DebateGate

In addition to a series of harsh winters (after all, that time period was a low point in the "little ice age" that we're coming out of now) there were large outbreaks of ergot infections among the rye and wheat crops throughout France. Since the source of flour was destroyed or tainted, prices went up. They also think that many people ate the bread from ergot infected plants anyway, which probably helped along the Revolution.

Ergot infected plants produce flour that includes LSD.

you have entered the land of sirs and no longer make any sense at all.

The original Palestinian Mandate was issued by the League of Nations, and the later creation of the state of Israel was issued by the United Nations. While Lord Balfour's writings might have had some influence, your complaint should fall squarely on these two organizations for the creation of Israel.

Too bad the parties swapped. The Democrats did a hell of a lot better job at taking care of the working class than the Republicans have.   

Guess you don't count IT workers among the "working class".

Yea, these new bulbs last sooooooo much longer.....we're getting maybe 7months out ours.

Must be buying crappy ones, then. I have yet to replace a CFL that worked more a day. They sometimes fail right away, and I take them back to the store the next time I'm there. The vast majority have had no problems. The ones that worked for more than a day are all still there, some of them at least 5 years now. And I changed out the "heaviest use" areas first, so it's not like the ones that have lasted are hardly used - one of the first fixtures I installed CFLs into is the hallway outside our master bedroom leading to the rest of the house, and it's used daily, for fairly long stretches of time. We tend to turn it on in the morning and leave it on until we leave the house, then turn it on as soon as it starts getting dark and leave it on until bed time.

I had about a dozen that failed, they all failed immediately, and they all came out of one batch that I bought at one time (when I had two failures in a row, I tested all of the ones that I bought). I bundled back up the ones that failed and took them all back and got more for free from the store. Must have been a bad lot from the factory. I'm at the point now where virtually all of the bulbs in the house are CFLs, except for two fixtures that are really hard to reach - I spent the big bucks and put LEDs in them. If they last anywhere near advertised, I should never have to change the bulbs in those two fixtures again. I did the math, and with my usage of those fixtures and my age, I'm likely to be dead before they burn out.

The biggest problem with the CFLs is that they take a really long time to warm up and produce maximum amount of light when the fixture is outside and it's winter time (it takes quite a while to warm up from -40 or so that is common here in Minnesota). I "fixed" this problem by buying programmable light switches for the outside lights we use and programming them to automatically come on about a half hour before I normally need them, so they're warm when I actually use them. Inside CFLs warm up in under 15 seconds, and the newest ones are at full light in under 2 seconds (this is one big improvement area since they were initially released). The other "fix" would be to buy halogen bulbs for those outside areas, which I have done in the "security" lights that come on due to motion sensors. I'm sure the raccoons and deer appreciate it.

I remember hearing reading somewhere advancement is not a straight line.

I read a book where the history of science was described as a "drunkard's walk" - careening side to side and even sometimes backing up or making circles. James Burke's Connections and The Day the Universe Changed series attempt to show this view of studying history and science.

Companies like GE pay no taxes. How many people have they hired since 2008?

Actually, GE had a large tax bill, but they also had numerous (many one time) credits that were applied against those earnings. GE latest reporting was basically a fluke, being able to take all those credits in one year.

Even without tax increases or spending cuts, eliminating credits and deductions would balance the budget instantly. Our entire deficit this year was pretty much equal to the total of credit and deductions taken last year.

True, might upset them what are still in denial. Besides, Bush, Cheney and Condi, et al, got the war they wanted. And for them in denial, we might still find them WMD yet. 

"By late 2003, even the Bush White House's staunchest defenders were starting to give up on the idea that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

"But WikiLeaks' newly-released Iraq war documents reveal that for years afterward, U.S. troops continued to find chemical weapons labs, encounter insurgent specialists in toxins and uncover weapons of mass destruction."
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/wikileaks-show-wmd-hunt-continued-in-iraq-with-surprising-results/

$11/hr. definately not san francisco ,starting pay for all guards is $13/hr. city guards get $22.00 starting.

U of MN is paying 9.00-11.50/hr for security guards (there are several listings on the local job boards).

Comparison of San Francisco ($13.00/hr, $27,040/yr) and Minneapolis ($9.00/hr, $18,720/yr) via salary.com:

"The cost of living in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN is 37.7% lower than in San Francisco, CA . Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $16,839 to maintain your current standard of living."

So, it would be worthwhile to move in that case. Looking at the higher amounts...

Comparison of San Francisco ($22.00/hr, $45,760/yr) and Minneapolis via salary.com:

"The cost of living in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN is 37.7% lower than in San Francisco, CA . Therefore, you would have to earn a salary of $28,498 to maintain your current standard of living."

This works out to $13.70/hr (a bit higher than U of MN pays, but not so high that I wouldn't expect you to find a job in that pay range). Also, this note:

"Employers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN typically pay 12.2% less than employers in San Francisco, CA . Therefore, if you take the same type of job in the same type of company in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN you are likely to earn $40,193"

Based on that combination of statements (cost of living is 37.7% lower and salaries are only 12.2% lower) moving from San Francisco to Minneapolis is a no brainer for most careers. In addition, Minneapolis and Saint Paul are filled with hippies - I think they all moved here when they left Haight-Ashbury. ;-)