Anyone else notice a change in DU/GD of late?

[The Straight Story]

As I sit here tonight practicing what Jesus taught, don't drink the water, turn it into wine, I reflected on the last few weeks here.

It's like the sun came out and spring is in the air - after a long and cold winter.

A winter where the blahs got us depressed, at each others' throats being so cooped up with only bad news.

Now it seems like winter has come over at freeperland, and it's snowing like a ticker-tape parade made up of papers they wish never existed.

I was in disagreement heavily with someone on another thread the other night, and yet on different threads it was as though we were not arguing at all elsewhere. We kept it civil, we kept it isolated, and we kept off the personal level. We knew, as we usually have, that we don't agree on everything - so why make it personal. Our side is turning the tide - both with the public and with our government. Won't happen over night, but as the rays of the sun break through the clouds of despair we come together to enjoy the new season and it's harvest.

Take a moment and reset yourself. We want the same outcome, we are on the same side, spring is in the air.

Fight and debate like your a spartan, love each other like you're the tree hugging hippie you are within. I see it here now, a good change.

It's getting better out there folks. And in here too.

Now excuse me while I go pray over some water, I need some more wine :)

[NanceGreggs]

1. Well said, my friend ...

... well said.

[The Straight Story]

2. nance! good to see you tonight

I always enjoy reading your rants - keep em up!

[NanceGreggs]

7. Thanks, SS ...

... it's always a joy to run across one of your posts! (The boards have been BUSY of late, no?)

But I do agree with your assessment -- things have definitely taken an upturn, and the posts reflect it.

At last, the cleansing of mind, and the spirit of renewal, seem to have taken hold.

[pinto]

3. I'll echo NanceGreggs, above. Well said.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TomInTib]

4. So Jesus been messin' with your water, too?

Thank the heck Heavens!

I was afraid it was just me.

Well put, T S S...

Now I am heading back to the goblet..

Tom

[MidnightRyder]

5. I was noticing that friggin Showtime .gif is gone from the top of each page

You fellow dial up users know what Im talking about, that video Ad that has to load on top of each new DU page. The latest one was an Ad for a program on Showtime. During the last 6 months I have say here night after night waiting for a page to load cussing Skinner and the rest of the DU board for those Ads. What a gold mine, not only do they have a company paying to have that companies own Ad at the top of each page DU have one on the bottom as well. Plus the DU overlords have the quarterley fund drive of the members. Can you say cash cow? All they have to pay is a monthly fee for the .com addie and server space.

I would of moved on a long time ago but DU is still the best damn site on the Net, no matter how slow it takes to load!
:)

PS most Americans are missing the point of Bush/Rove trying to put their people in to manipulate the judicial system. They are worried about American Idol and the #8 car. However many of the people in the judicial branch believe in the rule of law and when somebody says our country does not need to live by the rule of law anymore it cuts those people to the core. This is what many of us have based our life on, the rule of law above all else. When somebody says it's weak and we dont need to live by the rule of law amymore, well thems fighting words. Notice what party those 8 fired prosecuters belong to? pissed of Repubs! This deal is going to wake a lot of people up and Bush knows it! Snow knows it too you see him ducking and shifting at todays press conference? I kinda like the guy because he is smart but a little misguided. He did not want to have to repeat what Snow knows is BS from the party of Bush.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. Donate or get AdBlock for Firefox.

*poof*

No more ads.

[The Straight Story]

9. Well...

Ads don't pay unless ya click em :)

Secondly, if you donate you can turn em off. You can turn em off anyway if you use firefox.

Third - I hope it is a cash cow for Skinner, he has provided a great service and should be well compensated for it.

Fourth - the term DU Overlords seems a tad strong there, but hey, whatever

Welcome to DU, and yes - it is, to some, like me, the best site on the net. Other than porn sites and stuff ;)

[ninkasi]

36. As a donating member

I leave the ads on, and click them. It's a small enough thing to do to help DU remain our cyber home. I love DU. Although I almost never initiate a post, I do try to respond to many of them. For my DU family, I'll explain...this place is full of such awesome people, such knowledge, and such eloquence, I hesitate to start a post, because I'm a high school drop-out, and many of the things I would start a post about get posted by DUers far better than me. I can, however, be a vocal member of the booster club.

