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Is Intergalactic War Inevitable?

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by maxwell edison

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

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Former Canadian Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, Paul Hellyer, thinks so.

"UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head ...... I'm so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something."

--Paul Hellyer

http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20051124/bs_prweb/prweb314382_1

In the spirit of keeping discussions "technical" in nature, how can the IT community prepare for such an intergalactic war waged against an even smarter ET community? ETs certainly have AT which would have our own IT community working not only OT, but certainly UT as well.

And if an evacuation is necessary, to where would we evacuate? (And let's not even think about the "food chain" thing.)

Comments?

163 replies

by bob in calgary

We could write a virus on a mac that would destroy their technology... But that might not work as they may have seen the movie

so

how about attacking their immune system with the flu ........ no wait that's been done too.

As for evacuation If they can travel across space to get here then there probably won't be anywhere to hide.

Guess all we can do is have a big party invite them down for a few beers and take our chances.

Hopefully they will land in the UK or Canada the beer is better than in the US.

Have a great weekend

by Member 25348569

Not very likely so I, for one, will not be preparing for it. Anyone who can cross space from another galaxy will surely be able to kick the crap out of us. But I can't see why they would bother.

Interstellar war? Statistically more likely as there's not so far to travel. But why would anyone do it?

Resources? Any race that develops the ability to travel across interstellar distances can get all of the resources that they want from comets, asteroids and small moons without the hassle of dragging stuff up out of our gravity.

Energy. You can get all you want in space from sunlight. Or spin out a few miles of wire in orbit around a gas giant and the magnetic field will generate electricity.

Living room? Face it. The planet of any industrialised species is probably going to be shagged. Anyway, bore out the centre of a metallic asteroid and fill the centre with water. Heat the asteroid to melting point with solar mirrors. Poof! A several-cubic-mile bubble. Spin it for gravity and live on the inside.

Food? Protein and carbohydrates are only Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen. Make food out of comets.

Just because they're nasty? Well - we're f**ked! They sit in Mars orbit and drop rocks into the oceans. No fall-out, no opposition. What could we do?

So, to prepare. Have another G&T. Relax. It ain't gonna happen.

by dmambo

Thank you for putting my mind at ease. For the 90 seconds when I first read Max's post until I stumbled across your insightful answer, my soul was in turmoil. The point you make "The planet of any industrialised species is probably going to be shagged" are words to live by as they relieve all anxiety that we will be high on any invaders' lists.

Now my only worry is whether I'll get fired for having another G&T while at my desk. :)

by Member 25348569

shot down like the alien spacecraft...

(and the plot for the alien series 'V', 'Battlefield Earth' - now [b]there[/b] was a movie to gag to - and countless others)

by tony hopkinson

There's a serious danger of something bad happening when a guy this dumb is running a country. I'd suggest a room with deep wallpaper and a long sleeved jacket might be a possible solution.

by absolutely

My local newspaper, the [i]Eugene Register-Guard[/i] states in the opening paragraph of a front-page article: "Shafts of ancient ice pulled from Antarctica's frozen depths show that for at least 650,000 years three important heat-trapping greenhouse gases never reached recent atmospheric levels caused by human activities, scientists are reporting."

Obviously, the ET's are using some unknown form of technology to compromise the intelligence of the world's populace in order to ensure overuse of fossil fuels for energy, making the planet uninhabitable for ourselves, and perhaps perfectly suited to the visitors, who may need roads, runways, or may just find humans delicious.

Sharks & Jonathan Swift consider us tasty enough, so why should we suppose that aliens wouldn't also see us as a nutritious, helpless lunch?

When I get the latest issue of [i]Science[/i] I may have serious comments for this thread, the Martian greenhouse effect thread, or a brand new one. Heads up, Max!

by maecuff

I'd offer my services to continue our combined species, thereby insuring my superior genes would continue to exist.

by swgoldwire2546

Is it just me, or is our imaginations starting to run away with us?

If an intergalactic war starts and we have to pity ourselves, so be it. Otherwise, why are we sooo hyped up about the space alien thing?

Nothing more than mere runaway imaginations of mankind to scare us!

-swg

by maxwell edison

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Personally speaking, I usually prefer to speak for myself. "Our" is plural. Perhaps you will consider speaking for yourself as well.

If, by some chance, you said "our", but meant "your", I think we are taking ourselves too seriously. (Yes, sarcasm intended.)

by absolutely

But inconsistently, even within a single clause!

It's a sure sign that swgoldwire2546 doesn't remember how many distinct entities reside in his/her/their body.

by swgoldwire2546

However, when I say "our" in this discussion, I meant the whole world of mankind in general, including ME and my runaway imaginations there. NOT that I represent ANYONE, however. I have always represented myself, but the discussion is not always about me.

