Well, his first "retirement" was years ago, though the official one was last year. Though, I see, once again, he's kind of edging away from it. If he'd like to edge closer to a feature film now . . . particularly as I have no idea when I'll ever make it to the Ghibli Museum . .

No, I don't think so. I think it does say that women are far less likely to be in prison for a violent crime and they're far more likely to be the primary caregivers of young children. Putting a woman in prison is far more likely to be breaking up a family, which has its own long-term destructive consequences.

Men…

Parts of it still aren't bad—lots of air movement thanks to the ocean. The smog does sit in parts of the south Bay though. Lick's above the worst of it, but it's not unaffected, I'm sure.

Oh, and yay observatory. I am so sick of the managment of the UC system—they're busy giving themselves raises while making the…

I think it's funny that there's a macho attitude about hiking—after all, humans, male and female, spread out across the world thousands of years ago on foot, presumably carrying some stuff on the way.

Yahoo! I've been waiting for this and the next segment of Little Witch Academy. Hmmm, will bribe kid to finish homework with promise of this . . .

I voted, but I'm in California, so we're seriously blue at this point, anyway. Jerry Brown pretty much spent zip on his re-election campaign while the GOP candidate ran on a platform about doing more about the *poor* . . .

Yep, people in cities tend to be like other people in cities—more liberal, less religious as a group.

There are actually parts of the U.S. that are like that. We're a big country—and a lot of us are nowhere near the Bible Belt.

And there you go with a personal attack—and you don't even recognize it as such. Shrug.

Whatever, I'm off to do something else.

If those civilizations rose up early enough that their probes have made it this far. If, say, that civilization's on the other side of the galaxy, why would its probe have gotten here? Why would that civilization send out millions of probes? And why assume all of those probes would make it across the galaxy to…

Or maybe they just have a prime directive and are watching us screw up without interfering. Though I like to think they're harvesting the DNA of our disappearing wildlife.

How about the universe is very, very large and probes are very, very small? Why assume that one's been shot off in this direction—particularly since we're out on the edge of the Milky Way? We've only been transmitting signals for less than 100 years—that's just not a big chunk of the galaxy.

Less than that. Modern homo sapiens began to emerge less than 200,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnon remains are only around 25,000 years old. So evolution in Africa for approximately 150,000 years and then expansion into Eurasia around 60,000 years ago.

There are some who theorize, though, that the more modern humans…

Because it's not reasonable to have to pay the rent money for a short ride. There's no reason for someone to expect that. Pure and simple. And, yes, there are laws against excessive surcharges—my bank, for example, got in the nasty habit of changing its overdraft and monthly charges—eventually, a class-action…

LOL. So you basically don't believe in laws that protect consumers and you can't see why I might care about laws that protect consumers. Got it.

Oops, I was confusing you with another poster who was complaining about cab companies while being a socialist. Same thread, same first initial.

I see, when all else fails fall back on the service regulated by law. Those same cab companies that you just slammed.

Nah, I say we just make Uber abide by some of the same laws that protect consumers.

Damn, you just lost your own argument to yourself. Congratulations.

I like reading, more than I like television, so reading in college never bothered me. What does bother me is my aging eyes—they tire out more easily now and that means I don't read as many books (bleah), so I'm a little choosier. Also, read enough and there are fewer surprises. I'm one of the few people I know who…

Oh, I think Uber could charge a premium that wasn't nine times its basic charge and find drivers. I don't believe poor widdle Uber could never-ever find enough drivers without charging people a month's rent for a short drive.

So, are you an Uber driver that banks on making the bucks by overcharging? Is that it? …

A filet mignon is not necessary to one's life. It's a luxury food. It's still regulated. Not sure why you think "luxury" means zero regulation. Commercial airflight is a luxury, but it's still regulated.

I find it funny that you think you're a socialist when your philosophy seems to be "let the buyer beware".

Uber…