hummer0328

I don't really see a problem considering that not many people will be willing to get completely wasted at some $7-$10 a beer. If they really want to get wasted their just going to drink it before coming or sneak it in (which already goes on anyways). Besides, who would want to get drunk before going on a roller coaster anyways?

Originally posted by: Deathtoall Your wrong, all of you, the answer is simple, 42 quote> I knew it! lol I have been interested in theoretical physics since I was a little kid. That type of stuff has always fascinated me. Now I'm not saying that the big bang isn't a good theory, and probably the best theory scientists have put forth to date, but it still is just a theory. That's the only thing that bothers me about the modern scientific establishment: they think they know everything (and I'm speaking from a purely scientific standpoint, not a religious one). It seems like scientists came up with a good theory, then continued to build onto that theory with more and more theories. If something comes to light that could contradict the original theory then they come up with more theories to explain the anomaly. If some scientist comes up with a contridictory theory, it's maybe looked at with a bit of curiosity, and then quickly thrown to the side. So, what if scientists are wrong about the big bang? How much does that change our perceived picture of the Universe? Interesting to ponder huh! If one thing has remained consistent through history, it is that mankind always believed beyond the shadow of a doubt they knew everything. Has that ever been true in the past? No. So why are we so assured that we have finally found an answer to explain the creation of the universe now? It just seems scientists are really good at coming up with theories and theories to support those theories, and manipulating math until it support those theories. We have come to the point where it is too late to seriously take a look back and really wonder if we got it right.

Well, if it doesn't leave residue on the guys butt, it isn't a matter of a hygiene problem, and the guy doesn't smell like poop or anything then the company should have fired him. Don't know Australian law, but I know employers in the US (at least in the State of Wyoming) can fire you for any reason other than basic discrimination (age, race, sex, disability, gender). However, this sounds like it might be race discrimination and that is wrong! Again, I don't know what Australian laws says about this. Job discrimination can suck. It happened to me. I could have filed a law suit, but then I figured it just wasn't worth the time and trouble.

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters

I have a a Yamaha classical guitar and a Martin acoustic.

The third busiest airport in the world only has 2 runways? Wow!

My dog has killed and eaten a few squirrels. I don't think I would ever eat one, unless I was pretty hungry and it was the only thing available. I probably would try a bite just to say I've tried it though.

Right now I am reading: John Adams by David McCullough The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

My New Years Resolutions: -Gain back the 30 lbs of muscle I lost when my meds caused me to go severely hyperthyroid. I keep telling myself I'll start next week, but that doesn't seem to be working. So no more excuses! -Finish writing my book. I've spent the last few months coming up with and perfecting the story. I finally started writing it yesterday. Only another 99000 words to go. -Enjoy life! Now that ones self explanatory.

Happy 21st Duke! Congrats on being able to legally drink! Agree with you on the taste of beer. I've really have tried to "learn" to like it, but just couldn't bring myself to like the taste of the stuff. Now wine is a different story entirely! And I love a good whiskey! Don't really drink much myself, but I certainly use to. (understatement of the year ) Back in my army days I use to be known as the guy who "NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY could outdrink". I could chug whiskey like none other, without even blinking, and all without a hangover. Now I just stick to the occasional glass of wine or two with dinner. Besides, I can't really drink more than that with my narcolepsy medication (GHB and alcohol really don't mix ), or at least that's the excuse I tell most of my friends. It's funny, cause most of them have never really seen me drink and give me crap, calling me a lightweight (I'm not a big guy @ 5' 7', 160 lbs). I really don't care, cause if they only knew ). Hope you have/had a good birthday duke!

I've been growing a Bamboo (names Li) plant for about 3 years now, and an Aloe (names Lawrence) plant for a year, and a Ficus (names Mike, Mike the Fike) for a year. Yeah, I name my plants lol. And that's about it.

The wind has been pretty crazy the past few days. I saw on the news gusts up to 70mpg being reported. When I was walking in the parking lot at Walmart earlier, one big gust nearly knocked me over! And that's not even close to what I have experienced here in the past.