-swg

by bfilmfan

We use the same tactics as insurrgents everywhere.

We hit them where they are not looking.

We strap bombs to ourselves and blow up their troops.

We keep hitting them till their news media has nothing but stories about how the evil humans are killing their sons and daughters and they get tired and go home.

Sad how effective that line of reasoning appears to be isn't it?

by swgoldwire2546

Maybe you should read my earlier post. There is this BIG apology regarding my mental state and the personal fallout resulting from that

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=185088&start=0

Obviously, you don't know much about me, even before I had put up that post. So, what should you care about my sometimes bad grammar?

Oh, HERE I GO AGAIN BITTING SOMEONE'S HEAD OFF HERE!!!!! If any of the TechRepublic crew wants to kick me out of here, it is fine by me. Another one assuming what he/she does not know, just like my mother, my previous employers AND the kids I grew up with in primary and secondary schools (elementary through high school)!!!!!!! I suppose YOU assumed that I have aliens inside my body or that I have split personalities! PHOOEY TO THAT AND THEN SOME!!!!!!! :(

-swg

by swgoldwire2546

This is so not a pity party! I am just throwing one of these temper tantrums around because it is soooo frustrating dealing with people--I have autism and ADHD!

Also, watch who you are writing these post to--you don't even know if I am male or female!

-swg

The post-script: AND I AM A FEMALE AFRICAN-AMERICAN!!!

by absolutely

I didn't read your apology before teasing you about your bad grammar, but I'm not taking back a word of it now that I know that I see that you have apologized for your mental state, or rather used your "mental state" as an elaborate excuse for actions or words you believe to have been wrong. Whatever.

"Obviously, you don't know much about me, even before I had put up that post. So, what should you care about my sometimes bad grammar?" (swgoldwire2546)

You're right, I don't know much about you, and the more I read, the less I care. But rest assured, you can't just be kicked out for saying things that other members don't like.

"I suppose YOU assumed that I have aliens inside my body or that I have split personalities!"

I only assumed the obvious: that you are careless, and have too little respect for yourself and your audience to communicate correctly. That's why I made up the joke about split personalities that has obviously gotten under your skin and set up shop with the aliens.

"PHOOEY TO THAT AND THEN SOME!!!!!!!"

Kudos for not cursing. Much worse is tolerated around here, for better or worse. You won't get kicked this way, and I'm glad: you're amusing.

by swgoldwire2546

I am NOT using my mental circumstances as an excuse NOR am I making these stories up, NOR have I apologised for my mental circumstances!!! My mental circumstances are real!!!

So much for bad assumptions. . .

-swg

by garret`

I searched google but got a link to...this discussion!

p.s. Take it easy swg. Breathe and chillax a bit, ya know?

by swgoldwire2546

I wish to say this to Mr. Maxwell Edison. You can relay this message to him:

"EAT ROCKAWAY AVENUE SHRIMP AND BE GONE!!!!! YOU have done a disservice to me by bitting my head off only to have aliens come out of my body you assume and to bite YOUR head off!!! MY MENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF AUTISM AND ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER ARE REAL!!!! So, get over your stinking assumptions about me without knowledge--YOU, out of all people are just like those who grown up with me through the school years of my youth, teasing me, bullying me, berating me, wanting to beat me up, even my mother berating me! ALL BECAUSE I HAVE TWO UNDIAGNOSED BUT REAL MENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT NOBODY WILL EVER BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!" :(

-From the African-American woman behind the swgoldwire2546 pseudonym--Sherika Worrell Goldwire

by Member 25348569

Here I do agree with you one hundred percent.

What is happening on this site? Used to be you could tear off someone's head without any thought. Now it seems that there's every chance a snippy post is going to result in jet-washing peers off the subway tracks.

by maxwell edison

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I would consider our fictitious "space invaders" the bad guys; and I suppose I made an incorrect jump to the analogy that those who are the targets of such tactics in the real world are also the "bad guys", an assertion I would vehemently oppose.

I shouldn't assume such things to the point of reading your mind.

But as to your "solution", I wonder if any of us (U.S.) would actually resort to such tactics?

by bfilmfan

I was actually thinking of a book I read by Silverberg where the Earth was invaded and the humans used a whole host of strategies to encourage them to depart to other points in space.

