It is pessimistic, you're right. But think about it; think about how well cultures on our own planet intermingle. Terribly!

As of today, you will now know exactly who it is on the side of the road in GB bent over under the hood of a Fiat 131. Say hi and wave!

Won't matter. Range Rovers are still utter shit when it comes to reliability. There's a reason they're constantly in the bottom three, according to JD Power. No one wants to own one past it's warranty expiration.

"And to repeat myself... comparing humans with other animals on this planet doesn't work because we are the only species of our intelligence level on this planet."

Intelligence and communication aren't love. They aren't sex, or intimacy, and that's a problem. I have female friends I am loyal to, but without the ability to be completely open, honest, and even passionate, you're really describing friendship. Which I have already granted is entirely possible.

Triffids.

Centaurs might be wasteful to you and me, but evolution isn't about waste, it's about chance.

I'm sorry, that's just not how biology works. Biology is a long con, a vast game of chance that takes eons. It simply cannot work the same way. If you rewound Earth's history and started over, on this very planet, it is highly unlikely you'd get the same result, because evolution is predicated on random mutations that…

Yeah, but Star Trek is fiction. Have to suspend disbelief just to watch that.

We'd have to completely suspend disbelief here. The odds of any species, anywhere, evolving to look, speak, or act like us in any way is infinitesimal. I love my dog, for example, but... uh, I don't 'love' my dog. All species evolve to mate with their own kind. Barring hybrids from similar animals (e.g. ligers,…

Thank you for noting this, as it is one of the big reasons people don't appeal. This is especially true if the assessed value is already less than what they paid for the house.

I'm finding it immensely interesting that you can tell who the older people are in these replies. They reply with 'Match.com'. The younger ones lean toward Tinder and OKCupid.

That might be a fair point, although I still believe it offers diminishing returns as the scale of the project grows larger. People need to be very cautious when the timescale expands, or they might look ridiculous.

I'm all for the Scotty Method (never tell the Captain how long it will really take!), but the reality is that this is a poor metric. For one thing, consistently doing that will train you to think you are 'on-time', when you are really being inefficient. It removes the incentive to improve.

The 'paleo' diet has been discredited, just like every other fad diet.

"But all of it should be a non-issue..."

I didn't say the struggles of the LGBT community weren't a big deal. I said being gay just shouldn't be a big deal. And yes, I am mildly surprised that at this point, something so straightforward is still abig deal.

"I wish, however, you were interested in understanding. You seem more interested in talking about yourself, how good a person you are, instead of empathizing with other people who have to deal with people who aren't as good as you."

"And when mentioning your wife, were you at all worried about how your being married to a woman might be perceived and whether or not it might change things for you in the workplace?"

We're not that different. Sorry. I've spent enough time on these very forums to know that the whole "accept our differences" philosophy is absolutely and utter bullshit. Because acknowledging someone is 'different' means that sooner or later, you will use those differences against people as much as for them.