not all beans should be shiny looking... it depends on the roast, the bean and the process (dry or wet) to get the bean from the cherry... Shiny beans are usually indicative of full city roast or darker where the oils come to the surface.... most of the ethiopian coffee I drink is only roasted to just after first…

passing out leaflets is so 1897....

The article makes it unclear that the BART cop shot and killed a man with a knife who threw the knife at the officer. While its sad the guy died he pretty much asked for it.

a Mac is a PC.

In the immortal words of Will Smith.

Porn may be legal on your own server and your own time but for public servants its a huge no-no, as is political endorsement. The federal govt and most states have laws about both in the workplace.

even if the sculpture was created by an oppressive occupying army?

Santa's Iconicness is an invention of Coke.

still theres a ton of stuff going on in Book 2 and it doesnt suck ... I've found myself at emotional points during the books where ive had to put it down, just to emotionally process whats happening. And thanks for reminding me about the fort. That whole storyline of Arya heading north with the boys to the wall was…

That book had the red wedding and tons of Arya! Methinks you need to reread it, the second book is anything but boring....

They would have, but its likely the lesson would have taken longer especially with the 30+ student class sizes in NC. Allowing the children to compose the letter using their own content would have given them time to wonder what they wanted to say... or made them ask additional questions about how to say it neither of…

I respectfully disagree. Its possible to learn while parroting talking points. You have to remember these are 3rd graders we're talking about not college students. Writing a form or business letter is actually a useful skill and one quite different than writing a text, email or even a casual letter. Rhetoric and…

actually the UCMJ ... federal law for the military... sets age of consent at 16. But we default to the age of the state we're in. This apparently was an issue at my post in Alaska in 2009-2010 when a 26 year old was "engaged" to a 17 year old (just turned 17...)

But at the same time they are teaching reading comprehension and basic writing skills to the little tykes... so good on them.

but you dont.

Bob_d- While I object to using the word Somali as a pejorative for pirate and don't support killing Somalis you are over romanticizing their legacy. A thug in a boat with an RPG willing to kill you so he can steal your stuff is not a hero, he's just a thug. The original pirates might have been disgruntled or…

Well Somalian Piracy is actually overshadowing Piracy thats been going on in the straights of Malacca (one of the most important sea lanes in the world )since the 14 century. And is just as bad if not worse...

Yes and no. If your a Pirate who knows that merchants will give up the ship without a fight, and the company will give you money for them you will behave differently boarding a ship than you would if you knew you might get killed going on board. The threat of security crews might just ratchet up tension. It might make…

Thanks! I also think people would also be surprised to know how far these Somali crews and their tiny boats range... The Red Sea the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden (near Oman and Yemen) are now prime hunting grounds and the USS Nicholas (a Fast Frigate) was attacked in the night by Somali pirates just west of the…

Exactly, ... interestingly enough the Maersk Alabama incident (where the US crew fought back and retook the ship from pirates) made things much much worse for captives and merchant shipping. The fact that Navy seals killed the pirates in the lifeboat while badass ratcheted up the violence in the region and ensured…