It was about one family and their lives over hte generations of the occupation.

by montgomery gator

We could always fart in their general direction, wave our privates in their aunties' faces, and blow our noses at them!! Followed by an attack consisting of hurling various farm animals at the aliens. :-)

by andy

Maybe we could build a safehaven from all the letters that werent used in the original post to so we would have somewhere warm to kiss our asses goodbye, or to keep it more "technical" in nature KOAGB

by maxwell edison

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---------- Copied Message ----------

I wish to say this to Mr. Maxwell Edison. You can relay this message to him:

"EAT ROCKAWAY AVENUE SHRIMP AND BE GONE!!!!! YOU have done a disservice to me by bitting my head off only to have aliens come out of my body you assume and to bite YOUR head off!!! MY MENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF AUTISM AND ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER ARE REAL!!!! So, get over your stinking assumptions about me without knowledge--YOU, out of all people are just like those who grown up with me through the school years of my youth, teasing me, bullying me, berating me, wanting to beat me up, even my mother berating me! ALL BECAUSE I HAVE TWO UNDIAGNOSED BUT REAL MENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT NOBODY WILL EVER BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!"

-From the African-American woman behind the swgoldwire2546 pseudonym--Sherika Worrell Goldwire

---------- End of Copied Message ----------

If you want to say something to me, why in the world would you want to "relay" it through someone else. Be a man, man! Just stand up and say it to me -- right to my cyber-face. I can take it.

Rockaway Avenue Shrimp? This surely is a metaphor for something bad and disgusting. But since I'm merely an uneducated and ignorant country bumpkin, not savvy to the ways of the northeastern elite class, such as yourself, I didn't get it. Jambalaya shrimp, however. Now you're talkin'. Pass me a bowl of that -- and the bigger the better -- yum yum.

If I have done a disservice to you by suggesting that you speak for yourself by not speaking in the plural, presuming to lump others into your sentiments, then perhaps the next time I'll address those voices (plural) in your head since that was who, obviously, posted the message.

And do you really have "aliens coming out of your body"? Oh my gosh! The invasion has started already!

And you shouted from the highest cyber-mountain, "MY MENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF AUTISM AND ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER ARE REAL"

Well, therefore what? Do you want a friggin' medal or something? Does that mean you expect to be treated with kid-gloves? Get real, dude, or dudette, or whatever kind of dude you prefer to be called. I'm the toughest "tough-love" kinda' guy around here. Those kinds of excuses just won't fly with me. And like I said, I suffer from the dreaded IDGAS syndrome, so I just can't help myself.

What assumptions have I made about you?

Your conditions are "undiagnosed" but "real"? Isn't that an oxymoron?

But I am glad to see that you had a normal childhood.

Where in the heck is Africa-America? I know where Africa is; I know where America is (North, South and Central); but for the life of me I just can't find Africa-America on the map. I must have been on vacation when that country was created.

by sleepin'dawg

I weren't wanting to throw up so much. Paul Hellyer was Canada's Defense Minister through th mid sixties to early seventies. He was a classic example of the Peter Principle, a man who managed to rise to the level of his incompetence. The damage he did to Canada's armed forces, is still being felt to this very day and we are still living with the results, which have been pretty much disasterous. He was one of the main reasons why I and many others resigned our commisions in disgust, so you can imagine just how seriously I would take any utterence of his. Here's a little something that might give you pause, he made a run at becoming Canada's Prime Minister and when he failed at that, he endeavoured to start his own political party. The man was/is a legend in his own mind. When he was near the levers of power, such as they are in Canada, people perceived him as "the cream of the crop" to imply that cream just naturally rises to the top. I and others weren't too popular for reminding people that sh|t also floats. I'll say this much for the pr1ck; as a political entity he packaged very neatly and impressively for television and had a knack for making attention getting sound bites. It was too bad there was little substance to what he was saying but he did look impressive while saying it. My gut reaction: I hope the SOB rots in hell!!!! Intergalactic warfare??? Not bloody likely in the lifetimes of any alive today or for eons to come for that matter. Note: I'm not saying it's impossible but it's not very plausible. Paul Hellyer couldn't be trusted to provide instructions for where the nearest toilet is and I doubt he could organize a decent drunk if he were standing in the middle of a brewery. Well would you look at that!!! There are not too many things that can so thoroughly piss the [b]Dawg[/b] off but you managed to find one. Paul Hellyer; eeyuck, ptui!!!
(gag reflex followed by spitting sounds)

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

by swgoldwire2546

You have hit the nail right in the head there!
Nothing but man's own runaway imagination to scare people away!

-swg

by Member 25348569

Five million Americans have claimed to have been abducted by aliens in the last fifty years.

You could be one of them. Alien implants are controlling you and forcing you to ridicule the finest technical minds in the Western World here on TR. You are crushing our self-esteem so that we key players will be ineffectual in the coming struggle for our species' very existence.