Originally posted by: david1314 And like Wyoming, if you find yourself living in Dubai, it's because you don't know anything else of the outside world or something has gone horribly wrong in your life.quote> Hey, I resent that statement! I have lived in 13 different cities in 8 different states, I know something other than Wyoming. I choose to live here because I like the isolation away from bigger cities in more populated states. Wyoming is financially doing better than any other state in the country despite the current situation. Besides, Wyoming is easily one of the most beautiful states in the nation. The Bighorns, Tetons, Yellowstone, Devils Tower, Medicine Bow, Black Hills, Snowy Range, Flaming Gorge, and Fossil Butte are all located in this beautiful state! Now if the wind would just die down a little bit. After all, Wyoming is the windiest state in the country and my hometown is the windiest city in the country. And PS, absolutely nothing has gone wrong in my life neither. I love my life! Sorry, had to get that off of my back. And as far as Dubai goes, I wouldn't want to live their, but that's just my opinion. The Burj Dubai is a monstrosity, but it's cool that we humans could build something like that. Don't know if they will be able to actually make any $ off of it, but my guess would be that it will drive up the cost of nearby property with a view of this monstrosity.

I was raised Lutheran, and my family is still pretty religious, but that stopped for me after I started thinking for myself. Now my beliefs are closest to Buddhism.

Originally posted by: patriots_1228 hummer, half those associations are jewish. jews represent what portion of calafornians population? 1%? less?quote> I think you missed the point of my argument. My point is to dispel the whole argument against Marriage being religiously defined as between a man and a women. Because that's only certain religions. The US Supreme Court has concluded under the 1st amendment that "government should not prefer one religion to another". If someone is arguing for Prop 8 on the basis that it is a religious ceremony defined as between a man and a women, well that is only according to their religion. Should the government give preference to their religion over another? IMO it is not a valid argument for Prop 8. Actually, jews represent closer to 3% of the population. Thats more than the mormon population, and the LDS church are the ones raising the most fuss about it. By some estimates, they contributed to 2/3rds of the campaign financing for Prop 8. The groups biggest argument: Protect Marriage.

I oppose Prop 8, the biggest reason being it is nothing more than discrimination. Sure "marriage" might be religious, but who's religion. According to Wikipedia, the following religious bodies opposed Prop 8: All six Episcopal diocesan bishops in California, Board of Rabbis of Southern California, Jewish Mosaic, the American Jewish Committee, Progressive Jewish Alliance, National Council of Jewish Women, and the Anti-Defamation League. For me I think a particular church should be able to choose whether or not that Church wishes to recognize the marriage. Nobody is forcing anybody to go to that church. But, when it comes to the eyes of the law there shouldn't be discrimination in this matter. Because then it is just that, discrimination in the law by the government of a certain group of people.

It has been pretty warm (considering its winter) up until the last week, then it finally managed to drop below 0 F. (Casper, Wyoming) I don't mind the cold, but it's a little annoying when your car wont start.

Were already spending trillions of dollars trying to rescue the economy, whats another 45 billion... Oh well, at least it will create some jobs.

Happy thanksgiving! Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, stuffing, pie, lots of wine/beer/whiskey, the coconut shrimp I make every year, football, family, friends, a few guitars, and a warm fire. Can't wait!

$1.35 in Casper, WY! Edit: Relatives driving up from Colorado through Wheatland, WY reported: $1.12