[EST]

37. Your post is far deeper than you give yourself credit for.

When one needs a good quality nine-sixteenths box end wrench for a particular job or fastener, it does not matter that there may be bigger, shinier, or more expensive tools around. Finding where one fits at the moment and then taking on that task responsibly is of more value and is more satisfying than any amount of glitter can provide.

[Lautremont]

6. My water's that funny red colour too.

Anyway, nice post.

[TahitiNut]

11. I haven't seen anyone whining about the water for days.

:silly:

[The Straight Story]

12. indeed

come on in, the water...err wine..., is fine!

[TahitiNut]

14. When H20 Man becomes Whine Man ...

... we'll know Jesus has been through. :evilgrin:

[havocmom]

13. have noticed a definate improvement, but...

think it started when you posted that pic of that sweet lil girl in your household ;)

[The Straight Story]

16. She makes my world go round

Although right now she is fighting sleep.

She is tired, went horse back riding today. My niece horse rides in competitions and took her to the place they ride and she got to ride a horse for the first time. Was great for her. No cost, all fun, and she even helped clean the stalls and wash the horses - they gave her three ribbons for her efforts.

I am gonna miss this place when we move next month to CA. My family is here, a lot of memories, but right now it is the best thing for my wife and daughter.

Kids - they grab the heart and never let go.

[Booster]

15. Another great post, Straight. Teach me how to do that thing

with the water. Hope things are looking up for you.:hug:

[The Straight Story]

18. Most things are looking up finally

Wife is getting worse, but I hope the CA sun helps her with her depression from the parkinson's and such.

I have three companies out there wanting me to do work for them, which is a good thing - plus my company lets me work from home now, so I can take care of my daughter and wife during the day and work at night (like I am doing now).

As for turning water into wine. Get a glass of water. Have a sip. Pour it out. Fill with wine.

Works for me :)

[IChing]

17. I rolled a 15 in Iching

The present is embodied in Hexagram 15 - Ch'ien (Modesty):

There is progress and success. The superior man, being humble, will have a good issue to his undertakings.

The second line, divided, shows us humility that has made itself recognised. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.

The situation is evolving slowly, and Yang (the active masculine force) is gaining ground.






The future is embodied in Hexagram 46 - Sheng (Pushing Upward): There will be great progress and success. Seeking to meet with the great man, its subject need have no anxiety. Advance to the south will be fortunate.

The things most apparent, those above and in front, are embodied by the upper trigram K'un (Earth), which represents docility and receptivity.

The things least apparent, those below and behind, are embodied by the lower trigram Ken (Mountain), which is transforming into Sun (Wind). As part of this process, stillness and obstruction are giving way to penetration and following.

[The Straight Story]

22. Well...reading your post I can say this

I don't know jack about I-Ching. But since you took the time, so will I to reply:

"The future is embodied in Hexagram 46 - Sheng (Pushing Upward): There will be great progress and success. Seeking to meet with the great man, its subject need have no anxiety. Advance to the south will be fortunate."

I am moving west, and south, from where I am now. Where I have a lot more potential.

"There is progress and success. The superior man, being humble, will have a good issue to his undertakings."

I made progress by going backwards at work. Where before I was a manager of several data centers, I now have no one reporting to me, but I report to others. My choice. Now I can work from home with programming - and I learned a new language and got our project off the ground and into production. It has also helped me to land several more prospects in CA when I get there, which will help me to make more money so I can hopefully hire some help for my wife.

"The situation is evolving slowly, and Yang (the active masculine force) is gaining ground."

It has went slowly for me. From real bad times in december and before, to now. months ago things were more hell than I could handle and depression nearly drove me to wanting to OD or something. Now I have hope again, though the wife is getting worse.

At any rate - I appreciate you taking the time for the I-ching and will show my wife tomorrow.

[IChing]

27. Actually it was a combined thought before I cast it

I focused the question on

A portion is what you wrote about DU and how we treat each other that we know.
A portion was my thought about you, your wife and your life
A portion was directed to this nation's fight for justice and truth
How may we find a path?

[The Straight Story]

30. We may not share the same beliefs

But I am willing to have an open mind and be respectful of yours.

Thank you again for taking the time to do this. I too feel there is something more than us in the great universe, and while I may not subscribe to your beliefs, they are no less valid than mine.

You took the time to do something positive, and you put your thoughts into it. I truly appreciate it.