Fight the conditioning, Max.

Tell us the [b]truth[/b].

by maxwell edison

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This is real, but undiagnosed. No one else has it to this severity. In fact, no one else has even had it -- only me. It's nothing the doctors have even seen before. No one understands it. It has its origins in an organism unknown anywhere on Earth, except flowing through my blood stream.

I have nightmares about when I was first inflicted. I'm floating ..... unfamiliar surroundings ..... lights flashing ..... strange faces ..... ouch ..... don't do that ..... what the ..... oh, no ..... not again ..... zooming through a light ..... what's that ..... how'd I get here ..... no ..... no, no, no ......

But not to worry. I'm taking medication for it. The only know side-effect is uncontrollable silliness (certainly better than uncontrollable di.....)

by sleepin'dawg

The existence of the Hellyers of this world blows to hell all the arguments of the right to lifers. The idea was idiotic enough but the fact this clown is still around and that anyone would lend credibility to him by actually listening to him never mind recording his comments, defys belief. That a$$hole is a waste of resources. Mind you he probably appeals to someone suffering from [b]real[/b] undiagnosed autism and ADHD. :^O

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

P.S. Loved the link but you'll have to explain how you find the time to search that sort of thing out. I'm still ROTFLMAO

by swgoldwire2546

You will have to excuse me for a moment there.

I just cannot help it throwing a temper tantrum and all--the comments from Absolutely saying the autism and ADHD is "all in my head",and Maxwell Edison saying that I am making pitiful excuses and all other comments posted in TR just makes me want to scream Second Avenue Deli, throw things around, stomp around, do damage to my apartment walls and the like and just sit there helplessly, crying my eyes out. Call me psyco or whatnot, I really don't care. I just have trouble dealing with people, who don't know and don't seem to give a happy, it is frustrating :(

-swg

The post-script:

To Maxwell Edison and Absolutely: YOU ARE JUST LIKE MOTHER ESSIE, AS WELL AS THEM OTHER KIDS I GREW UP WITH, SAYING I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM. MY PROBLEM IS THAT I HAVE REAL UNDIAGNOSED AUTISM AND ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER AND PEOPLE WHO DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND ENOUGH TO CARE!!!!!!! AFRICAN-AMERICAN IS JUST A NATIONALITY DESCRIBING BLACK FOLK OF AFRICAN DESCENT BORN IN AMERICA!! I AM NO DIFFERENT FROM THE NEXT HOMELESS PAUPER OUT IN THE STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY!!!! I CANNOT REPSOND TO YOUR OFFENCIVE POSTS DIRECTLY BECAUSE MY POSTED THREAD COUNT HAD REACHED ITS BLOOMING MAXIMUM!!!

JUST BE GONE AND DON'T RESPOND TO MY POSTS EVER AGAIN!!!!!!

YYYYEEEEAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!{!@#$%^&*:])!!!!!!!!!

by sleepin'dawg

That was/is one of your better ones. I'm still laughing. Hope you don't mind if I use it myself from time to time. That was tooooo much!!! :^O

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

by sleepin'dawg

We are not he most sensitive bunch so you will probably get a rough ride from time to time, especially from an insensitive type such as me. As I've said previously never take [b]anything[/b] here , seriously or personally. Life can be a b1tch and it can either make you laugh or make you cry. Given a choice, laughter is the better one. People have problems and issues. You are not alone or unique in that, so stop taking everything so seriously. It doesn't make you or anyone else happy, so change gears and start having some fun. Learn to laugh at yourself a bit, you'll find life can be a lot more fun than what you've been experiencing so far. We're here for a good time not a long time; be sure to smell the roses.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

by attackcomputerwhiz

(Cue "Twilight Zone" theme)

...that they already won the war and we are just an experimental Petri dish for their amusement?

BWAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry, the "suits" required I come in on a Saturday to make sure none of the servers crash during the heavy use periods. Personally, I think a few of them are from the Andromeda galaxy. ;)

by Member 25348569

I've been scanning this thread waiting for the first Uranus "joke". You weren't on my list of peers who would stoop for such a cheap laugh (I am, by the way but I resisted).

YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS. :p

by absolutely

I do not.

However, I do occasionally give compliments, as well as insults. For example, I honestly like the new design next to your name. Did you design that yourself?

by absolutely

It's traditional to put replies inline with the last message that will allow a reply, as I'm doing with this message. Visually, it's very clear that all messages along a single vertical line are related to or derived from the one above it.

"JUST BE GONE AND DON'T RESPOND TO MY POSTS EVER AGAIN!!!!!!"

