

You can invite people to join, but I would ask you to participate for a few days first, in order to get a feel for the place and the personalities here.

Finally, the topic. As pennylemon pointed out, we're currently exploring what "extreme" means, largely but not entirely religious extremism. As a topic, it can venture into dangerous areas, but as we've noted, a strongly held opinion is very different from an attack. We don't do attacks, but we try to make it comfortable for people to freely express themselves.

One position, pretty well accepted, is that extremism can be measured by the number of people involved in, or supporting, it. That's perfectly reasonable, but it gives me some worries.

If we say that extremism is bad and moderation is good, then whatever the large majority does is good, and what the small minority does is bad. I don't think you or I would be happy with that. The other problem I have is that just about any behavior can be described as moderate, if you carefully define what group is setting the standard.

If a rite of passage for some tribe was to raid a village, rape a woman, and kill and eat one of that village's men, they could claim that was moderate behavior. I would hope that pretty much everyone else on the planet would disagree.

I was wondering then, if there was behavior which could be almost always safely labeled as "extreme" without reference to the circumstances. I would think that killing someone would be a serious punishment which might be considered as not necessarily extreme, but to kill them because they put the wrong foot on the floor first when they got out of bed (a made-up example) is beyond the pale whoever practices it.

Anyway, stick around. If you don't like that topic, start another. We can have two topics going at once. You might want to go back several pages and find our juke box, and listen to some remarkable music. I'm glad you're here, and can't wait to hear what's on your mind.

a reply to: pennylemon

Aw, pennylemon, you've got to understand. Guys operate under a different code, in fact, it's called [I]The Guy Code[/I]. After our discussion on bras and estrogen, the guy code requires guys to get an antidote in the way of excessive testosterone. I think "Metal Storm" qualifies as "excessive testosterone," don't you?

Don't let the guys at "Guy Central" know about this, but if I was running the Army, I would recommend against purchasing that system. Keep it in storage in case it's needed some day, but right now our fight is against small groups of terrorists. Since we're worried (or at least claim to be) about killing civilians, I don't know how we could use "Metal Storm" against three guys in a rusty pickup truck. Oh, we could turn it into dust and grease, but were they civilians or suicide bombers? We'd never know.

a reply to: pennylemon

I hope you don't mind if I change the subject to another part of your last conversation. Darth_Prime is out getting acquainted, so I thought I'd settle in here for a minute.

You know, your comment about insect eating was very thought provoking, I'm really glad you brought it up. You've brought the subject of extremism to a level I've never heard of (or imagined) before. I have several half-baked thoughts or questions that might be worth exploring on the subject. I'm not going to put them into paragraphs because they're still too vague.

1.) I think I might have been wrong. Is extreme behavior extreme no matter how many people practice it?

2.) If we're going by numbers, it can't be that the majority is moderate and the minority is extreme. Extreme is not really used as anything but an insult now. Check political ads.

3.) "Extreme" shouldn't measure individual physical qualities. People over six and a half feet tall in the world are a definite, small minority, but they would never be called extreme.

4.) Can "extreme" apply to taste in food and music? This is tough for me. Some peoples' taste in food is for as much of it as they can get. Others will only eat super organic, locally grown, hand processed, etc. Those both seem as extreme to me. Do insect eaters choose their diet? Would they rather have something else, but scarcity forces them?

For music? I understand that young Nazi supporters had (have?) a type of music that they prefer. It glorifies the race, etc. Is that extreme? What about people who closely identify with inner city youth and will only listen to violent rap?

5.) Does "extreme" only apply to behavior and opinions about that behavior? Perhaps it applies only to that which affects or intends to affect another human? But if that's so, would hourly drug use be extreme, as it's only affecting the user?

Pennylemon, it's time to put away the opener. It's done it's job on that good ol' can o' worms. And I'll bet there are more questions. (My mother always said I was better at making messes than at cleaning them up.)

Good morning everyone. Yawn. Semi-insomnia again last night, waking multiple times and it's still dark outside. Need some more coffee I think.

a reply to: charles1952

I'm not sure what extremism really is but it seems to be action based outside of cultural and social norms. It also appears to be highly subjective. I'm sure Genghis Khan didn't think he was an extremist anymore than G W Bush did in launching a phoney war that murdered over a hundred thousand innocent civilians.

I'm thinking extremism is what TPTB (in any culture) decide it is. And that's the extent of my brain this morning. It'll be all downhill from here.