One could always jump off the cliff, and then manage to miss the ground. Just don't forget to take a towel!

It's the aural sex.

The family member... or Sirius? :omg:

There's more to it than what you read on the surface.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_gun_laws[^] The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training, usually at age 20 in the Rekrutenschule (recruit school), the basic-training camp, after which Swiss men remain part of the "militia" in reserve capacity until age 30 (age 34 for officers). Each soldier is required to keep his army-issued personal weapon (the 5.56x45mm Sig 550 rifle for enlisted personnel and/or the 9mm SIG P220 semi-automatic pistol for officers, military police, medical and postal personnel) at home or (as of 2010) in the local armoury (Zeughaus). Up until October 2007, ammunition (50 rounds 5.56 mm / 48 rounds 9mm) was issued as well, which was sealed and inspected regularly to ensure that no unauthorized use had taken place.[4] The ammunition was intended for use while travelling to the army barracks in case of invasion. In October 2007, the Swiss Federal Council decided that the distribution of ammunition to soldiers shall stop and that all previously issued ammo shall be returned. By March 2011, more than 99% of the ammo has been received. Only special rapid deployment units and the military police still store ammunition at home today.[5] When their period of service has ended, militiamen have the choice of keeping their personal weapon and other selected items of their equipment.[citation needed] Keeping the weapon after end of service requires a license. The government sponsors training with rifles and shooting in competitions for interested adolescents, both male and female. A "shooting society " somewhere in Switzerland; people come to such ranges to complete mandatory training with service arms, or to shoot for sport and competition. A "shooting society" somewhere in Switzerland; people come to such ranges to complete mandatory training with service arms, or to shoot for sport and competition. The sale of ammunition – including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issue assault rifles – is subsidized by the Swiss government and made available at the many shooting ranges patronized by both private citizens and members of the militia. There is a regulatory requirement that ammunition sold at ranges must be used there.

You might be on to something... I'm seeing a 'Premium' add on for MS Security Essentials that not only clears/quarantines the virus, it launches a strike on the command and control servers.

Nice thing with NXT is that you can program them in C... http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nbc/

'Since you support socialized health care, I presume you want my taxes to pay your mortgage when you get into trouble or fix your car?' No. I do support a non-profit health care system that covers everyone - even you. I also support the ability to buy insurance for services over and above what the gvt can provide. Just like insurance policy A != insurance policy B, socialized health care A != socialized health care B. In some countries there is a parallel socialised and private health system. There are plenty of people here in the US that work there arse off at one or three jobs, earn too much to get WIC etc, but do not get employer based healthcare. (On a side issue, We are already paying for others mortgages - with the housing bubble collapse its in the unemployment lines, write downs in our house values etc.)

Here's another that shows a more stark difference... http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/spend.php Life expectancy vs Health care expenditure http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/health/spend/cost\_longlife75.gif

Never mind the lady that was pregnant, couldn't afford pre-natal care, and the had to have a C-section for a 12 lb stillborn due to diabetes. Or the 25 yr old guy that committed suicide due to perceived issues over large medical bills from an accident (Personally I'd have taken the bankruptcy route first) To all those that object to socialised health care - I presume you are against taxes paying for roads too?

I 'love it' when people throw out the bureaucracy card. The CEO of the company that handles the health insurance we have, is paid $7,000,000,000 dollars. It's a big job, I'll be generous. Let's pay them double the US presidents income - Say $800,000? There's $6,200,000 of bureaucracy in ONE INSURER, ONE STAFF MEMBER that doesn't go towards health treatment.

No snakes in New Zealand. In fact - no native predators to speak of since Haast's Eagle^ went extinct. Even the introduced ones aren't those that would go after a human.

"Isn't it like a 20+ hour flight from the US" 12 from LA to Auckland, 13 LA to Christchurch. Totally worth it.

To paraphrase the ads we have here in the US... "Fosters, ... Australian for Urine' Seriously - they hardly drink it there as it's so weak.

Maybe he used to be a scientist - wanted to describe the problem fully so that others could duplicate it?

Since being in the US I've seen BAD teeth WAY more than I ever did back home!

Churning your own butter can be fun sometimes. Nudge nudge wink wink :laugh:

The 'brakes don't work' because the people were stomping on them for so long, water that the brake fluid absorbed boiled.Once that happens, the brake pedal compresses water vapour instead of moving the brake cylinder and brake pad/shoe. People have had enough time to ring 911 and talk to the operator for a minute or two before crashing. Throw it into 'N', and come to a halt safely. Sure the engine will over rev and might throw a con-rod out of bed... but I'd rather pay for an engine than be DEAD. Yes, I drive in major cities across the US and on freeways.