I won't stop responding, but if you tell me what you dislike about my responses, I may decide to be more considerate. Conversely, if you continue using the imperative form as if you have authority to command me, it is much more likely that I will continue to traumatize you with my vicious words.

by puppybreath

That we all understand and accept the fact that you have autism and ADHD, what now? You seem to want something else other than acceptance of your conditions. What would that be?

Many of us have a condition that makes us different from somebody else. But we don't wear it on our sleeves. From the number of times you've repeated the fact that you have disorders, you seem to want to use them as a crutch or an excuse for your behavior. Just accept the fact that you're unique just like everyone else and get on with your life.

I think Jimmy Buffet said it best: "Some of it's magic and some of it's tragic, but I've had a good life all the way."

by advancewithit

Here is the defensive plan:

1) Mount an unprecedented spam campaign against the alien invaders. I suggest the subject title should be 'Your eBay Account Details have Expired'.

2) The unwary, PC illiterate alien will click on a link in the email which will download a 'malicious file' onto their Apple Giga-Quantum Holographic Microscopic iPod Maxi.

3) The file will be programmed to run at a certain date/time and redirect all browser URL requests for their news websites to a spoof page with the title 'Earth War Unjustified - No WMDs Found'.

4) Because they will invaribly believe the media reports, they will lose trust in their governments and demand an investigation into allegations that Planet Earth had WMDs in the first place.

5) Peaceful demonstrations on planet Zarg will prove effective and the war against Earth will be called off. Planet Earth will be happy, peaceful and prosperous once more - just like it is now.

by jamesrl

He was defense minister in the 60s - 40 years ago. He presided over many acts that downgraded tha capabilities of the Canadian Armed Forces.

But I suspect you knew that....

James

by jamesrl

Since you are obviously older than me....

I didn't start reading newspapers till I was 6, and that would have been in the mid sixties when he was already middle aged....I assume you are older than that if you knew him when he was young...

My uncle was in the armed forces, and one of the results of Hellyers stupid scheme to merge the separate branches of the forces into one, was that I got a lot of old RCAF badges.

James

by stargazerr

Lets leave us Humans out of it ...

I cant deny ... it did sound for a second, like you guys are going to start a third world war .. Maybe we wont need an intergalactic war after all..

by stargazerr

Lets leave us Humans out of it ...

I cant deny ... it did sound for a second, like you guys are going to start a third world war .. Maybe we wont need an intergalactic war after all..

]:)

by dmambo

I once saw a dog called "Millenium". The story line was that time travellers, having ruined their time by altering the past, tried to relieve suffering by going back to seconds before airline disasters, and replacing the living beings with some sort of carbon based cyborgs. It "starred" Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl "Charlie's Angels" Ladd. Ms Ladd was a babe, but this flick defines Bad Cinema for me. I highly recommend it!

Perhaps BFilmFan can patch the inaccuracies in my account, as I had been drinking pretty heavily when I saw it, but it remains a highly cherished, if somewhat blurry, memory.

by maecuff

Why do you care what other people post? Don't let it bother you so much, you'll have a freaking stroke.

I have a son with ADD, dyslexia and Tourette's Syndrome. I KNOW these are real issues and not excuses. He knows it better than I do. However, everyone has a right to their opinions. Even when they are wrong.

by jamesrl

I have a mild physical disfigurement. I will never be a concert pianist.
My wife has MS. She will never run a marathon. She may not be able to walk much longer.
My son has ADD. He will not get straight As despite being an extremely intelligent kid (absent minded professor).

All of us can dwell on what our deficiencies. But we don't have to let those things define our lives. My son is on student's council and in drama club and having a blast. My wife is active in her church. I use my voice for singing instead of my fingers for piano.

I don't think that your son's challenges and goldwires' challenges are insignificant. But I am sure you would kick your son's butt if he started to use them as a crutch or an excuse to withdraw from life.

What I have seen in some of goldwire's posts (not all) are things that may indicate a victim mentality. Now I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I truly believe there were some instances where she was making an attempt at black humor that not everyone appreciated as such. But some of the posts could be intepreted as avoiding personal responsibility for actions and posts and blaming it on her challenges. To her credit she has apologised for some things.

So while I am not a hard ass on these things, I think I understand Max's point of view. I don't see it as black and white.

And I do think all of us should read and understand your advice, on caring about what other people post - we are all individuals, and what we post is well, what we post and not in any way definitive.

James

by maecuff

I agree. Everyone has their issues, I for one, will never be a Victoria's Secret underwear model. I try not to let that affect the quality of my life.

My son has never used his issues as an excuse, but they have hindered him. Fortunately, he is extremely intelligent. I hope for his sake, he'll figure that out and move forward, but it is up to him.