Appreciate the criticism, in a way I think I actually wanted somebody to tell me it was all in my head. Yet some questions haven't been answered and somethings just don't make sense. You must understand that I am highly knowledgeable when it comes to sleep. My neurologist has even admitted to me I know more about it than he does. Here are some of the problems I still see. Originally posted by: Boggy1 Let me hypothesize what happened. 1. You were tired. You have narcolepsy. The brain is a clever organ, and it can sub-consciously tell you to go to sleep. Often when I am up late, I will suddenly feel that I need to go to sleep. All it is is my brain warning me that I need sleep right now. You've no idea the amount of times that the brain takes control over your body and thoughts to direct you away from dangerous situations.quote> Having narcolepsy, my brain hasn't stopped telling me to go to sleep in years. Thats all I know. I understand that feeling like most probably can't imagine. i'm also great at ignoring it and if I suddenly didn't have narcolepsy I bet I could stay up for a week straight without too much effort. This was different (sorry kinda hard to explain). I wasn't even actually tired. Like I said, I usually feel the most awake during that time at night and that night was no exception. I didn't bother taking my medication, I didn't brush my teeth, and I didn't take out my contacts. 2. You immediately had severe sleep paralysis, which is very common to narcoleptics. SP can vary hugely from night to night, so it's quite possible that, due to a conglomeration of factors, you happened to have a bad one.quote> My current daytime medication is pretty good at decreasing (to a point) SP. By itself it doesn't do anything to increase deep sleep (stage 3-4), but it does have the side effect of helping increase sleep onset REM latency to the point were SP has become less common. Still experience it every now and then, usually in the morning or while napping, and not as severe as before. Even several months ago when my N was at its worse and for other reasons I had to be taken off all meds, I experienced very intense rebound SP, but it still came nothing close to this. And I wasn't afraid at the time either. Fear is what makes SP worse. The amygdala (emotional center of brain) becomes very hyperactive during REM. Normally while awake, orexin, a protein produced in the lateral hypothalamus, projects down to the reticular formation in the brain stem and releases serotonin. When your amygdala fires during the day you don't experience REM-atonia (cause of paralysis during REM) because of the serotonin. The daytime and sleeping medication have the effect of helping to elevate that serotonin so I don't experience REM-atonia while awake (cataplexy) and also helps with the SP. When you enter REM, that serotonin system turns off. This allows the amygdala to fire into the reticular formation and activate the area that causes REM-atonia. when the amygdala becomes hyperactive you become afraid during SP, and the more afraid you let yourself become, the stronger the SP and also the stronger the accompanying hallucinations. I wasn't afraid, and that's how I'm am usually able to fight it off. I could have faught this off, but I listened to the voice (have never ever had auditory hallucinations like that during SP) I felt calm and let myself drift off to sleep. As I did this the SP became much stronger again. Biologically, it just doesn't make any sense. 3. Sleep paralysis then often leads straight to hypnagogia. This was the rushing and vibrating feeling you felt. You've probably experienced hypnagogia many times in the past, but never remembered it. This time you did, due to the surprising severity of the SP (you mention you usually go back to sleep during a session of SP, so you probably miss the session of hypnagogia). quote> I should mention that the only time I usually go back to sleep is when I have already sleeping and am just waking up. I'm just far to tired to wake up and just fall back asleep. During these attacks I also tend to be far less conscious while awakening from SP. I was pretty conscious when the attack in question happened, and like I said above, I wasn't tired. I've felt the vibrating and rushing before, but only while "toying" around with the SP. I have purposely scared myself further and further into SP to see how strong I could get it and to see how long I could make it last. The record is 20 minutes! I could have gone longer, but it got kinda old after a while. 