Mebert

Anybody old enough to remember Global Cooling? Too bad people are way more gullible since the 70's ...

I'm not sure how things are in the Rural South, but private education does play an important role in education overall. For instance, were it not for the Archdiocese of Washington, the Washington, DC school system -

I know this is tantamount to blasphemy, but has anybody actually considered that the teachers are just as much as fault as the system for which they work? I mean, the quality of teachers in a lot of places is piss-poor, especially where there are strong Teacher Unions that prevent school systems from doing things such as firing teachers who are clearly underperforming. That's probably why charter schools have done so well in New York; it's not because the demi-private system worked better than the public, it's because the union was weakened. Studies showed that when charter schools were introduced, all schools improved, because the union was weakened overall, which allowed for better policing of the teachers in both the charter and public schools. I once considered a career in teaching, but one look at the teacher's union and I decided to go into usury instead.

Faith is a religious conceptquote> Um, no, it's not, actually. Faith is a noun, meaning (according to Oxford English Dictionary) "complete trust or confidence in someone or something." Scientists have faith in their discoveries. At least, I hope they do. And, for the most part, I have faith in scientists. Now, I don't care how much you revere scientists, they are, before their lab coats, beakers, and equations, human beings. Human beings are greedy, jealous, and stubborn. Nobody wants to admit they are wrong, and when you base your entire career on being right - like scientists- that is even more true. I've known a few scientists in my time, and while they were great people, they all had one thing in common: entire self-confidence in their work and their discoveries. That's a great trait, but, as history has shown us, it has it's issues. Consider theories, like, oh, the theory that stress causes ulcers. The man had to literally infect himself before people would listen to him. Scientists are great people, sacrificing their lives for their work. But they are still just that - people. And the three most arrogant kinds of people in the world are preachers, doctors, and scientists. What I can't abide are people who have such a narrow-minded view of life as to discount all other views. Yes, there is an absolute truth in the world. Yes, there is one correct answer. But I've got news for you - nobody knows it. And we all try to find it out in our own way, but none of us are ever going to get there. And it's improper for one person to try to force their ideas on another, unless they have a really good reason. And so far, I haven't seen either side of the religious debate give a good reason for causing this whole mess. What needs to happen is we all just have to sit back, and chill out. And we really have to stop hating each other, because that's getting old.

Now slow down. First of all, you may have a lot of faith in science, but don't be too secure. Everything we thought was true about science -

What I never got about the creationism argument is that Genesis I and Genesis II have conflicting views of creation. In one, man is created first, and the animals created to serve him, and in the other, man is created last. Other things are different as well. I mean, frankly, if you're going to be utterly and literally dogmatic, you probably should get your story straight.

Nech, maybe, but I don't think so. London is going to get impacted by the failing economy, and these days, the pound seems just as weak as the dollar in terms of relative lost value. London doesn't have the world's largest office district. The American banks are getting hit hard, but they are still a resilient bunch.

I'd show you guys some pictures, but I don't own a camera. Beautiful city though. I used to live in Brooklyn, which is great, but nothing compared to where I live now (LES) architecturally.

I remember this. Was anybody watching NY1 back in March, when they interviewed that guy who said that "they need inspectors, and inspectors inspecting the inspectors?" At the time, I thought it was more bureaucratic trash, but these days, I'm not so sure. It's not like you can avoid walking underneath cranes, there's so many of them.

Well, it's all in how you count it. The actual municipality isn't that big; it only compares to New York when you count the metropolitan area.

And, you get a much better value, given the size and scope of the MTA. but not somewhere that would be really livable.quote> I think about eight million people might disagree with you on that one.

Well, my source was a trivia book published in 1994, so I guess it was out of date.quote> Well, Fresh Kills didn't close until seven years later, so perhaps at the time, it was accurate.

The United States is so decentralized, just sticking the capital here wouldn't make a difference. It's not like the US Governemnt would have any undue influence.

The Great Wall of China is bigger than Fresh Kills Landfill.quote> No, I don't think so. According to Wikipedia, the landfill has a greater volume.

New Yorkers are gay, they just walk into you and *****.quote> Thank you for being polite, understanding, non-stereotypical and downright un-homophobic. It's good to know that our society still produces such people. I'd have to say New York. 8 million people beats Toronto, the Subway beats Toronto, the location beats Toronto ... sorry. Hell, New York has the world's largest man made object. Nobody else can top that.

I recently took a visit to Wien,

The first picture looks cool ... how exactly did you do that?

Oh god that's hideous!quote> Yes, but I wouldn't worry. They've been trying to do something with Hudson Place for years. I doubt that this will be any different than the last twenty planned projects or so.

As a NYC resident, some of the BEST neighborhoods are in areas that deviate from the grid plan, such as the West Village!quote> As a NYC resident, what? I live on the Lower East Side, and I love the grid. Makes plenty of sense, and it's way less confusing than other cities, such as Boston. I used to live in Brooklyn, and the grid worked there. Naturally, we had our odd-angle cross streets, like New Utrecht Avenue, but even they were pretty cardinal, when you think about it. Besides, the West Village isn't that un-griddy; it's just oriented differently.

I agree. They're expensive, and, well ... pointless. Not to mention the fact that they probably aren't much safe, either.

The automobile is the enemy of the well organized city. Streets should be constructed for the efficiency of limited automobile traffic, and a massive, all-encompassing mass transit system should render the necessity for such things totally nullified. For instance, a city like Wien, Austria, which has a very effective U-Bahn (subway), S-Bahn (sort of an inner city high speed rail, larger capacity than the U-Bahn, but not quite commuter rail), and Trams, that effectively service every area of the city.

I don't like it. Forgive me, but I find the fact that the floor is moving under me a little unsettling, especially fifty floors up.

I'd finish the [expletive deleted] 2nd Avenue line!

I'm not sure if this has been requested, but I breezed through the past fifty pages or so and didn't see it. If it had been requested (or if it already exists), I apologize. When using the elevated rail/road pieces, what about stations built over roads (such as you see in places like Brooklyn or the Bronx)? And in similar fashion, what about elevated rail built over avenues, one way roads, etcetera? An example of what I'm talking about appears in New Utrecht Avenue, Brooklyn.

Unions didn't build this country, but they did help make it what it is. Let me be clear -