Sorry about the whole concer pianist thing, you probably wouldn't have much luck as a hand model either? :)

by jdclyde

[i]"I don't see it as black and white."[/i]

Serious question. Do you EVER see something as either Right or Wrong, or is it all a "well it depends"?

Through many long discussions with my liberal Aunt in NY that I love dearly, (that makes OZ look like a moderate,) I have tried over and over to understand the "many shades of gray" mentality and more than not fail everytime.

by absolutely

A Clemson University researcher has made some interesting discoveries about diagnoses of ADD in children that are also unusually bright, which I see (between this and your next post) describes your son. The diagnosis may be inaccurate, in which case, the researcher below has information that may help.

"The only way ADD can be definitively diagnosed is when an MRI or EEG is taken under mental stress.

"The tests are very expensive, and although few people have done it outside a research setting, estimates have been made that perhaps 0.5 percent of the population suffers from reall ADD."

The article goes on to speculate that bright children frequently exhibit behavior similar to ADD, but for the reason that they are bored by curriculum designed for average minds, not because of a disorder in their brains that decreases cerebral blood flow when it should increase.

I suspect meacuff & swgoldwire may both be interested in the full story.
Dr. Lois Breur Krause, Clemson University
[i]How We Learn and Why We Don't[/i]
ISBN 0-759-32734

by jdclyde

is many people that get on the meds are because TEACHERS want the kids medicated so they can be handled easier.

This research is the FIRST REAL test I have EVER heard of for diagnosing ADD. I have just added this to my "to buy" list.

If you follow the checklist that is normally used to force kids to be medicated, I would bet the majority of us would have been put in that catagory because it is so arbatrary. I know I would have from looking it over. Glad teachers didn't have the ability to diagnose medical conditions back when I was in school.

by sleepin'dawg

About a month ago while going through some old papers of my mother's I came across a bundle which turned out to be all my old report cards from kindergarten up to and including my final year in high school. The thing that interested me most was each and every report card had a similar comment, to the effect, that I could do better if only I would apply myself. One report card was missing; the one for fourth grade. That was because I was never in the fourth grade. I was made to skip that year and went from third to fifth. Apparently that made little difference. Aside from my lack of application, it seems I was also a discipline problem especially during my high school years. There was no mention of ADD or ADHD but the conclusion seems to have been that I was a royal pain in the a$$ to most of my teachers. My recollection of my school years is that most of the time, I was totally bored. In those days classes numbered between 25-32 kids and yet I was never lower than fifth in my class. I remember being scolded by my parents regarding those comments and I remember my thoughts at the time were, "Hey I'm passing! What more do you want?" When I graduated from high school I had, had enough of school and entered the labour force until I was old enough to enter the army and qualify for a commission. I soon became aware that if I was to make a career in the military a degree would be necessary but a degree in what? It took me a few years to settle on engineering and again I coasted through always in the top third of my classes. I suppose today someone would try to convince my parents that I had ADD and get me drugged to the eyeballs but really what it boiled down to was that with a few exceptions my whole education was largely boring.

Fortunately I was not dyslexic but my daughter exhibited a mild form of it. It wasn't till she was in grade five that anyone woke up to the fact that she couldn't read properly. Her mother sent her for all kinds of testing and diagnosis but in my work which involves optics and the physics of light I remembered an article in which a study of some dyslexic children had determined that the majority all had some form of colour blindness. Apparently they all were deficient in the red-green part of the spectrum. The suggested treatment was to have the children read through a yellow or magenta filter and the dyslexic symptoms might disappear. Having large amounts of filter material at hand I decided to experiment on my daughter and laid large 10"X12" sheets of yellow acetate across her pages. The results were dynamic. She no longer had headaches from reading and the dyslexic symptoms were largely eliminated. A visit to an opthalmologist specializing in neurological disorders confirmed my findings and she was prescribed special glasses with a yellow tint which she wears to this day although now she wears tinted contact lenses. Note; this may not be for everyone, my daughters dyslexia was only a mild case.

Tourette's Syndrome is sad because not enough people are aware of it and do not understand its outward manifestations. The problem isn't with your son its with the ignorance of the people he encounters. He must be quite a kid to be able to handle it so maturely although there must be times when he grows frustrated by the stupidity and cruelty that too many exhibit towards him. My hat is off to him and you for being able to deal with it. It can't be easy.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

by maecuff

His Tourette's is very mild. Just a facial tic. It was pronounced when he was very young (rapid blinking and nose twitching). Now, he blinks when he's tired or under extreme stress, so it isn't so bad.