4. You then go to sleep. It's quite possible you enter REM sleep without going into a deep stage four or three sleep, due to the interruption of sleep cycles. You are, after all, a severe narcoleptic. And you dream. And you dream of becoming abducted, and of extraterrestrial beings, that fit exactly the classic abduction story. 5. It is perfectly reasonable that you could have been in a shallow sleep for two hours. I often will wake up at 7.00am, turn over, look back, and find that it's 9.00am. It happens in a flash, I'm not aware of the time, but I also haven't gone into deep REM sleep. quote> You might not be able to tell the difference between stage 1-2, light REM vs stage 3-4, but believe me, I sure can. Last time I had a PSG (night sleep study), I was able to tell my doctor what stages I was in and when. He thought it was pretty funny. Believe me, if it was all a dream, I sure wasn't in stage 1-2, and definitely not in light REM. When I started this sleeping medication (4 months ago), I was shocked at the kind of sleep I was getting. It's because I was actually getting stage 3-4. I just didn't remember what it felt like. So, if I really was just sleeping, I know that I was in stage 3-4 for at least most of that 2 hours. That is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE without having taken my medication WHEN I went to bed. Could I have forgotten that I had taken my medication? No, my medication makes ambien look like Tylenol PM. I would have known if I was all drugged up, and I would have still felt it 2 hours later when I woke up. And if it was a dream, why with my amygdala in it's hyperactive REM state and me having always been (and still am) deathly afraid of alien grey pictures, why wasn't there any fear? I was very indifferent until the taller grey entered and then as it got closer I was happy? Emotional processing of REM sleep? No, because then I would have been fearful and facing that fear, but in the "experience" I wasn't really facing anything. If it was a dream I would have been absolutely terrified, probably to the point that I would have woken up. 6. The memory was most likely ruminants of the dream or dreams. I will wake up, and remember odd patches of dreams. Sometimes they can be so real, that I have trouble separating dream and reality. quote> Never had that problem with anything near vivid dreams. I do have problems separating the very boring long non-vivid dreams, and it's always small things I get confused with like: did I pay that check, cause I can vaguely remember writing it. I would say that this is probably the most vivid dream I ever remember having (and prior to my medication I have dreamt alot over the past few years). 7. Then, your cousin tells you of his experiences, reaffirming yours. You 'realize' the same was true for you; but most likely you are filling in the gaps of your memory with what you think is plausible explanations. Happens all the time. These memories you have had are probably not even memories. They could be very old dreams, or things you spotted on TV or film, or even stories told to you, which you've imagined yourself. quote> Could easily be. It just when I start adding it all up together is when it looks like something might be happening. I really would like to chalk it up to narcolepsy + overactive imagination, but I'm just not convinced that's the case. To many questions that don't allow that to make sense... yet. Granted, I've used a lot of assumptions here. But that's because we can't possibly know the entire story of events. We can't know the thousands of factors that could've affected you. But nevertheless, the chances that all of this was a by-product of your narcolepsy and state of mind is pretty high. The chances that you were abducted is not too high. I'm not trying to ridicule you. But it's very very unlikely there are outside forces at work here.quote> Hopefully your right. Cause it sounds much better than the other possibility... that it's real.