I will endeavor to learn more about this subject, learning is never a bad thing imho. If you have sites you recommend, I would trust them above random google ones :)

[IChing]

32. My friend, the IChing is 64 bit: first translated

by an englishman who came out with the number theory of using

zeros and ones.

It is not a religion, it is just a tool we can us.

[The Straight Story]

40. Ya fueled my interest

Check your PM :)

[muriel_volestrangler]

41. It's 6-bit, which means it has 64 possibilities

ie 2 to the power of 6. 64 bit would be rather cumbersome - about 16 billion billion combinations.

[mudesi]

19. It's what happens when the trolls go away

Believe it or not, there are not that many trolls. But it only takes a a few of them to severely disrupt any discussion forum. The larger a site is, the fewer number of trolls there are, since they feed off of multiple responses. A large site like this one will quickly drop a troll's thread to the bottom faster than he can keep up, and he will give up and move on to another site. (Trolls hate to see their flame wars disappear).

However, every once in a while, you get a few extremely determined people who don't give up and who have a lot of time on their hands. When not dealt with, they can quickly incite flame wars and continue them for days at a time.

It happened with Edward's house, for example.

[WiseButAngrySara]

20. Beautiful! ....n/t

[IChing]

21. I liked your post and nominated it.

You are one of my brother's in arms.

Enjoy your evening without guilt.

[JeffR]

23. No!!! I'm not happy. It's all a Rovian plot. We're screwn. Murka is dead.

Now that I have that out of the way, I'll just say K&R. Great post.

:)

[The Straight Story]

24. Now that made me laugh!

it all seemed so dark and sinister, and it was I suppose, but finally we are getting results and shining the light on the roaches in DC - and they are running.

Now as we turn their own patriot act on them, they whine :) Oh the irony!

[JeffR]

34. Lovin' it

tho' I'll be less sanguine tomorrow morning as I ease into a fast-paced workday and won't get a chance to check in on DU until late afternoon. As much as I hope for more shit to interface with the fan, I sorta hope it doesn't happen tomorrow! Aw, what the heck... I'll take it whenever!

[Bullwinkle925]

25. Might I share a goblet or two with you?

I was out watering my plants and trees today and drinking in the deep sweet air. I feel as you do - that we are 'coming out of the darkness and into sunlight'. I have been sporting a black "NOT ME!' rubber bracelet and was planning a bracelet-cutting ceremony in January '09. Perhaps I'll be able to take it off sooner?
God willing, that is.

[The Straight Story]

28. While the battle is not (and maybe never) over

for once things are going the correct way.

Du has been there all along, from the war to voting issues - calling out the crap.

It seems like finally the rest of America is waking up, and the garden we were tending to finally sprang up with the promise of bearing fruit.

I too was outside today checking out the plants coming up, and maybe that is what got me to thinking about it all. The spring is a season of hope, and for once in a long time I feel it.

[Bullwinkle925]

33. Amen!

[Gregorian]

26. The same thing happened on The Daily Show.

A sudden ray of lightness. I've been watching since the first show. That's 8 out of 12 years, with Whistleass at the helm. Those 8 have been dark (in Daily Show terms). Tonight I couldn't believe it. The show started out with Jon literally applauding and shining with glee.

I think we, as a group, have done remarkably well over the last dark years. I find it absolutely amazing that we got along as well as we did considering the level of frustration we've been through. We were the Carla Faye Tuckers, in the sense that we were under Bush's conrol, all while he snickered at us.

The truth is good.

[The Doctor.]

29. Wonderful sermon.

I don't go to church all that often (Presbyterian), but I would give alms for that.

K&R

:kick:

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

31. Winter for Bushler - Springtime for the rest of the civilized world

[Decruiter]

35. I miss DU when there were only aroud 12,000 members, Will Pitt was

still teaching history. I miss my old DU, I miss many that have been tombstoned, that have left for whatever reasons.

DU is still special but not ever now like it was, just in my very humble opinion.

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. The change I've noticed is 'more heat, less light'

Although the amount of posts has been very high recently (DU going to level 1 or 2), I've noticed that in the 10 or so DU journals on my list, none has updated in a week, and I don't think that's happened before. It's as if no-one thinks there's actually important stuff being said, by themselves or others, at the moment.

[The Straight Story]

39. I hadn't noticed that

Maybe too many folks busy replying than creating new things they want to add. Interesting to note though.