Fortunately, he's always been a self assured person. He's always had friends (and now girlfriends, which freaks his mother out), so socially, he hasn't had TOO many problems. He was definitely a discipline problem in school and he has never been the easiest person to be around. On the other hand, he is very witty (although his wit runs to the sarcastic side) and very funny.

I'm just hoping with age and maturity, he becomes less angry and learns that patience is a good thing..

by jamesrl

But yes, I don't subscribe to the everything is grey jedi perspective. But I don't have a formulaic view either. I try not to be quick to judge.

Murder is wrong. You and I may define the fringes of what is murder (self defense from abuse) a little differently but at the core, we agree more than we disagree.

Stealing is wrong. Max and I disagree about whether taxes are theft, but we probably agree more than we disagree.

I think where we differ is that I don't believe that I have the right to impose my moral and ethical framework onto others as an "absolute". I believe in the principles of the Christian church, but I think its wrong to have a state religion, or even to have the state favour one religion over another. I don't favour prayer in public schools.

Where I don't see situations like Goldwires as black and white, the reason is because of context. If I make a snap judgment based on the few facts shared, I am not doing anyone a favour. And there may be two such individuals with many similarities, who on the face of it may be the same, but when you delve deeper, are very different in circumstance.

I've seen many politicians mired in analysis paralysis and others who make too quick a decision without examing the consequences. Both are wrong(though hindsight makes it easy to be omniscient).

It goes back to that post about lazy thinking. If "Bush is bad" all the time is wrong, then so is "all democrats are bad". Arch capitalist Conrad Black (who normally I disagree with) wrote a biography about FDR and found a lot to admire about his courage and attitude. That doesn't mean that Conrad agrees with his policies on the New Deal.

The reason I like to read biographies is to be able to understand context. Many people have a simplistic view that Lincoln freed the slaves and therefore held the high moral ground. Lincoln didn't start out to free the slaves and was actually not campaigning to do so, though many of his supporters would want it so. He only made the emancipation proclamation out of desparation, when it appeared that this would cause the south a lot of pain, and all hope of a peaceful negotiated settlement were truly gone. Does this make Lincoln a bad man? Do you think that can be answered in an absolute black and white, yes or no manner? In putting aside freedom of the slaves to try and end the war through negotiation - does that make him evil?

Sometimes there are easy answers, sometimes not. the trick is in knowing which is the case, and sometimes that ability is only gained through age and experience.

James

by jdclyde

Rainbow Warrior is what they refer to Jeff Gordon as because of the colorful Dupont car he drives. (Nascar)

Figured it was an apt segway to talk of if the world is black and white or not.

Was not meant as a jab or insult, although many nascar fans would concider them there fight'en words! (lol)

As for the Lincoln bit. It is funny how history gets "modified" by the winners. There are actually people that believe we FOUGHT the civil war for the purose of freeing the slaves, instead of over terrifs. Just sounds much more NOBLE to say we fought for freedom than for money.

Was he a good man? Now there are even groups out there trying to claim he was gay (I have NO IDEA what that matters one way or the other). Push comes to shove, I will take a bad man doing good things than a good man doing bad things (Jimmy Carter, the WORST president we ever had).

by montgomery gator

An intergalactic war seems pretty improbable, when you consider the distance between galaxies. Interplanetary war might be more likely, but that would mean that another planet has mastered interstellar travel, hyperdrive, etc., or wait until Cochran develops the warp drive to make Star Fleet possible. :-)

Now, if you follow Stargate SG-1, you know there already has been intergalactic war, with the Asgard (from another galaxy) fighting the Goauld in our own galaxy. The Asgard even made intergalactic travel possible for humans, supplying Stargate Command with hyperdrive technology for Earth ships (the Prometheus, for example) to reach the Pegasus Galaxy to resupply the Earth colony Stargate Atlantis. :-)

by bfilmfan

Actually this season has been so stupid that I've taken to watching episodes of Andromeda to raise my IQ back up.....

by maecuff

Had I allowed my son to take ridalin, his Tourette's Syndrome symptoms would have been exacerbated. In it's place, his doctor tried a blood pressure medication, which at age 8, caused his blood pressure to drop at an alarming rate. At that point, I decided that I would never EVER allow him to be medicated for ADD again. Structure, stability and a cool head work wonders. It's not easy, but I decided that I would rather have my kid be the person he is, than drugged to mimic the other kids.