This isn't easy for me to say. The only people who I've ever told are 2 open minded cousins who I happen to be very close with. As for the rest of my family, well I really don't want to be labeled as the family nut and have have been to afraid to tell them a thing. At one point I really did think I might be going nuts. Several months ago I awoke from sleep paralysis(SP). Having severe narcolepsy, SP is a very common occurrence and just a fact of life for me. By my estimates, I have probably had at least several thousand SP episodes over the years. I haven't had fear or lost sleep because of since the 1st year or 2 it started happening. However, after I woke up I became very frightened. The question of what I was frightened of wouldn't be answered for several weeks. I started becoming more fearful during the night. This very powerful apprehension and fear would take ahold of me. I was afraid to go to sleep. I was afraid to enter my room at night. I spent several weeks on the couch and was afraid to turn the lights or TV off. During the day I was perfectly fine and couldn't understand for the life of me why I was so afraid, but once nighttime hit I would quickly remember that fear. Then a couple weeks ago something happened. I hadn't taken my sleeping medication yet and was still camped out on my couch. On my own I have a hard time sleeping between 10pm and 2am. It was about midnight and I felt a sudden inclination to go to sleep and it wasn't like my usual tired. It's a little hard to explain, but it was like I knew I should go to sleep so (without taking my medication which was sitting right on the coffee table) layed down and shut my eyes. Within a minute I suddenly noticed I was in SP. I have to say that this was the most sudden and intense SP I have EVER experienced. I usually don't fall asleep to SP either, it's usually while awakening that it happens. It was so intense and sudden. It felt like the world around me was rushing and my entire body felt like it was vibrating. I've never felt such a strong rushing or vibrating feeling and never so suddenly. I'm usually VERY good at fighting SP and can be out of it in seconds if I wish (which I almost always just decide to go back to sleep, since it doesn't really scare me anymore). I tried to fight it and felt myself coming back. It was then I heard a voice in my mind tell me "stop fighting, everything will be alright, you having nothing to fear". For some reason that I can't explain the voice comforted me, I complied, and I just let the SP take ahold of my body in what was the strangest and most intense episode I ever remember. The next thing I knew I was opening my eyes laying on the couch. I wasn't aware that any time had passed. I quickly remembered the SP episode and something just felt off. I got up and looked at the clock. It was 2am. Now some people might say that I was just sleeping, but the only way that I wouldn't have been aware of the passage of time is if I was in stage 3-4 deep sleep (delta waves). Because of the severe narcolepsy, it is almost impossible for my body to get any deep sleep, much less 2 hours of it. It was then that a memory suddenly came to the surface. I was in a dark large room laying on some sort of table elevated several feet above the ground. I was paralyzed, but could move my eyes and I knew I was awake. I wasn't afraid or physically uncomfortable and remember feeling very calm and content. In my peripheral vision I could barely make out these pale figures working in the background. Then I heard a voice in my head say that 5 beings were about to enter and to not be afraid. Out of the corner of my eye (above my head) I could barely see 1 other being enter. This one was taller than the rest and looked just like the alien greys you always hear about (pale skin, slightly large almond shaped eyes. It approached me from above my head and looked down on me. I felt a strong loving sensation and felt so comforted. It was like I had known this being all my life. That is all I remember, and it is a bit hazy. After this I was startling not afraid and quite relaxed. I took my medication and went to sleep. I stopped being so afraid and started sleeping in my room again, although I still keep the light on and still have a little apprehension. I have felt that strange SP once again a few nights ago and that same voice telling me not to be afraid, and same missing time (although this time no memory). This weekend me and a two of my cousins got together. I reluctantly told them what happened. One of them looked a little shocked and told me that throughout his life he has had similar occurrences. He was so afraid if it that he stopped working day jobs and finally explains to me why he always insisted on night shifts. He said he started having conscious abductions in his late teens and only later realized that it had been happening his whole life. As the years moved on (he is 29 now) he became more and more conscious of them. He has done quite a bit of research into the phenomena and started explaining to me how he realized it had been going on since he was a small kid. It was then that I realized that the same was true for me. When I was young I was very afraid of the dark and spent years sleeping in my sisters room and on the couch w/ the TV on. I remember the 1st time I saw a picture of an alien grey on some discovery channel documentary. It completely freaked me out and almost crapped my pants. That never changed. I have always been deathly afraid to even look at pictures of them. I just start panicking. I also have an isolated memory of a bright red light coming out of the sky and shining through the thick curtain in my bedroom window as a young kid. I also remember several very vivid "dreams" of being in the backyard of the house I lived in as a kid at night looking out at the field behind the house. I remember looking up at the stars and some of them began to move. I remember feeling very relaxed. I remember a UFO halting above me. In one of these "dreams" I VERY vaguely remember being greeted by a being with the knowledge I was about to enter the ship and thats were the "dream" ends. This has been a recurring dream throughout my life and until now I never though anything of it. I know one of my aunt's always recounts a very vivid abduction "dream" as a child. From what I've read this is known to happen in families for whatever reason and have a strange feeling that others on that side of the family have had similar experiences, but am afraid to ask. Sorry if I sound like a nutcase lol, but I just thought I would share my experience with you guys. hope I don't regret it...

Pvt. Scott A. Miller, 20, of Casper, Wyo., died June 9, 2006 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash. Pfc. Timothy R. Hanson, 23, of Kenosha, Wis., died Jan. 7, 2007 in Salmon Pak, Iraq, of wounds suffered from small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga. Both were friends of mine and will be missed. May they rest in peace.

They want to charge him as an adult! Wow, Arizona must sure have a very loose definition of an adult. The first time this kid will be able join the military is 2017, vote for president is 2020, legally drink in 2021, and was only 1 year old on 9/11! The kid needs to see a shrink, not be locked up for the next 40 years in an adult prison for something he did when he was 8.

IMO his novels were good fun reads, but way overrated. I loved the movie Jurassic Park though (just the 1st one). He will be missed.