My younger son is beginning to show similar ADD like symptoms (poor organization skills, inability to stay on task, etc.) However, I don't have nearly the behaivor problems I had with my older son. We'll just continue helping him organize himself (which is a chore, because his father and I are deficient in organizational skills). And as smart as my older son is, the younger one absolutely blows us away. His vocabulary is incredible. He talks ALL the time. I told him the other day that if he didn't stop talking so much, he would use up all of his words. He asked what I meant. I told him that every one had a finite number of words they could use in a lifetime and that if he wasn't careful, he'd use all of his up. He looked at me with complete disgust and said, "mom, that is preposterous."

What 7 year old uses that word? I don't even use that word.

by jamesrl

With regards to Lincoln, its entirely possible to do the right things for the wrong reasons. He may have sympathized with freeing the slaves, but was focussed on the war.

I do think that the US Civil war was about states rights, and one of those rights was the right to impose slavery. If there had been no new states added to the union and the balance had remained, the status quo would have remained and things might have worked out differently. But the south saw the writing on the wall and noted that most new states would not be slave states. Bloody Kansas was a precusor to all out war. So the south insisted on some guarentees ont he status quo that the federal government could not provide.

So slavery was a factor, just not the root, nor the sole factor.

James

by aldanatech

Paul Hellyer thinks so? I think he better think again. An intergalactic war with extraterrestrials is among the last things that worry me. If they ever wanted to start a war with us they would've done it long ago. They would of won because their technology is of course more advanced than ours, by far. In fact, I wouldn?t be surprise that a lot of it would be beyond our understanding, but so far there is no solid evidence that they had used it against us. Why would Paul Hellyer think an intergalactic war is inevitable? Probably because like most of us, he grew up with fiction stories about alien invasions on TV and other media.

My suggestion to the former Canadian Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, and everyone who shares his concern is to stop all that pointless paranoia. Yes, I do believe intelligence outside of our world exist, but I have taken my time to do my own research and meditate on it; and I came up to the conclusion that they are the complete opposite of what most of us think or what somebody else made us believe. More than anything else, they seem to be interested in helping us evolve in a positive way. Of course will be nearly impossible to achieve if we continue with our erroneous "war of the worlds" view of them.

by absolutely

But I hope you'll tell me about it if it helps. Intelligence is a terrible thing to misdiagnose.

by road-dog

Discussion of such a hypothetical situation requires a solution based upon a couple of assumptions. These are mine:

1) We will lose
2) The aliens' agenda probably is not the seizure of natural resources for the reasons aptly described earlier in this thread. This being the case, humans are the target rather than an impediment requiring removal. Annihilation will be their objective, or perhaps some form of slavery or use of us as farm animals.
3) Society will end and we will each be left to our own devices for our own survival.

OK, now the planning.

1) Talk your CIO into a disaster recovery site that is deep underground and has self-contained electrical power. A big screen TV with a DVD would be necessary in order to support the servers in the bunker.
2) Being the person to regularly maintain this facility, each visit you bring DVDs, beer, Doritos, canned food, and shotgun shells.
3) Locate and maintain contact information on a "top 5" desirable women in your company. Update list in case of marriage and/or children to avoid messy entanglements.

Execution:

When the Fox News info-babes announce the inevitable end of the world, call those women in the updated list in step 3 above and make them the offer they're not likely to refuse. Begin with, "remember back at the company Christmas party when you said 'not if you were the last man on earth', well, care to reconsider?"

Prepare to repel boarders, your fellow IT department members, the CEO and his "Admin Assistant", etc. Remember that civilization has fallen and they are no longer your friends or superiors. The CEO is a large threat to your earstwhile alpha male status. He must be terminated on sight.

Once sealed away in your stratolounger with the girl of your dreams, then set about repopulating the earth.

by dmambo

How long do you think anyone could actually last without frozen burritos? Get real, man. :D

by sleepin'dawg

It will work out for him one way or the other but in the meantime he is licky to have you for his Mom. I sincerely mean that.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

by maecuff

In retrospect, I could have been more patient and let more of the little things go. I can't change that now, I can, however, feel guilty about it for the rest of my life. It's not a great plan, but I seem to be sticking to it.

And for the record, I AM licky..

by dmambo

Mae, that's an arguement my wife and I constantly have. Last week, my wife had it out with my 13-year-old because she thinks it's cool to wear unmatched socks. We can be a family of hollerers, but to me this one was ridiculous. Is it possible to convince a mother that certain things that they feel reflect on her children just do not matter?

I battled my mother for 12+ years about the length of my hair, among other things, so I feel that these things should slide. I've often felt that one should be careful in choosing the battles. I worry that letting the little arguements grow will cuase a kid to detatch and stop communicating, although I have not seen this with my daughter and my wife. In the grand picture of things, they communicate wonderfully.

by dmambo

Please never again use the tongue-sticking-out emoticon when discussing anal probes.